Businesses close nationwide for ‘Day Without Immigrants’ protest

(Gray News) — Restaurants, grocery stores and car dealerships are among the dozens business types that announced they would keep their doors closed Monday in of a “Day Without Immigrants” protest in several U.S. cities.

The initiative went viral on social media Sunday after pro-immigrant organizations called for a t nationwide effort “to show the impact our community has.”

The purpose of what they called a “national strike” was to protest “the anti-immigrant policies that are bringing increased immigration enforcement and terror in our communities (that) are also an attack on working people”, according to the nonprofit Latinos Unidos Siempre.

From Jan. 23 through Jan. 31, Immigration and Customs Enforcement confirmed 8,276 arrests in operations targeting immigrants who committed crimes, but also detaining those with illegal presence in the U.S. without criminal record.

Jalisco Supermarket, a grocery chain in Georgia, announced on social media that they would close their seven locations on Monday “in of our Hispanic community.”

Multiple businesses in Painesville, Ohio, the epicenter of the Hispanic community in the Cleveland area, also announced similar actions.