On Monday, across the United States, restaurants closed their doors to support the "Day Without Immigrants" protest.
The protest, aimed at the Trump administration's plan to deport illegal aliens, saw support in such cities, according to the Washington Examiner, as San Francisco; St. Paul, Minnesota; Aurora, Colorado; Chicago; and Washington, D.C.
In D.C., Pearl's Bagel announced its participation in the protest on Sunday via Instagram stories, writing, "A day without immigrants is a day without bagels. Our staff will receive a paid day off in order to make their voices heard and stress the importance of immigrants to our community and local economy."
Republic Cantina, another restaurant in D.C., announced its support on Instagram, stating that "DC depends deeply on immigrants, who work vital jobs in our local economy, pay taxes & make the city a vibrant place to live."
"We've been dismayed," they added, "to see the rollout of policies that tear immigrants from their homes — which is both inhumane & will cause massive harm to communities and to small business."
The "Day Without Immigrants" protest first took place on Feb. 16, 2017, amid the first Trump administration.
PolicyLink states that 1 in 3 food service workers are immigrants. It estimates that 12% of food prep workers and servers are illegal migrants, though because they are undocumented, that figure is harder to track.
"We're being demonized and portrayed as criminals — and that immigrants come here to live off others. We need to remind people that those narratives are super false, super dangerous," one D.C. restaurant chef, who was once an illegal migrant, told the Washingtonian. "They threaten the safety, well-being, and opportunities for hardworking people that live here without documentation."
According to the Center for Public Integrity, illegal immigrants are among the biggest targets of wage theft. In a report from 2021, the organization cited the Fe y Justicia (Faith and Justice) Worker Center in Houston as having "received over 540 calls accusing employers of failing to pay at least $1.36 million in wages."
Nick Koutsobinas ✉
Nick Koutsobinas, a Newsmax writer, has years of news reporting experience. A graduate from Missouri State University’s philosophy program, he focuses on exposing corruption and censorship.
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