José Andrés, a Spanish celebrity chef with 14 restaurants in the D.C. area, five of which are closing on Thursday, has been particularly vocal, tweeting his support on Tuesday. (Andrés is currently also involved in a legal battle with Trump over calling off a deal to open a restaurant at Trump’s D.C. hotel.) Andrés says he found out about the planned strike from his workers over the weekend. “They were giving us a heads-up that they weren’t coming to work on Thursday, and the number of employees kept increasing. The restaurant is the home for everybody, and everybody is part of the restaurant. We asked them whether they felt we needed to be closing,” explained Andrés in a phone interview on Wednesday. “[My employees] are doing it to show how important immigrants are for America, and we’re supporting them in closing.”

Led primarily by Latino restaurant workers and business owners, the effort has expanded this week to include a wide variety of establishments, from local eateries to even Michelin-starred restaurants. Late Wednesday afternoon, the salad chain Sweetgreen announced that it would be closing all 18 D.C. locations in support of the protest. Two notable New York City restaurateurs, Eric Bromberg of Blue Ribbon and Tom Colicchio of Craft joined in as well: Blue Ribbon will be closing seven of its restaurants (affecting around 500 employees) in New York, while Colicchio tweeted support should his staff decide to join the strike.*

“I sense that we have many people who are very uneasy about what's happening,” says Andrés. “We have over 11 million undocumented immigrants in America. They're the backbone of the American economy ... By not working tomorrow, it's a way to feel good that they're doing something about it and sending a message. This is almost saying, ‘We're here. We're working. We want to be part of the system. We want to keep supporting the America that has supported us, but at this moment we're really fed up.’”

“A Day Without Immigrants” takes its name from a national march in 2006, where close to a million people—including immigrants, advocates, and supporters—in over a dozen cities protested immigration reforms that would have criminalized any assistance to illegal immigrants. That day is said to have had a lasting effect on the politics surrounding immigration.

Carlos Rojas Rodriguez, a community organizer with the immigrant-rights group Movimiento Cosecha, says that he first saw information about the strike on Whatsapp and Facebook. “There's a lot of self-organizing that's going on in the immigrant community, and what's really interesting is that the call for ‘A Day Without Immigrants’ on [Feb 16] isn't being organized by any established organization. This is a call from the community, from business owners, and immigrant families,” said Rodriguez. The group says it is not responsible for organizing Thursday’s protest, but is organizing a national protest for May 1 of this year.</s>DETROIT/SAN DIEGO (Reuters) - Businesses shut their doors, students skipped class and thousands of demonstrators took to the streets in cities across the United States on Thursday to protest President Donald Trump’s immigration policies.

Activists called “A Day Without Immigrants” to highlight the importance of the foreign-born, who account for 13 percent of the U.S. population, or more than 40 million naturalized American citizens.

Trump campaigned against the estimated 12 million illegal immigrants, playing on fears of violent crime while promising to build a wall on the U.S.-Mexican border and stop potential terrorists from entering the country.

While the number of participants in Thursday’s protests could not be determined, many sympathetic business owners closed shop and working-class immigrants forwent pay for the day.

“I told my English teacher that I wasn’t going to school, and she said she understood,” said Rosa Castro, a 13-year-old U.S. citizen in Detroit, who marched with her 26-year-old sister, one of several undocumented family members whose future she is concerned about.

Since taking office last month, the Republican president has signed an executive order temporarily banning entry to the United States by travelers from seven Muslim-majority countries and all refugees. That order was put on hold by federal courts.

Immigrant rights groups have also expressed alarm after federal raids last week rounded up more than 680 people suspected of being in the country illegally.

In San Diego’s Logan Heights neighborhood, a 44-year-old undocumented business owner who identified herself only as Lucia for fear of deportation told Reuters she closed her nutrition shop for the day, costing her $200.

Demonstrators march during the "Day Without Immigrants" protest in Washington, DC, U.S., February 16, 2017. REUTERS/Aaron P. Bernstein

“Our community is frightened and cannot speak out,” she said. “Things are very bad for us with the new president.”

Advocates have called attention to cases such as one in El Paso, Texas, where federal agents arrested a transgender woman as she left a courthouse where she was seeking a protective order for domestic violence.

Virginia Governor Terry McAuliffe wrote Homeland Security Secretary John Kelly to express concern over immigration enforcement in his state, citing an NBC Washington report that agents arrested people outside a church that operates as a shelter from the cold.

