CHICAGO — Bakeries, eating places, package deal delivery firms and jewellery retailers have been amongst dozens of companies in Chicago that closed Monday in solidarity with a nationwide motion to protest President Donald Trump’s hardline immigration insurance policies.
On storefront doorways and social media, many Latino-owned enterprise homeowners introduced they have been closed for “A Day With out Immigrants,” which referred to as on immigrants to shut companies and skip faculty and work Monday.
The motion aimed to point out the significance of immigrant staff and their very important contributions to the economic system, enterprise homeowners stated.
Undocumented immigrants pay gross sales taxes on meals and utilities, property taxes and earnings and payroll taxes deducted from paychecks or paid by means of tax returns. In 2022, undocumented immigrant households paid $46.8 billion in federal taxes and $29.3 billion in state and native taxes, in response to a report by the American Immigration Council.
The motion additionally counters the anti-immigrant rhetoric pushed by the Trump administration that criminalizes immigrants, enterprise homeowners stated.
“That is for supporting all our folks, all of our neighborhood. For individuals who have been saying horrible issues about immigrants, we need to present them that we’re united, we’re collectively, we’re sturdy,” Hector Aguirre, co-owner of Pilsen’s La Malinche Espresso & Tea Home, stated on social media.
La Malinche, based by Deferred Motion for Childhood Arrivals-recipient Marlene Torres and now owned by a Mexican immigrant couple, was closed Monday as have been a number of different Latino-owned companies in Pilsen, together with AngMir Boutique, Paws Boutique, Don Churro Store, TM Lacquer Room and Mestiza Store.
Dulcelandia, the biggest retailer and distributor of Mexican sweet within the Midwest, additionally closed its shops in Little Village, Brighton Park and Logan Sq. Monday.
On the Northwest Facet, a number of Belmont Cragin companies, together with auto store Manny Vehicles, grocery retailer La Tienda Michoacana, Ponce restaurant and retailers Kika’s Jewellery and Las Artful Aunties, joined the motion.
Closing for a day was not a simple determination as gross sales remained low in January, a usually sluggish month for a lot of companies, Aguirre stated.
The “Day With out Immigrants” motion was additionally backed by some Latinos who voted for Trump. Sam Sanchez, a distinguished Chicago businessman and founding father of Third Coast Hospitality Group who immigrated from Sabinas Hidalgo, Mexico to Chicago within the ’80s, stated he stayed house and didn’t spend a greenback Monday.
“Lots of people are anxious and scared [so] we have to assist one another,” he stated.
Sanchez, who helps Trump, is amongst a number of Latino enterprise leaders nationwide advocating for immigration reform by means of the bipartisan conservative coalition Comité de 100. With out immigrant staff, many eating places, landscaping and development firms would have closed amid labor pressure shortages after the COVID-19 pandemic, however many individuals are “not well-informed” to comprehend this, Sanchez stated.
Final month, enterprise homeowners in neighborhoods with a major immigrant presence noticed much less foot site visitors and gross sales amid fears of immigration raids forward of Trump’s inauguration. In some neighborhoods, these considerations stay elevated because the Trump administration has vowed to develop immigration enforcement raids, suspended refugee applications and threatened to deport immigrants legally admitted to the U.S. below Biden-era applications, officers stated.
Little Village enterprise homeowners have reported as much as 50 p.c much less foot site visitors and gross sales prior to now two weeks, stated Jennifer Aguilar, government director of the Little Village Chamber of Commerce.
Decrease gross sales might result in workers getting work hours reduce and shedding tip earnings, Aguilar stated. Enterprise homeowners might additionally face vital losses.
When deciding whether or not to take part in A Day With out Immigrants, the Little Village Chamber of Commerce inspired enterprise homeowners to weigh their want to point out solidarity with workers’ want for work, Aguilar stated.
On the Little Village Low cost Mall, clients strolled by means of aisles of cubicles coated with tarps as most distributors determined to shut Monday. One of many few distributors that was open for enterprise stated she couldn’t shut as a result of “lease funds don’t wait.”
Alongside twenty sixth Avenue, neighbors observed over a dozen closed storefronts, together with La Catedral Cafe, La Baguette Bakery, Bombón Bakery, Yolanda’s Restaurant, Datt Envios, Solei Boutique and Princess Paradise.
Some neighbors stated they supported companies closing for a day as a result of Mexican immigrants constructed up the neighborhood and have contributed to the nation’s economic system for many years, they stated. With out immigrants, the U.S. economic system wouldn’t survive, stated a neighbor who declined to share his identify.
Others noticed requires motion circulating on-line and determined to publicly honor their immigrant heritage.
“We determined to hitch in as a result of we additionally need to signify that we’re not scared,” stated Diana Garcia, a 16-year-old pupil who walked alongside twenty sixth Avenue carrying a Mexican flag with two teenage pals.
On Sunday, dozens of individuals gathered for a rally within the Loop, becoming a member of a whole bunch of individuals in cities like Los Angeles and San Diego collaborating in protests towards Trump’s immigrant insurance policies.
Throughout Chicago, companies additionally confirmed their assist for immigrant communities by donating a portion of their gross sales to immigrant-serving teams.
Flowers for Goals, a Chicago-based floral store, donated one hundred pc of earnings from round 100 Valentine Day’s floral orders to the Illinois Coalition for Immigrant and Refugee Rights. The donation was made “to enhance household assist and know your rights coaching on this second of giant want for immigrant and refugee communities,” in response to a social media announcement on Sunday.
In Portage Park, espresso store and roaster Perkolator Espresso introduced in a social media submit the store would donate 50 p.c of gross sales Monday to the Illinois Coalition for Immigrant and Refugee Rights and Organized Communities In opposition to Deportation.
It’s immigrants that make America nice, Aguirre stated.
“We’re immigrants and we should communicate up,” he stated.
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