“We just got together and decided together as a team that it was a good idea on our part to give our team off to voice their concerns.” 
 
 [These Washington restaurants will close for the ‘Day Without Immigrants’ protest] 
 
 Immigrants in D.C. and across the country plan to participate in the “Day Without Immigrants” boycott, a response to President Trump’s pledges to crack down on those in the country illegally, use “extreme vetting” and build a wall along the Mexican border. Washington (CNN) Washington, DC, restaurants and schools were prepared for a "Day Without Immigrants" protest Thursday, but so far, policymakers who live in the nation's capital haven't taken much notice. (Claritza Jimenez/The Washington Post) 
 
 At least one D.C. charter school, LAMB Public Charter School, will be closed Thursday because staff members and students will be protesting. “Part of our mission is that we are community-based, and we know that our staff comes from the community and we try to support everybody in what’s fair and right.” 
 
 The chief of schools for D.C. Public Schools, John Davis, sent a note to principals in the school system saying that while many people may participate in the boycott, school will continue as normal and staff and students are expected to be in attendance. Celebrity chef José Andrés, who is locked in a lawsuit with President Donald Trump for pulling his restaurant from the Trump hotel project in Washington over Trump's anti-undocumented immigrant rhetoric, announced he would close most of his restaurants Thursday as part of the protest. “Therefore, we will close our kitchen this Thursday in support of our immigrant staff’s desire and right to protest the evolving state of immigration policies in our country.” 
 
 The popular Washington fast casual chain Cava Grill says it supports its workers right to protest and have worked with them to schedule time off. Washington restaurateur John Andrade said he would close his businesses Thursday, and David Suro, owner of Tequilas Restaurant in Philadelphia and a Mexican immigrant, said he also planned to participate.
– While it may not draw in the likes of Arnold Schwarzenegger, Henry Kissinger, or Melania Trump, activists have declared Thursday to be a "Day Without Immigrants" and are urging immigrants, whether they're in the US legally or not, to strike. The grassroots campaign is calling for immigrants to demonstrate how much they contribute to the US by not working, opening their businesses, sending their kids to school, or buying anything for a day, CNN reports. It's not clear how many people plan to take part, though word of the protest has been spreading quickly on social media, with this Spanish-language Facebook video for "Un Dia Sin Inmigrantes" viewed more than 5 million times. In other coverage: Actions are planned in cities including Philadelphia, Washington, and Boston, the AP reports. In a show of solidarity, the Davis Museum at Wellesley College in Massachusetts says it will remove or cover all artwork created or donated by immigrants. Many Washington, DC-area restaurants will be closed or open with only a handful of staff members. Iraq-born Busboys and Poets owner Andy Shallal tells the Washington Post that all six of his area restaurants will be closed, with staff getting a paid day off. "I realized I'm an immigrant, too, and it is important for me to take that stand," he says. "Our goal is to highlight the need for Philadelphia to expand policies that stop criminalizing communities of color," Erika Almiron, executive director of the nonprofit group Juntos, tells the AP. "What would happen if massive raids did happen? What would the city look like?" Vocativ looks at the origins of the day of protest and notes that it has spread far beyond "large liberal enclaves and places traditionally known for active immigrant communities," with at least 70 Latino-owned businesses in Des Moines, Iowa, expected to close. DNAinfo reports that Rick Bayless is among many celebrity chefs joining the protest in solidarity with restaurant workers. He plans to close four Chicago restaurants Thursday and donate part of the takings from another two to an immigrant rights group.