The thing that sparked the LA protests is coming to your city now
ALSO INSIDE: Union leader’s arrest ignites labor protests nationwide
Cam here 👋 bringing you your daily dose of what people are doing – good, bad, and otherwise – in the world of politics. We’re diving into the stories you won’t see anywhere else. And remember, you can also keep up with me over on TikTok and Bluesky.
What Happened
As the Trump administration continues to escalate the situation in Los Angeles, it's already using the arrests ICE agents made as justification to conduct workplace raids in major cities across the country.
The White House sent out an unverified list of the “sick criminals taken off the streets” of LA over the weekend. The press release showcases mugshots, names, and a brief description of who the Department of Homeland Security claims they are and what crimes they’ve committed. No evidence of the alleged crimes is offered, and since the Trump administration has already started to deport them without pressing any charges and denying people their right to due process, the public is left to rely on the word of a government with a history of lying about the criminal record of its victims.
But apparently, their word and a handful of mugshots have been enough for a number of outlets to effectively legitimize the arrests by basically publishing the Trump administration’s press releases, which they are now able to use to justify more workplace raids.
In Arizona, Phoenix New Times reporter Morgan Fischer uncovered five search warrants requested by ICE of workplaces throughout the Phoenix Valley, with raids planned for Tuesday. Immigrant rights groups have listed a number of locations they expect raids to take place and are urging people to stay home that day. Tom Homan, known unofficially as Trump’s border czar but who has no official leadership role at ICE or DHS, has told reporters recently that workplace raids will only increase.
“You’re going to see more work site enforcement than you’ve ever seen in the history of this nation,” said Homan. “We’re going to flood the zone.”
Attempts to Sanewash
Feds release names, photos of 6 immigrants detained by ICE in Los Angeles
Immigration authorities highlight criminal history of multiple migrants arrested in Los Angeles
DHS Unveils Details Of Criminal Alien Arrests In Los Angeles
Far-Right Spin
Union leader’s arrest ignites labor protests nationwide
One of the dozens arrested in LA for protesting ICE was David Huerta, a lifelong labor leader and president of Service Employees International Union California (SEIU). Huerta was detained for three days, and in that time, his detention lit a fire not just under SEUI’s 2 million members, but also activated millions of labor advocates from nearly every major union in the country.
"We need to keep fighting because our community needs us. It's not about one person. It's about all of us,” Teresa Romero, United Farm Workers president, said to a crowd of protesters. “All immigrants who are here contributing to this country, contributing to the economy so let me hear it: ¿Se Puede? ¡Si se puede!”
Over 30 protests nationwide were announced after Huerta’s arrest, with the demands that he be released immediately and that ICE end the practice of workplace raids. The rush to show solidarity with Huerta puts the country’s organized labor force squarely on the side of immigrants’ rights and against Trump, who had made some ground with labor leaders during his 2024 campaign.
Trump’s plan to target workplaces that hire immigrants is a direct attack on unions, which are able to help immigrants navigate US labor laws and ensure they aren’t being taken advantage of. The continued action against immigrants can only deepen the wedge between Republicans and organized labor and could energize others to join a union as attacks on workers—as they have been outlined in Project 2025—continue.
US Rep. Gary Palmer, Alabama’s 6th Congressional District
Since taking office in 2015, Rep. Palmer has:
Seen his net worth increase from $1.6 million to $3.4 million
Sponsored 105 bills, three of which have been signed into law
Accepted campaign contributions from fraudulent crypto bank FTX
Started his sixth term after promising to only serve five
Condemned the Jan. 6 Attack on the Capitol and accused Trump of sending the rioters, but voted against certifying the election and impeaching Trump for his role in the insurrection
Fun Facts
Before being elected to Congress, Rep. Palmer earned his conservative bona fides by co-founding the Alabama Policy Institute, a think tank that pushed for more private prisons, successfully petitioned the Alabama Supreme Court to constitutionally define marriage as only between a man and a woman, and was a major player in the creation of Project 2025.
Palmer has brought that same mentality to Capitol Hill, where he has consistently voted against abortion rights, anti-LGBTQ+ rights, and is all on board with the Trump administration's mass deportation plan. His positions seem to come from the more conspiratorial wing of the infosphere: the news he shares on his congressional website is filled almost exclusively with far-right media publishers like New Tang Dynasty, Yellowhammer, and Fox News.
Recently, Palmer appears to have a particular fixation on the transgender community. He’s accused the National Institute of Health of hiding research into puberty blockers and called for a transgender employee at an Alabama space camp to be fired because of a post he saw on the disinformation media account Libs of TikTok.
Pennsylvania legislator urges solidarity
It’s been one week since ICE agents descended on a pizza shop in rural Pennsylvania to arrest three immigrants who thought they were protected by their asylum status, an early indicator of the worksite raids to come. As tensions have escalated in the days since, Philadelphia state Rep. Joe Hohenstein has emerged as a leader with experience in the worlds of both immigration and labor.
As reported on by Sean Kitchen, political correspondent for COURIER’s Pennsylvania newsroom, The Keystone, Hohenstein is a former immigration attorney who sees how the Trump administration's actions against immigrants are part of its broader efforts to divide and dismantle the working class.
“This is not an action that is targeted at immigrants so much as it is an action targeted at the American way of life,” Hohenstein said. “It’s our time to stand up. They’re not just coming for the ‘other’ folks; they’re not coming for people who don’t quite look like us or don’t quite talk like us. They’re coming for all of us.”
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