Maxine Waters Denied Entry To Federal Building During ICE Raid

Democratic Rep. Maxine Waters was denied access to the Los Angeles Federal Building over the weekend when she attempted to check on Service Employees International Union (SEIU) Local President David Huerta, who was detained amid ICE raids, according to eyewitness accounts shared via social media.

A tweet from X user “Stu” captured the moment: “BREAKING: Rep. Maxine Waters tried to enter the Los Angeles Federal Building to check on arrested SEIU President David Huerta. Despite her ‘congressional authority,’ she was denied entry.” (RELATED: National Guard Deployed To LA Amid ICE Raid Riots)

BREAKING: Rep. Maxine Waters tried to enter the Los Angeles Federal Building to check on arrested SEIU President David Huerta. Despite her “congressional authority,” she was denied entry.

Note how Waters walked past all the graffiti during this stunt — quite the backdrop. pic.twitter.com/BwAM5pJljF

— Stu (@thestustustudio) June 8, 2025

Another post said Waters tried to gain entry to visit Huerta at the Metropolitan Detention Center. The tweet said Waters was “slammed in the face” by locked doors when her access was refused— despite invoking her status as a congresswoman.

CNN: Maxine Waters. This image, brought her down here to the metropolitan detention center. She tried to get inside to talk to the president of SEIU. He was detained. She could not get in— the door was slammed in her face. pic.twitter.com/LR1rVjJe2y

— Acyn (@Acyn) June 8, 2025

In a snippet from the exchange, Waters told security “Hello, hello, hello, Congresswoman. I just came to use my congressional authority. Excuse me, I need to get in.” She added, “I just want to see David…He is the head of SEIU local union here…I want to report back to my caucus about what happened.”

Huerta was hurt during his arrest after protesting the raids. He remains in custody, Politico reported. House Democrats, including Rep. Luz Rivas, say they were also blocked from entering the federal building to oversee the situation.

The ICE operations targeted over 100 illegal immigrants — some alleged to be gang members and suspected drug traffickers — which sparked heated protests across Los Angeles, including in Compton and Paramount.