The 50501 Movement denounces the Trump administration’s escalating attacks on communities in Southern California and is mobilizing to protest nationwide in solidarity.

On June 6, ICE undertook warrantless, military-style raids in Los Angeles, detaining at least 44 people as part of Trump’s unconstitutional mass deportation plan. In response, protests erupted across the city. At a protest outside the Roybal Federal Building, SEIU-USWW President David Huerta was attacked and injured by federal agents while observing and documenting ICE activity. He was then unlawfully arrested.

The arrest sparked widespread outrage. SEIU California and its chapters, collectively representing hundreds of thousands of workers across the state, issued statements demanding Huerta’s release and condemning the federal government’s actions as “an attack on free expression and the labor movement.” Later that day SEIU, CHIRLA, 50501 SoCal, Unión del Barrio, and other organizations joined together to protest not only the ICE raids but also the brutalization of a union leader. 

“This is an attack on our community,” said 50501 spokesperson Hunter Dunn, who helped organize the June 6th rapid response protest in Los Angeles. “The Trump administration sent its Gestapo into our streets to round up minorities and brutalize David Huerta. The fascists in the White House want to beat Los Angeles into submission, but we will not be silenced.”

The next day, protestors, legal observers and journalists were met with tear gas, pepper spray, flash-bang grenades, and rubber bullets in Paramount, as Donald Trump unilaterally deployed the National Guard to silence protestors without California’s consent.

Around the country, 50501 is already mobilizing to hold peaceful protests in solidarity with the people of Los Angeles between June 8 and 14. 50501 is demanding an immediate end to the unlawful federal immigration raids terrorizing families and communities across the U.S., the release of SEIU President David Huerta, the immediate abolishment of Immigrations and Customs Enforcement, the deactivation of the National Guard in California, and the enactment of federal legislation preventing Trump from destroying due process rights, freedom of expression, and other constitutional freedoms.

The 50501 Movement is dedicated to championing nonviolence in our interactions and fostering a culture of respect, understanding, and peaceful conflict resolution. Discover more about the People’s Movement at fiftyfifty.one.