Hundreds gathered in Boston City Hall plaza Monday to condemn ICE raids and the arrest of the local SEIU union president in Los Angeles over the weekend.

“We are out here in solidarity, along with 1000s of SEIU and other labor siblings throughout the country in over 20 different cities, to show support for David Huerta,” said Dave Foley, president of SEIU Local 509 and the Massachusetts SEIU state council. “But also to bring attention to what ICE is doing and to demand an end to the ICE raids.”

The local SEIU chapters, along with other unions, announced an “emergency rally” at Boston City Hall at 1:30 p.m. Monday following a sweep of recent ICE raids in LA and responding protests in and around the city throughout the weekend.

The Trump administration ordered the National Guard to deploy in LA on Saturday, the first time in decades a president has deployed the troops without a request from the governor, as thousands took the street in escalating anti-ICE protests. Forty-four protestors were arrested during the actions, Foley said, including SEIU-USWW President David Huerta.

“He remains in detention,” Foley said of Huerta around 2:30 p.m. “He’s having his arraignment hearing, I think, right now.”

Huerta, who has been charged with conspiring to impede an officer, was released from federal custody on $50,000 bond later Monday. Federal agents stated Huerta was one of several protestors at an ICE search of a LA business on Friday, was told to leave and allegedly pushed back after being physically moved by an officer in court filing reported by the AP.

In Boston, protestors decked out in gear from SEIU and a wide representation of local unions were joined by public officials, college students, faith groups and more. Signs demanded “Free David Now,” along with calls to end ICE raids and anti-fascism messaging.

The unions’ rallies for immigration justice have continued to “grow and grow,” Foley said.

SEIU member Jean Voltaire said the union is “joining together against the illegal arrest” of Huerta and to look out for all workers facing the threat of deportation and lack of due process.

“This is really an exciting, bold step by the unions,” said protestor Cathy Hoffman at the rally Monday. “When you arrest the head of the SEIU in California, who is just at a protest trying to defend people, it takes it to a different level. But with unions mobilized, more people in the community are organized, more regular citizens have been outraged.”

Rally-goers spoke to the importance of protesting and speaking out now. Julie Ogletree called the deployment of the National Guard “an escalation of the administration’s autocratic effort.”

“As far as I understand, it’s an excuse to crack down on protests,” said Ogletree. “And (Trump) has said since he was inaugurated that he was going to do this, and now he’s saying he’s going to have the National Guard everywhere. It’s important to protest while you can, to say this is not acceptable.”

More protests are coming, Ogletree said.

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Foley spoke to the labor movement’s connection to immigration issues, saying the country is seeing a “gigantic push to divide working people based off of their immigration or documentation status.”

“We represent workers, and working people are working people,” said Foley. “Every working person deserves dignity, justice and safety in their communities regardless of their citizenship or documentation status. We see what’s happening as a real tactic to divide working people, and we’re smarter than that, and we’re not going to stand for it.”