Sympathy marches and rallies were held in cities including Raleigh, North Carolina, and Austin, Texas. Thousands joined demonstrations in Chicago and Detroit.

In the Los Angeles Fashion District - comprising some 4,000 apparel outlets, showrooms and manufacturers covering about 100 blocks of downtown - about half the shops in the area’s retail core were closed, along with about 40 percent of one of the large flower markets in the area, said district spokeswoman Ariana Gomez.

A Southern California grocery chain, Northgate Gonzalez Markets, said it gave employees at 41 stores and the corporate headquarters permission to use paid personal time off to participate.

In Washington, more than 50 restaurants were closed, including high-end eateries.

“As far as I’m aware, all of our immigrant employees chose to take the day off,” said Ruth Gresser, 57, who owns four pizza restaurants in the District of Columbia area. “We have three relative novices and an old lady making pizza,” she said, referring to herself.

Slideshow (12 Images)

At the Pentagon, about half a dozen food outlets were forced to close after staff members joined the protest, a Defense Department spokesman said.

The National Restaurant Association criticized the walkouts, saying in a statement that the organizers “disrupt the workplaces of hard-working Americans who are trying to provide for their families.”

In Austin, hundreds chanting “Say it loud, say it clear, immigrants are welcome here” marched from City Hall to the State Capitol, where lawmakers in the Republican-controlled body are considering a measure to punish sanctuary cities that shield immigrants from federal agents.</s>"I've been in the business since I was 14," said Dodge, "and in 30 years I have never seen such an outpouring of support for a cause. We want to support our employees. There's no political agenda here. If an employee wants to make a point, the least I can do is support him. … To not listen to them would be a mistake."</s>L.A. Unified is urging students not to join in any walkouts or demonstrations planned for Thursday as part of a national “Day Without Immigrants” being marked across the country.

The nation’s second-largest school district contacted parents and employees via voicemail on Wednesday evening with a recording by Alma Pena-Sanchez, LAUSD’s chief of staff.

“While we respect everyone’s right to have their voices heard and to participate in civic action such as protest, all students and staff are encouraged and expected to come to school,” Pena-Sanchez said.

“A Day Without Immigrants” actions are expected to take place in Boston, Philadelphia, Washington, D.C., Los Angeles and other cities with large immigrant populations.

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Activists are encouraging immigrants to skip work, avoid shopping and otherwise withdraw from the economy for a day to make clear the roles they play in American society.

The protest action was prompted by the policy goals voiced by President Trump, who has vowed to ramp up deportations of those in the country illegally and build a wall between the U.S. and Mexico.

Schools and universities across the nation have been the centers of protests, walkouts and unrest.

A week after the election, L.A. Unified, which is 74% Latino, saw thousands of students stream from classrooms and gather at Boyle Heights’ Mariachi Plaza and Lincoln Park in Lincoln Heights before marching to City Hall.

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To alleviate anxiety among students and parents, the district has set up a hotline and offered “extended support sites,” with a full list of resources on a website for “post-election resources.”

In her message on Wednesday evening to the LAUSD community, Pena-Sanchez said that the various campuses offer a “safe and productive forum where students can express their thoughts and feelings.”

“I urge students and staff not to disrupt learning by participating in protest or walkouts during the instructional day,” Pena-Sanchez said.

Organizers of the national event say some businesses will close their doors as part of the protest.

But some immigrant rights groups in Los Angeles said they decided not to participate.

matt.hamilton@latimes.com

Twitter: @MattHjourno

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UPDATES:

10:45 a.m.: This post was updated with some immigrant rights groups in Los Angeles saying they decided not to participate.

7:50 a.m., Thursday: Updated with more details about the protest.

This post was originally published at 11 p.m. Wednesday.</s>When then presidential candidate Donald Trump started spewing his anti-immigrant rhetoric, restaurateurs and chefs were some of the first to speak out about the damage deportations and stricter immigrant vetting laws would have on restaurants.

