Nevada unions, elected officials rally in support of ICE protests
LAS VEGAS (KLAS) — Amid the triple-degree heat, Las Vegas union members, workers and elected officials rallied in protest of escalating action from federal immigration agents—wary Nevada could be next.
The afternoon rally was called together by Nevada's SEIU Local 1107 in solidarity with their California chapter following the arrest of SEIU president David Huerta. Federal authorities arrested Huerta for interfering with law enforcement operations during an anti-ICE protest.
'He was out exercising his constitutional rights, and they arrested him,' Erika Watanabe, a SEUI local 1107 member, said. 'They injured him, then arrested him, and then detained him.'
Huerta was released Monday afternoon according to CBS News and is set to appear in court for initial appearance on one felony charge.
The Las Vegas rally of over a hundred people at the steps of the Lloyd D. George Federal Courthouse featured speakers from ACLU-Nevada, Nevada Immigration Coalition, NAACP, Culinary Union, the office of Senator Catherine Cortez Masto, and Clark County Commissioner Tick Segerblom.
'If Trump wants to bring the National Guard into Las Vegas, he's going to destroy our economy forever,' Segerblom said. 'Because we're not going to just let the National Guard do anything. We're going to fight the National Guard.'
Segerblom continued to express concerns about the possibility of National Guard troops becoming active in Nevada.
'Without undocumented workers, this town would shut down and if [Trump] wants to dare to bring the National Guard in here, or, even better, the Marines, this town is going to blow up,' he said.
The Trump administration's efforts in California received some praise but mostly significant pushback. Tedd Pappageorge, the Culinary Union Secretary Treasurer responded to claims the federal government is responding to people simply breaking the law.
'No, it's actually not as simple as that,' he said. 'What's really going on is we have folks that have been here for five years, 10 years, 15 years, 20 years. They're parts of the community. They go to our churches, their kids go to our schools, and they power this economy.'
The Culinary Union cited additional concerns with alleged escalating ICE raids in Nevada pointing to the Nevada Immigration Coalition's post of 12 raids over the Easter weekend.
'What we know is that at the end of the day, the idea that these ICE agents are going to go to schools and churches and workplaces and take folks out that are otherwise law abiding,' Pappageorge said. 'Nobody voted for that. Everybody agrees there needs to be a secure border, and everybody agrees that violent criminals should be deported. But this is the United States of America. There has been due process.'
Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
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