By Grace Cowell
Protests erupted in Downtown Los Angeles, California this past Friday, June 6, following a series of ICE raids that resulted in 44 abductions at a single job site, along with 77 more in greater LA. As outrage persisted over the weekend, protestors clashed with law enforcement’s tear gas and rubber bullets; Waymo taxis were lit on fire, graffiti was plastered on walls, and rocks were tossed over freeway overpasses.
In a controversial move, President Trump deployed around 4,000 National Guard troops to the city and on Monday ordered 700 Marines to respond. This marks the first time since 1992 that the National guard has been activated by a president without the request of a state’s governor. Governor Newsom of California has since filed a lawsuit against the Trump administration, claiming this deployment is unconstitutional and labeling it an “unprecedented power grab.”
Over 50 LA protestors have been taken into custody, including Service Employees International Union (SEIU) California President David Huerta, who was arrested on Friday while protesting outside of a business during an ICE raid. Huerta was released on a $50,000 bond Monday night, but not before protests spread coast to coast in opposition to the ICE rampages and directly demanding his release.
These demonstrations reached Boston on Monday afternoon when the SEIU and local union chapters held a rally outside of Boston City Hall, bringing out numbers in the hundreds of residents, activists, city councilors, and legislative staffers. Speakers criticized both the ICE raids and the treatment by law enforcement of those who are standing against them. They called upon the crowd to keep fighting back, speak up for immigrant communities, and defend democracy, leading crowds in chants: “Come for one, come for all. Free David, free them all.”
Representatives from MAPA urged rally attendees to take action by demanding their state legislators to support the Safe Communities Act, a piece of legislation that would outlaw the compliance of local law enforcement with federal immigration enforcement.
Monday’s rally also comes on the heels of 1,461 ICE arrests in the Commonwealth last month, a chilling number that was wrapped up on May 31st with the detainment of 18-year-old Milford High School student Marcelo Gomes Da Silva. While immigration agents were originally looking for his father, they instead found Gomes Da Silva as he was driving his father’s car to volleyball practice. The teen was released after six days in custody.
As the Trump administration has announced a goal of 3,000 ICE arrests per day, our immigrant communities here in Massachusetts are increasingly at risk of deportation, sparking fear and anxiety across the Commonwealth. With Gomes Da Silva as a prime example, these arrests are not targeting dangerous criminals: nearly half of those picked up by ICE had no current or pending criminal charges and only roughly 4% had violent criminal charges. Community members, students, mothers, and fathers are being snatched off the streets, the majority whose most devious ‘crime’ was coming to the United States to build a better life.
Boston Mayor Michelle Wu has held firm in her opposition to ICE presence in the city and stance on Boston’s sanctuary city status. Her position was apparent back in March when she testified in Washington, DC, reaffirming the city’s refusal to partner with federal immigration officials.
Just this past Tuesday, June 10, Mayor Wu signed an executive order demanding transparency from ICE and declaring that the city will submit Freedom of Information Act requests to determine who is being targeted by ICE and for what reasons. Wu vocalized her support for Monday’s rally and for those who are speaking out against ICE and Trump’s actions, stating “secret police do not make communities safer.”
The state has not heard similar support from Governor Maura Healey, who despite being pressed by concerned constituents has remained largely quiet on the issue. She has continuously made clear that Massachusetts is not a sanctuary state and will continue to comply with federal law enforcement. Healey has made a few statements, specifically concerning the arrest of Gomes Da Silva and Rumeysa Ozturk, the Tufts University student who was detained for six weeks back in March. Despiste this her stance has largely stuck to opposing due process violations, and now condemning Trump’s overstep by deploying the National Guard to LA.
Now more than ever Massachusetts needs our leaders, especially Governor Healey, to not only speak up against the Trump administration, but take real action and stand up for the communities that allow the Commonwealth to thrive. Grabbing people off the streets and instilling widespread fear does not keep anyone safe. Massachusetts, it is time to do better.
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Grace Cowell is a MAPA legislative intern and a student at Northeastern University.