Organizers in cities across the U.S. are telling immigrants to miss class, miss work and not patronize businesses Thursday.
"A Day Without Immigrants" is meant to show how critical they are to the U.S. economy and the country's way of life. Actions are planned in cities including Miami, Philadelphia, Washington, and Austin, Texas.It comes in response to President Donald Trump's administration.
Trump has pledged to increase deportation of immigrants living in the country illegally, build a wall along the Mexican border, and ban people from certain majority-Muslim countries from coming into the U.S. He has blamed high unemployment on immigration.
Organizers in Philadelphia say they expect hundreds of workers and families to participate. They say the action will also demonstrate the potential effect of massive immigration raids in the city.
The Miami Herald reports:
Celebrity chef Jose Andres plans to close his five restaurants, he told NPR.
“It was an easy decision,” said Andres, who emigrated to the United States in 1991 from Spain and is now a citizen. “It seems immigrants, especially Latinos, it seems we are under attack.”
Now, perhaps taking their cue from a “Day Without Immigrants,” organizers of the Women’s March have set March 8th for their next national event – General Strike: “A Day Without A Woman.”