In 2015, almost a year before the presidential election, Anthony Bourdain told SiriusXM's Stand Up! with Pete Dominick that undocumented workers and immigrants are the "backbone of the [restaurant] industry":

I grew up in the restaurant business — 30 years in the restaurant business. I came out of, like a lot of other white kids, I rolled out of a prestigious culinary institute and went to work in real restaurants. I walked into restaurants and always, the person who had been there the longest, who took the time to show me how it was done, was always Mexican or Central American. The backbone of the industry - meaning most of the people in my experience cooking, preparing your food. Twenty of those years in this business I was an employer, I was a manager employer. Never, in any of those years, not once, did anyone walk into my restaurant — any American-born kid — walk into my restaurant and say I'd like a job as a night porter or a dishwasher. Even a prep cook — few and far between. Just not willing to start at the bottom like that.

This past December, Bourdain also let it be known that he will not eat at any of President Donald Trump's restaurants, though it's hard to imagine that Bourdain ever patronized the Trump Grill for its signature taco bowls.

Trump's expansive portfolio of properties and restaurants, as well as his kid's business ventures, have been a point of contention since before he was elected president, perhaps iconicized in the food world by a very public feud breaking out in 2015 between Trump and chef José Andres. After Trump's now infamous remarks about Mexican immigrants, the Spanish chef pulled out of the restaurant he was contracted to build at Trump's new D.C. hotel. Trump slapped Andrés' restaurant group, Think Food Group, with a $10 million lawsuit, to which Adrés retaliated with an $8 million lawsuit, which still persists, despite Andrés charitable offers to end the whole ordeal.

As more restaurateurs and chefs speak out against the Trump White House (celebrity chef Geoffrey Zakarian also pulled out of Trump Hotel deal), the culture and privilege of dining out has become inseparable with issues regarding immigration reform.

Following suit, a planned Thursday protest, entitled A Day Without Immigrants, will leave plenty of food service establishments and hospitality businesses unstaffed by the immigrants who help these institutions run on a day-to-day basis, painting a sad picture of what America would look like without an immigrant work force.

And while cutting work on a Thursday may not be encouraged in some industries, the food community is rallying behind their immigrant workers.

On Tuesday, Andrés tweeted he would be closing his restaurants Jaleo, Oyamel and Zaytinya on Thursday.

Andrés was unavailable for comment, but a spokesperson from Think Food Group, noted the restaurant closures are “in solidarity with the many immigrants on our staff who are passionate about participating in A Day Without Immigrants." While most of the group's D.C. area restaurants will be closed, China Chilcano, minibar/barmini and all locations of Beefsteak will remain open Thursday and will be staffed by a collective team from all of Think Food Group's D.C. area restaurants, "so that we can continue to both serve our guests as well as provide for those of our staff who plan to work that day."

Boundary Stone, another D.C. area restaurant, will stay open, though immigrant workers will have a paid day off to protest while owner Colin McDonough flips burgers in their absence, he told the Washington Post.

Many more D.C. restaurants are planning to close or curtail service, including Sweetgreen, the popular D.C. salad chain known for long lunchtime lines and not-so-cheap prices.

The salad chain emailed it D.C. clientele that it will be closing all 18 of its area restaurants in support of A Day Without Immigrants. "To our customers who rely on their daily Kale Caesar, we hope you'll support our family too," the email reads. "Our diversity is what makes our family great, and we respect our team members' right to exercise their voice in our democracy."

A Sweetgreen representative confirmed that Thursday will be a paid day off for its restaurant employees.

Restaurants outside of D.C. are rallying, too

Beyond the nation's capitol, restaurants have announced their solidarity closing across the country. In response to the restaurant closings in Austin, Mayor Steve Adler told local paper the Statesman, “This is a country of immigrants and a city of immigrants, and I love it when we stick up for each other here."

Some restaurants that have decided not to close Thursday are cooking up their own ways to support the protest. Brickwall Tavern in Asbury Park, New Jersey, will support the entire back of house staff planning not to work on Thursday by paying their regular wages and having the front of house staff cook a limited menu.

Mark Hinchliffe, junior partner of SMITH, which owns and operates Brickwall, said in an emailed statement, “Supporting our team members’ lives is at the very core of Smith. We are one family. And when part of our family is affected, we are all affected. We have each other’s back, and because of that, we are unstoppable.”

Other restaurant groups, however, decided that closing their restaurants was a moral responsibility.

In New York City, Blue Ribbon, will close seven restaurants in its group.

"When employees who haven’t missed a day of work in nearly 25 years come to you and ask for a day off to march against injustice, the answer is easy," Ken Bromberg, who co-owns Blue Ribbon Restaurants with brothers Bruce and Eric Bromberg said via email. "[Immigrants] helped build our business. They are our business, they are our family, and we stand together."

