Some US businesses close in a 'day without immigrants.' But many say they can't lose income
Source: AP
Updated 7:23 PM EST, February 3, 2025
Several businesses from day cares to grocery stores and hair salons closed Monday across the U.S. in a loosely organized day of protest against President Donald Trumps immigration policies.
But participation in the day without immigrants faced headwinds from employees and business owners who said they need the income especially as rumors of widespread raids, often false, are leaving many migrant communities afraid to venture outside, affecting even some schools. Mondays event also came on the heels of street protests Sunday in California and elsewhere.
Noel Xavier, organizing director for the North Atlantic States Regional Council of Carpenters, said that while its important to remind the country of the value migrant workers bring to the communities they toil in, many workers couldnt afford to take a day off.
If I dont go to work today, thats one day less that I have, you know, to be able to pay for my next rent, Xavier said of the prevailing sentiment among the workers he organizes. I didnt see this big rallying around being able to do that, or having the luxury to be able to do that.
Read more: https://apnews.com/article/immigration-policy-trump-protest-business-82ffcd5392bda94bc54419b3d5731ae8

ck4829
(36,611 posts)Jilly_in_VA
(11,527 posts)were closed. Parents also kept their kids out of school. There is a significant Hispanic presence here, so it was quite noticeable. Harrisonburg is very supportive of immigrants, probably because the Mennonites are the best kind of Christians and observe Leviticus 19:34 pretty closely.
Lancero
(3,118 posts)Complacency is support.
DeepWinter
(836 posts)3 decades ago I ran a carpentry sub-contracting business. I lost a lot of great applicants because they had no papers. But the last thing I was going to do is get busted and pay the fines and 6 months in prison. Plenty of legal immigrants in the pool.
maxrandb
(16,242 posts)Maybe some meat packing corporation has to pay a fine equivalent to 0.0001% of their daily profits.
I had a small "bidnes" and checked papers, because ICE was breaking down my door to send me to prison.....
OKAY BOOMER
I am guessing that if they did prosecute you, it would be because one of your competitors gave a larger donation to your Retrumplican representative.
You've been robbed blind since Saint Ronnie Ray-Gun "awshucked" us into trickle down bullshit, but the real problem is immigration?
Idiocracy reigns!
travelingthrulife
(1,530 posts)The people hiring are not punished.
BlueKota
(3,844 posts)The undocumented people are often just trying to feed their families and get them a better standard of living. Those that hire them know that they can get away with paying them as little as possible, where most U.S. citizens would want commensurate wages.
If the motives were really about protecting average American jobs, and protecting the borders, those who hired them should be the ones getting arrested and paying huge fines. We all know though that anti immigration cries have nothing to do with the aforementioned and everything to do with racism and making more money.
OldBaldy1701E
(7,207 posts)"But participation in the day without immigrants faced headwinds from employees and business owners who said they need the income..."