Given the outright xenophobia of recent events, it's difficult not to feel as if the very people running this country have forgotten something crucial to its identity: Immigrants make it cool. The Statue of Liberty gets it. Beer companies get it. Even Mark Zuckerberg, Facebook boss and noted rich person, totallygets it. So what's the deal?
In a direct response to the Trump administration's stance on immigration, businesses all over the nation are either closing up shop or providing "limited service" Thursday as part of the A Day Without Immigrants demonstration. Nearly 50 restaurant bosses in Washington D.C. have confirmed full or partial closings, ABC Newsreported. "We had a deep heartfelt conversation and it was an easy decision," chef Andy Shallal told ABC News of his decision to join the protest. "There are times when standing on the sidelines is not an option. This is one of those times."
Ahmad Erfani, who started the Le Caprice bakery in D.C. back in 2012, said the decision to close his doors Thursday came after speaking with employees. "Mostly the people who work here are immigrants," he told WAMU. "We spoke with them, they thought it’s good for solidarity with the others to not work."
Additional cities with Day Without Immigrants participants—ranging from restaurants to bars to schools—include Pittsburgh, Boston, Austin, Philadelphia, Des Moines, San José, Chicago, Los Angeles, and more.
L.A. Unified, the second largest school district in the country, requested that students refrain from joining in on any planned walkouts or other protests Thursday. Parents and staff were contacted Wednesday night via a voicemail recording from Unified chief of staff Alma Pena-Sanchez, according to the Los Angeles Times. All students and employees, Pena-Sanchez said, were "encouraged and expected" to show up.
