Thousands stay home from work, school for A Day Without Immigrants protests

Pro-immigrant protesters in Austin, Texas, on Thursday.

(Image credit: Drew Anthony Smith/Getty Images)

last updated 17 February 2017

Across the United States on Thursday, thousands of immigrants skipped work and class to participate in A Day Without Immigrants.

Activists say the purpose of the walkout was to show how important immigrants are to American society; census data says that more than 40 million people in the U.S., or about 13 percent of the population, are foreign born. Restaurants, shops, and other small businesses were closed in major cities like Minneapolis, Boston, and D.C., where more than 50 restaurants were shuttered for the day. A Defense Department spokesman told Reuters that at the Pentagon, a Starbucks, a Taco Bell, a Burger King, and other fast food restaurants were closed because employees were out protesting.

There were also demonstrations in Chicago, Detroit, Kansas City, Los Angeles, and other cities, with many participants lambasting President Trump's immigration policies. "Most people who come to America are just working," Fernando Garcia, the U.S.-born owner of a Chicago-area solar fan business, told Reuters. He closed his business down in support of the protests, and said the government "can deport the criminals, but that's a very small portion of people who come here."

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Catherine Garcia has worked as a senior writer at The Week since 2014. Her writing and reporting have appeared in Entertainment Weekly, The New York Times, Wirecutter, NBC News and "The Book of Jezebel," among others. She's a graduate of the University of Redlands and the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism.

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