On Monday, a social media-driven protest called “A Day Without Immigrants” took place across cities in the United States. The protest aimed to highlight the contributions of noncitizens in the country, as foreign-born workers make up over 19% of the labor force. This protest was moved up from a planned May date due to President Donald Trump’s new immigration policies. Thousands rallied in Los Angeles against Trump’s deportations, and the U.S. Immigration and Custom Enforcement agency has arrested around 7,400 undocumented immigrants since January.
In Florida, Ohio, Oklahoma, and the Washington, DC area, businesses closed in solidarity with the protest. In California, school absences and business closures were also reported. This protest was not the first of its kind, as a one-day boycott took place in 2017, with origins dating back to a 2006 strike.
While President Trump’s administration has stated they will prioritize deporting undocumented immigrants with criminal histories, reports indicate that many of those arrested do not have criminal records. This has instilled fear within immigrant communities, even among those who have been in the U.S. for years without trouble with the law. The message from Trump’s administration is that anyone in the country unlawfully could face law enforcement action, adding uncertainty to the lives of many immigrants.
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