BONUS: LA ICE Raids, Protests and Immigration Justice feat. Hugo Soto-Martinez
LA City Councilmemeber Hugo Soto-Martinez joins Will to discuss ICE raids in Los Angeles, how city government and community groups are responding, the recent protests, and marine deployments to the city. They also discuss the possibilities for a more positive rhetoric and policy around immigration, and the necessity for turning the framing back on the capitalist class.
LA rapid response hotline is: 1-888624-4752
Follow Hugo & his district’s socials for updates: @cd13losangeles & @hugopordistrito13
Comments (45)
I don't think enough ppl talk about how voters will say they care about something like immigration but it's more a reflection of what they're hearing politicians talk about repeatedly. Almost like manufactured consent.
32:00 Wage theft is such a huge issue . I knew a guy who was in his grad school . He was from India. He had arranged some loan from India to finish his studies. Meanwhile his father would have given him few hundred dollars per month for sustenance. But his father died a year after he came here. He had to work in a 7 11 ran by another Indian to pay for his groceries. That Indian made him work for 4 months. Didn't pay him anything saying he will pay later. Later , he didn't pay nothing and fire him. When that guy complained he said you know as a F1 student you shouldn't be working outside your college campus, I can report you to ICE and then you will lose everything. That student just bit the bullet and said nothing. IDK how he managed to survive for another year in US but he graduated and now he is on H1B visa , another wage theft scam.
Woah solid mischaracterization of the force necessary to end South African apartheid and the Raj in India. It took bleeding alot of scumbags for a hunger strike and a BDS movement to be effective. Quit letting people whitewash history. Will should have pushed back. A correct telling isnt an endorsement of its means.
Man, bonus episodes, a double length episode, the regular episode and a movie mindset ep, we haven't gotten this much Chapo in one week in a long time
hugo had me like 🥴
I want to listen to this but I'm not sure i can stand it, i get blinded by rage
Thats okay, it's a Podcast. Even if you're vision impaired you can enjoy it. Chapo is very caring for the differently-abled in their community
At the risk of this seeming harsh, I don't think Hugo added a single thing to this conversation that I hadn't heard expressed better with a more complete understanding from other people. Which would be fine if it weren't for the fact that he doesn't also completely fail to understand that LAPD's brutality is part and parcel to this newest rash of deportations. It's all the same movement. Him saying that LAPD's actions are damning specifically because it "makes people talk about that and not immigration" is textbook DNC propaganda to get people to do ANYTHING but talk about how their urban police unions are openly operating fascist gangs. Like come the fuck on man. I feel like this whole episode desperately needed Felix here to give one of his classic "Well... Okay--" chime ins to hold this guy's feet to the fire a bit. Edit: also I wish people would shut the fuck up about the whole "I would tell any servicemen that they don't have to obey an illegal order and the real insurrection was January 6th! You are sworn to uphold the constitution and protected by the UCMJ to do so!" The commanding officers and military institutions do not give a FUCK and will burn anyone who dares to refuse an order regardless of the "legality." You might as well be bitching about how Congress and the judicial branch are supposed to have checks and balances on Trump and have a responsibility to protect our democratic institutions-- no one in power actually believes this shit, it's always been thin justification for naked power. If you are a service member who is squeemish about what you are being made to do the best advice isn't to go along with deploying on American streets but telling yourself "oh I'll just refuse any order that gets out of hand. I'm actually here supporting the Constitution and rule of law not Trump." Assuming you aren't one of the hogs gleefully aiding ICE anyway you should be working on GETTING THE FUCK OUT, conscientiously objecting to any combat or security roles even if that means falsely converting to like Quakerism and getting stuck with shit work while you run out the clock on your service contract, and isolating yourself from as much work as possible until have that DD214 in hand and laminated. And if you get Stoplossed, develop a wahabist sense of retaliation.
His response on why sanctuary city laws exist was garbage: they allow local illegal immigrants to call the police and report crime without fear of deportation. They make communities safer not more dangerous. What’s happening now makes everyone less safe.
The American Revolution is now ironic. Class structure is the most defined articulation of social relations in the states.
Was disappointed by his dodges regarding the LAPD. For once, I'd like one of these city pols to come out and say what seems so obvious: our police are an independent force that do not respond to civilian control.
Gang members.
Thank you so so much for this, Will, especially now with the illegal attack on Iran taking attention away from it. And thank you to Hugo and all these wonderful people who support the innocent civilians being swept up in these horrible gestapo raids.