Bromberg acknowledged that his business projects a major loss in profits due to Thursday closures, but said "that is not what this is about," referencing the 1933 poem by Pastor Martin Niemöller,

Following in the footsteps of José Andrés, Blue Ribbon announced its formal closure to employees on Tuesday night. "When we announced last night that we would be closing, everyone cheered – non-immigrants and immigrants alike," Bromberg said. "Those who are immigrants appreciated our support, and those born in the U.S. were happy and proud to support their co-workers."

And while Latino immigrants are often cited as restaurant employees, immigrants from all over the world work in American restaurants. Ajay Walia, an immigrant from India who runs the only Michelin-starred Indian restaurant in the West Coast, Rasa Contemporary Indian and its sister restaurant, Saffron Indian Bistro, will be closing both of his Bay Area restaurants.

“In solidarity with the immigrants across the nation and to share how important immigrants are to our community, both Rasa and Saffron will be closed February 16,” Walia said in an emailed statement, hoping this "vital message" will urge additional West Coast restaurants to do the same.</s>NEW YORK, Feb 16 (Reuters) - Dozens of restaurants, bars and other businesses in cities around the United States shut their doors on Thursday to show support for "A Day Without Immigrants," a walkout aimed at protesting President Donald Trump's policies.

Activists called on immigrants to stay home from work, avoid shopping and eating out and skip classes in an effort to highlight the vital role they play in U.S. society.

The protest was prompted by Trump's vows to crack down on illegal immigration and his executive order, which was put on hold by federal courts, that temporarily banned travel to the United States from seven Muslim-majority countries. Immigrant rights' groups expressed alarm after federal raids last week in which more than 680 people illegally in the country were arrested.

Many Restaurants, which often depend heavily on immigrant staff, closed for the day in cities including Washington, D.C., New York and Chicago.

Celebrity chefs such as Jose Andres in Washington and Rick Bayless in Chicago shuttered several restaurants in solidarity with protesters. A number of restaurateurs whose eateries were remaining open said they would donate part of the day's proceeds to pro-immigrant groups.

"People that never missed one day of work are telling you they don't want to work on Thursday," the Spanish-born Andres said in an interview at his restaurant Oyamel, which was closed on Thursday. "They want to say, 'Here we are,' by not showing up. The least I could do was to say, 'OK, we stand by you.'"

In New York, the owners of the popular Blue Ribbon restaurants said they would close several eateries despite the economic impact.

"It's really a show of support for our staff and as a team and a family as a whole," said co-owner Eric Bromberg.

The nature of the action made it difficult to ascertain how many immigrants were participating, although there were rallies scheduled later on Thursday in Chicago, Houston and Raleigh, North Carolina.

The protest is the latest in a series of collective actions since Trump took office from women's groups, immigrant groups and other activists. (Reporting by Gina Cherelus in New York, Timothy McLaughlin in Chicago and Liza Feria and Ian Simpson in Washington; Writing by Joseph Ax; Editing by Scott Malone and Bill Trott)</s>Restaurants and other businesses across the country are closing their doors Thursday in support of a "Day Without Immigrants," a national grassroots movement seeking to protest President Trump's immigration reforms and highlight the contributions of the immigrant community in the United States. News of the protest has spread quickly through word of mouth and social media posts under the hashtag #ADayWithoutImmigrants, which call for participants to skip work and school, close businesses and avoid making any purchases.

Start the conversation, or Read more at KABC-AM Los Angeles.</s>NEW YORK — Restaurants and other businesses across the country are closing their doors Thursday in support of a “Day Without Immigrants,” a national grassroots movement seeking to protest President Trump’s immigration reforms and highlight the contributions of the immigrant community in the United States.

News of the protest has spread quickly through word of mouth and social media posts under the hashtag #ADayWithoutImmigrants, which call for participants to skip work and school, close businesses and avoid making any purchases. One Facebook post directed at President Donald Trump, read “Mr. President, without us and our contributions the country will be paralyzed.”

“If hundreds of thousands of immigrants stayed home from work, New York City would shut down,” said Thanu Yakupitiyage, senior communications manager for the New York Immigration Coalition.

Across the U.S., many major industries would be feeling that pain as well. That’s especially true for the restaurant industry, where foreign-born workers provide the vast majority of labor.

