NASW-CA Crisis Response Regarding ICE Raids

Reshared from the NASW-California Chapter

Dear Social Work Community,

We write to you with deep concern following a renewed escalation in immigration enforcement

across California and the United States. On Friday, June 6, 2025, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) deployed four teams to conduct deportation raids in the Westlake District, Downtown Los Angeles, and South Los Angeles. The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has confirmed that 118 individuals were arrested during these coordinated raids, which targeted families, students, and entire communities.

These actions follow a recent memorandum from President Donald Trump announcing the

deployment of 2,000 National Guard troops under Title 10 authority, with Marines at Camp

Pendleton on standby. This militarized response signals a deeply troubling shift in immigration policy—one that criminalizes migration, tears families apart, and inflicts lasting trauma on our communities.

As social workers, we are guided by our unwavering commitment to human rights, justice,

and the dignity of all people. The NASW Code of Ethics calls upon us to uphold these values,

especially in moments of crisis. We categorically denounce the raids and the harmful policies

driving them. Our role as social workers is not only to care for individuals in crisis but to

challenge the systems that produce harm.

Immigrants are integral to the fabric of our society. They are our coworkers, classmates,

neighbors, and friends. They contribute to the cultural, social, and economic strength of our

communities. We also urge you to support legislation that protects immigrant rights and to raise awareness about the impact of immigration enforcement on our communities.

In particular, we support California bills designed to protect vulnerable populations from

immigration enforcement intrusions: SB 48 (Gonzalez), which would bar immigration agents

from entering “nonpublic” parts of schools without a warrant; SB 81 (Arreguín), which extends similar protections to hospitals and prohibits health care providers from sharing patients’ immigration status without a warrant; and SB 841 (Rubio), which limits immigration agents’ access to homeless and domestic violence shelters. These bills are crucial steps toward safeguarding the safety and privacy of our students, families, and community members.

We must stand together against fear-based, xenophobic policies that target vulnerable

populations and violate fundamental human rights.

We urge our professional community to take action:

• Join us tomorrow at 11am at the Molina Grand Park to demand justice for SEIU’s

  President, David Huerta

• Advocate for humane and equitable immigration policies;

• Collaborate with community partners and legal advocates to protect the rights of those

  targeted;

• Use your voice to demand accountability, transparency, and an end to state-sanctioned

  harm.

Now more than ever, we must uphold our professional responsibility to resist injustice in all its forms. Let us stand firm in solidarity with immigrant communities, advocate for systemic

change, and create spaces of safety, healing, and resistance.

In solidarity and service,

NASW-CA Chapter