Businesses Close for ‘Day Without Immigrants’

Restaurants, stores, and other businesses across the U.S. will close Thursday in a show of support as immigrants boycott their jobs for A Day Without Immigrants. The strike will take place in cities including Philadelphia, Austin, and Washington, D.C., and is aimed at protesting the detention of undocumented immigrants throughout the nation. The demonstration will also take aim at President Trump’s attempted crackdown on immigration, including his plans for a border wall with Mexico and his executive order that intended to ban immigrants from seven predominantly Muslim countries from entering the U.S. “From doctors to dishwashers, immigrants are integral to daily life in the U.S.,” said Janet Murguia, president and CEO of National Council of La Raza. Several restaurants have announced that they will be closed ahead of time as a show of solidarity the protest. “We are all one," said celebrity chef and Spanish-American Jose Andrés, who is also embroiled in a lawsuit with Trump and will close his Washington, D.C. restaurant for the day. “We should not be fighting among each other. We should all be working together to keep moving the country forward.”