In 2015, 7.1 million restaurant workers in the U.S. were immigrants, versus 5.1 million who were native born, according to the most recent report from the Bureau of Labor Statistics. And analysis by Pew Research found that about 1.1 million of the industry’s workers were undocumented in 2014. That makes the industry second only to construction when it comes to relying on undocumented workers.

“Immigrants are the lifeblood of the restaurant industry,” said Saru Jayaraman, co-founder of Restaurant Opportunities Centers United (ROC), national advocacy group for restaurant workers based in New York.

ROC recently helped launch the so-called sanctuary restaurants movement in which hundreds of chefs have pledged to create safe work environments for vulnerable workers, including the undocumented, LGBT, Muslim and disabled. ROC is also providing legal aid to workers who feel threatened or mistreated at work.

Celebrity chef Mario Batali, tweeted that his Italian food purveyor Eataly and other restaurants would remain open, but he would support any workers chose not to work Thursday.

Busboys and Poets, a popular Washington, D.C.- area restaurant, bookstore and performance venue, is one of the dozens of restaurants that are closing for the day.

The restaurant, which has been in business for 12 years, was founded by Anas “Andy” Shallal, an Iraqi immigrant who came to the U.S. at the age of 10. His restaurant has six locations and employs 650 workers, he said.

“The issue of immigration is something that is being used as fodder by politicians to instill fear in the undocumented community,” Shallal said. “Right now, sitting on the sidelines is not enough.”

New Jersey restaurateur and Mexican immigrant Uzziel Arias said he will be closing all four of his Los Charrito’s locations.

Los Charritos employs close to 60 people, all of whom are immigrants or descendants of immigrants, said Arias. He plans to pay everyone their normal day’s wages on Thursday. He estimates a loss of around $20,000 in revenue.

“Because of the economy right now, the last thing we should be doing is closing the business,” Arias said, “But doing what you believe in is more important than all the money in the world.”

Celebrity Chef José Andrés, an immigrant from Spain, announced he will also be closing his five locations. Andrés is currently involved in a legal battle with Trump over a restaurant lease at the Trump International Hotel.

“We realize it is not my restaurant, it is their restaurant, too,” said Andrés. He estimates his restaurant group will lose close to $100,000 from Thursday’s closing, but said this was an opportunity to feel “proud” and “empowered.”

“A bunch of people who did not have a voice have found their voice from the bottom up,” said Andres.

Businesses from other industries are also coming out in support of the movement.

Accounting & Consulting Services, a Bethesda, Maryland, firm that has been in business since 1998 and employs 15 people, will be closing its offices in support of A Day Without Immigrants.

“Although it is tax season and it is the busiest time of the year for us, I consider it a small cost for a big cause,” Jose Burgos, the agency’s owner said. “Sometimes, just because we sit comfortably knowing we are already permanent residents or U.S. citizens, we feel we made it to the other side and forget where we came from.”

In Des Moines, Iowa, 120 Latino-owned businesses are expected to close on Thursday, according to local Hispanic newspaper owner, Manuel Galvez. The list, he said, was expected to grow to 200.

“It’s snowballing into something huge and is sending a message about the importance of immigrants to the economy,” said Brent Wilkes, the national executive director for the League of United Latin American Citizens, the oldest Hispanic advocacy group in America. “We believe that this type of activism is essential and we’re happy to see it all across the country.”</s>Businesses in cities across the country prepared to close Thursday as immigrants boycott their jobs, classes and shopping.

Immigrants in Washington, D.C., Philadelphia, Austin, Texas, and other major U.S. cities plan to stay home Thursday as part of a strike called "A Day Without Immigrants."

Coming on the heels of roundups of undocumented immigrants nationwide, organizers urge legal residents as well as undocumented ones to participate in the boycott in response to President Trump's crackdown on immigration, which includes plans to build a border wall and a temporary immigration ban on nationals from certain Muslim-majority nations.

"From doctors to dishwashers, immigrants are integral to daily life in the U.S.," tweeted Janet Murguia, president and CEO of National Council of La Raza, as she praised Spanish-American Chef Jose Andrés' decision to close his Washington, D.C., restaurants Thursday.

The celebrity chef said he decided to close after a few hundred of his employees told him they weren’t coming to work Thursday. They asked for his support and got it.

“We are all one," he said. "We should not be fighting among each other, we should all be working together to keep moving the country forward."

Andrés faces a lawsuit against Trump after pulling out of a restaurant deal at Trump's new Washington, D.C., hotel over offensive comments Trump made about Mexican immigrants.

The Trump administration, less than a month in, has implemented policies that advocates call anti-immigrant. The first series of changes included executive actions to build the U.S.-Mexico wall, boost patrol agents to curb illegal immigration and strip federal funding from sanctuary cities that limit cooperation with immigration agents.

Days later, Trump signed a sweeping order that temporarily banned people from seven Muslim-majority countries from entering the United States, suspended all refugee admissions for 120 days and indefinitely barred Syrians from the country, though an appeals court order temporarily blocked the order. That order has been temporarily suspended while an appeals court weighs whether it will lift the ban.

It is unclear at this time how many immigrants in the United States will join the boycott, but restaurants across the Northeast closed their stories in solidarity with the movement. Health-food chain Sweet Green announced it would close its 18 stores in the DC-Maryland-Virginia area.

“Our diversity is what makes this family great, and we respect our team members’ right to exercise their voice in our democracy," Sweet Green said in a statement. "We apologize for any inconvenience this may cause and hope you understand our commitment to our people.”

Busboys & Poets and more than a dozen other restaurants in the nation's capital announced closings. Other restaurants in New York, Philadelphia, St. Paul, Minn., and Austin, Texas, have announced closings.

In New Mexico, the state with the largest percentage of Latino residents in the U.S., school officials worry that hundreds of students may stay home.

“We respectfully ask all parents to acknowledge that students need to be in class every day to benefit from the education they are guaranteed and to avoid falling behind in school and life,” Albuquerque Public Schools principals wrote in a letter to parents.

Students who take part in the protest will receive an unexcused absence, Albuquerque school officials said.

In Phoenix, acclaimed chef Silvana Salcido Esparza said she will close three of her Phoenix restaurants for the day: Barrio Cafe, Barrio Urbano and Barrio Cafe Gran Reserva.

"You know what, my restaurants don’t function without immigrants. That starts in the field, people who pick our food, the processing plants, the slaughterhouse, I could go on," she said Wednesday, hours after she was named a James Beard Award semifinalist for Best Chef — Southwest for the fifth time.</s>NEW YORK/WASHINGTON: Activists are calling on immigrants to protest President Donald Trump's tough stance on immigration by staying home from work or school on Thursday, not shopping and not eating out, in an effort to highlight the vital role they play in U.S. society.

"A Day Without Immigrants," which has been largely driven by word of mouth on social media, arose in response to Trump's vows to crack down on illegal immigration and his executive order, since suspended by a federal judge, to temporarily block entry to people from seven Muslim-majority countries.

The action follows a series of federal raids last week in which more than 680 people illegally in the country were arrested, raising alarm among immigrant rights' groups.

"Mr. President, without us and without our contribution this country is paralysed," read a poster promoting the protest that was widely shared online.

It is not clear how many people plan to participate in the walkout. With few plans for large-scale rallies, it may be hard to estimate how many ultimately do. But one group that expects to be affected, and is in some cases embracing the cause, is restaurant owners.

Celebrity chef Jose Andres, locked in a legal battle with Trump after backing out of a deal to open a restaurant at the businessman-turned-politician's new hotel in Washington, said he was supporting the strikers on his staff.

"People that never missed one day of work are telling you they don't want to work on Thursday," the Spanish-born Andres said in an interview at his restaurant Oyamel, which will be closed on Thursday. "They want to say: 'Here we are,' by not showing up. The least I could do was to say: 'OK, we stand by you.'"

Dozens of restaurants, which rely heavily on immigrant workers, and other businesses in cities such as Philadelphia, New York, Houston and Raleigh, North Carolina, have vowed to shut their doors on Thursday in solidarity with no-show workers.

In New York, the owners of the Blue Ribbon restaurant chain said they would close several eateries despite the economic impact.

"It's really a show of support for our staff, and as a team and a family as a whole," said co-owner Eric Bromberg.

More than a dozen restaurants in Washington were planning to close on Thursday, according to social media.

"You have millions of Latinos, millions of immigrants, that somehow feel under attack," Andres said. "They feel like they're being pushed aside. They want to be part of the American dream."
Hundreds of restaurants and other businesses in U.S. cities close their doors after activists called on immigrants to stay home from work, avoid shopping or eating out, and skip classes Thursday for #ADayWithoutImmigrants, to protest the President's immigration reforms and highlight the immigrant community's contributions to the United States.