Anyone else seen stories that the hooded, badgeless ICE agents are not Feds? They’re bounty hunters recruited and paid by ICE 1k per person they bring in? Somebody called into Majority Report spilling that. Are we back to Fugitive Slave Law shit?
That would explain why they wear masks, refuse to show badges, and called the LAPD to protect them when people showed up to resist. They know that if it gets out publicly that they aren't federal officers but private citizens trying to abduct people off the streets that people are justified to smoke them in self defense under stand your ground laws and they're scared absolutely shitless of that becoming public knowledge.
i gotta get something off my chest but Will is such a wimp lol like last year he was going off on every platform about how the Democrats were completely done and everyone who engaged with them is wasting their time and are going to get ratfucked and now like half his feed is about to Zohran campaing to do Epic Entryism AOC style. just do politics or dont. Just stop chickening out everytime your cutesy side project Democrat primaries guy gets ratfucked. Be a democrat or don't
Are you trying to say there is no distinction between Zohran and Biden/Kamala? lmao
So, what will happen when ICE goes for someone like this in a stand-your-ground state?
Are the people being targeted by ICE typically the kind of people who are armed?
i wouldn’t say ‘less than lethal’ they are ‘less lethal’ these rubber coated metal projectiles have killed
zeig mir deine Papiere
im not sure what the point of this is when the LAPD are helping fascists black bag people of the streets.
Sorry, does he think the police are on the side of the protesters and families? They shoot rubber bullets and tear gas and create chaos to make that story specifically because they are not on side.
Well, you know, he's there in Los Angeles and personally involved in the protests, so I guess he's got a pretty valid perspective on things. Are you in Los Angeles, involved in the protests; or are you just involved in the online discourse?
The US is cooked, everyone thinks so, we need to go back to Mexicos 1824 borders.
Saying that the Governor and Mayor’s responses have been ‘living up to the standards’ of a sanctuary city is BEYOND infuriating. “Yeah for the most part”- where the fuck are you looking, Hugo? Cause it certainly isn’t at the city you claim to represent. I apologize to keep wailing on this guy (I hate left in fighting, truly) but holy shit. WEAK ass answers. There wasn’t one solid, concrete offering about the city, THE ACTUAL GOVERNMENT OF LOS ANGELES, doing anything to protect its people. Meanwhile our phones are blowing up with Newsom asking for donations and basically having a YouTube flame war with JD fucking Vance. And Bass has had several emotional press conferences and went downtown to clean graffiti off of buildings, while LAPD maims and injures peaceful protestors- buildings aren’t getting kidnapped, you fucking cowards. Waymo cars don’t bleed and cry out for their children as they’re dragged away by secret police. Fuck your property and fuck your safe little responses. I hope they never have this dude on again.
Cut Hugo some slack. He took a break from presiding over Hollywood Walk of Fame ceremonies to do this interview
I feel frustrated that there's no concrete plan to hold cops to account for violating the entire concept of a sanctuary city by openly collaborating with ICE. I want more of an answer than just "this is disappointing, focus on the families".
Yeah it’s complete bullshit. I feel like the questions were setting him up to actually talk about accountability and it was just shrug ‘we have a hotline’
First they took my jobs, then they took my mexicans
“Uplifting the family’s stories”- give me a fucking break, dude- pathetic. Same as every other politician, all words and bullshit ‘heartfelt’ statements. Worthless.
Time for a special episode on the US directly bombing Iran?
Orange County has a rapid response hotline? Times REALLY are changing.
hitting Chapo Timing two weeks in a row on the same conflict is truly something special
My god they spoiling us today
Haven’t listened yet, not sure I’ll make it through the whole interview- this guy is a major disappointment. still authorizes homeless encampment sweeps in his district even though he promised not to. Cops and City Workers harass and abuse homeless people- throw away everything they own, including any documents (birth cert., license, etc) which means they are more likely to get snatched by ice. Look up LAStreetcare for more info from people that are on the frontlines. Hugo (and the rest of the city council) need to get their own houses in order before acting like heroes of the left.
Unfortunately we need the libs in some circumstances I feel like. I hate them but I mean they hold power, just rarely use it for good or at all
Hey Will: West Hollywood has a mayor, North Hollywood has a mayor, but Hollywood itself has no mayor because it's just a neighborhood in the city of Los Angeles.
*North Hollywood is just a neighborhood too.
Please make sure the public feeds get this as well!!
Please make sure this episode is public!
The mass rebellion continues....also go dodgers 🥲🙃
Don’t worry guys, I was harassing all the short cops in LA these past few weekends
Gonna need some pics for proof
First, gay