Dear John,
Words have failed me more than once this past week, but none of us can afford to stay silent.
Our families, neighbors, coworkers, friends – our communities – are being assaulted by federal enforcers on a scale that surpasses anything Los Angeles has experienced in my lifetime. Since the raids began this month, more than 500 people have been kidnapped from their workplaces, hospitals, sidewalks, courthouses, domestic abuse shelters, churches, their own homes – the list goes on.
David Huerta, President of SEIU USWW, was assaulted, arrested, detained, and charged with a federal felony – conspiracy to impede an ICE officer – simply for placing his unarmed, unshielded body alongside a vehicle and exercising his First Amendment right to document law enforcement.
On the heels of his release last Monday, we then learned on Thursday that Missouri Senator Josh Hawley has launched an investigation into our partner organization, CHIRLA, claiming that CHIRLA has “obstructed federal law enforcement, endangered public safety, and disrupted the rule of law.”
These criminal charges and accusations are lies, meant to distract us and the rest of the country from the crimes this administration is openly committing in our streets.
On Sunday, my family gathered to celebrate Father’s Day. I am so grateful for the sacrifices that my father made to build a life for my sister and me in Northeast LA. I am so grateful for the opportunity to be a father to two sons, and even more so to have my parents and Juana’s with us as they learn and grow. But I’d be lying if I said I could enjoy Sunday when there are so many families whose fathers have been kidnapped, detained without representation, moved out of the city, state, and in some cases out of the country while their families have no idea where they are.
This is authoritarianism.
It will take all of us, working together, to support and protect each other. Here are some immediate resources to know your rights at home and at work – please share these resources far and wide:
