A day without immigrants: Businesses, workers go on strike to show impact of absence

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (KCTV) - The impact of a day without immigrants could be seen all over Kansas City. The stretch of Southwest Boulevard and Summit Street intersection is known for some authentic Hispanic food but it isn’t bustling with customers. Rico’s Taco’s is closed with a sign reading it’s in solidarity with a Day Without Immigrants’ protest.

They’re not alone. In the Northeast, Los Comales de Rebeca Mexican Restaurant also shut down service for the day.

On top of being a student at Rockhurst University, Alberto Arvealo helps manage his family’s restaurant.

“We start seeing customers as early as 7:00 a.m. but our peak time would be 9:00 a.m.-1:00 p.m.,” Arealo explained. “So it’s full throughout those hours.”

On Monday, customers were turned away and the place sat empty. The business was one of dozens around the metro staying closed in solidarity with the “Day Without Immigrants” movement. It’s a show of protest to President Donald Trump’s mass deportation plan.

“We wouldn’t be sustained economically as a country and our taxes do make an impact,” Arealo continued. “We pay them for our local schools, local libraries.”

Both Alberto and his aunt, Lorena Cruz Rico, came to America through the DACA program. She too called out of work in frustration and said it seems every presidential election now puts her status to stay in the country at risk.

“We’re your neighbors, we are your guys’ co-workers, our children are your children’s classmates, we’re here to do good,” Cruz Rico said.

As a nurse for one of KC’s hospitals, she wanted to show without immigrants, the healthcare industry would also suffer.

“Housekeepers, we make sure germs don’t spread patient to patient, we’re also your nurses, CNAs and we’re doctors,” Cruz Rico told KCTV.

Fear of families being separated has made it too hard for 16-year-old Andrea Soto to focus on school. She and her 7-year-old sister also stayed home today in protest.

“I think no kid should feel like they’re going to be separated from their parents going to school or just doing things in their day-to-day lives,” Soto said.

Up and down Independence Avenue and Southwest Boulevard, other Latino-owned businesses that did open Feb. 3 told KCTV turnout from customers was noticeably down and slow hurting their profits. According to estimates from the nonpartisan Center for Migration Studies, around 8.3 million undocumented immigrants are employed in the U.S., making up more than 5% of the country’s workforce.

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