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A Day Without Immigrants protest sees US businesses close | |
(about 2 hours later) | |
US businesses and schools faced disruption on Thursday as workers and students stayed home to highlight the contribution of immigrants. | |
Schools, restaurants and grocery stores shut across the country, from Los Angeles to Chicago to New York. | |
Some schools saw student-led walkouts, despite appeals not to. | |
The Day Without Immigrants protest, spread by social media, urged foreign-born workers to refuse to participate in the US economy for a day. | |
About 50 restaurants in Washington were shut on Thursday, as well as in other cities including Boston and San Francisco. | |
At the Pentagon in Virginia, the heart of America's military where about 25,000 people work, at least seven restaurants announced they would be shut for the day. | |
In Massachusetts, Wellesley's College's art museum removed all artworks created or donated by immigrants. | |
In New Mexico, the US state with the highest percentage of Hispanic residents, many businesses were shuttered from Albuquerque to Santa Fe. | |
Standing in the 9th Street Market in Philadelphia, Rani Vasudeva was struck by the usually bustling hub of commerce's quietness. | |
"It's actually very sad," said the 38-year-old university professor. "You realise the impact the immigrant community has. We need each other for our daily lives." | |
Day of action around the US | |
The Los Angeles United School District, the nation's second largest district, rang parents to warn them. | The Los Angeles United School District, the nation's second largest district, rang parents to warn them. |
"I urge students and staff not to disrupt learning by participating in protests or walkouts during the instructional day," chief-of-staff Alma Pena-Sanchez said in a voicemail message sent to parents. | |
One school in the US capital decided to close down for the day, in order to allow teachers to protest. | |
The 426 primary students of the Latin American Montessori Bilingual Public Charter School were given the day off in solidarity with the boycott. | |
Andy Shallal, who is closing several of his Washington-area restaurants, is from Iraq - one of the seven countries on Mr Trump's proposed travel ban executive order. | |
He told local media that "as an immigrant myself, I could not stand on the sidelines and watch the rest of my staff not be here. I wanted to make sure we are in solidarity with them". | He told local media that "as an immigrant myself, I could not stand on the sidelines and watch the rest of my staff not be here. I wanted to make sure we are in solidarity with them". |
One of the protest leaders, Spanish-American celebrity chef Jose Andres, had a public falling out with Donald Trump when he decided to pull out of a contract to open a restaurant in the president's new Washington hotel. | |
Mr Trump is currently suing him for $10m (£8m) for breach of contract; the chef is counter-suing for $8m (£6.4m). | |
A march was also planned for the White House. | |
Last month, nearly 500,000 protesters took to the streets of Washington to protest over the presidency of Donald Trump and to draw attention to issues affecting women. | |
How the boycott is being debated | How the boycott is being debated |
Many social media users have taken to Twitter using the hashtag #DayWithoutImmigrants to weigh in on the debate. | Many social media users have taken to Twitter using the hashtag #DayWithoutImmigrants to weigh in on the debate. |
In the last 24 hours the hashtag has been used almost 200,000 times. | In the last 24 hours the hashtag has been used almost 200,000 times. |
@LyssaG21 tweeted: "Many of the immigrants in our country work low paying jobs that most Americans won't work for, remember that." | |
While others wanted to point out what they saw as the positives: "Finally a day when I will get an English speaking customer service rep" suggests @NAWparty. | While others wanted to point out what they saw as the positives: "Finally a day when I will get an English speaking customer service rep" suggests @NAWparty. |
But some were not happy. | But some were not happy. |
This #DayWithoutImmigrants is a great idea. Hopefully they'll all pack up and go back home to save us the time and effort of deportations. @MarkDice | This #DayWithoutImmigrants is a great idea. Hopefully they'll all pack up and go back home to save us the time and effort of deportations. @MarkDice |
The social debate also wanted to make the distinction between illegal immigrants and economic migrants. @tumblrisntfacts tweeted: "A #DayWithoutImmigrants would be horrible. A day without ILLEGAL immigrants would be following the law." | The social debate also wanted to make the distinction between illegal immigrants and economic migrants. @tumblrisntfacts tweeted: "A #DayWithoutImmigrants would be horrible. A day without ILLEGAL immigrants would be following the law." |
But others argued that it was about standing up for communities who feel victimised "It's not about if you're LEGAL or ILLEGAL it's about finally speaking up." suggests @aesthetixsammy. | But others argued that it was about standing up for communities who feel victimised "It's not about if you're LEGAL or ILLEGAL it's about finally speaking up." suggests @aesthetixsammy. |
While @oxminaox posted: "To those of you protesting today, thank you. Many have fears and need people like you to raise your voices. Stay safe." | While @oxminaox posted: "To those of you protesting today, thank you. Many have fears and need people like you to raise your voices. Stay safe." |