Philly Businesses To Close For 'Day Without Immigrants' Protest
PHILADELPHIA (CBS) -- A grass-roots effort showing what every day life would be like without immigrants is taking place Thursday across the country, including in the Philadelphia area.
It's called "Day Without Immigrants."
Stores and restaurants are urged to close for the day -- and for consumers are encouraged not buy in stores or online. Staying home from work and school was also requested.
Miguel Andrade is a community organizer and activist with Juntos, a latino-led human rights organization based in Philadelphia.
"We all deserve to live free and with out the fear of going out on the street and being picked up and taken away from our families and never seeing anybody ever again," Andrade said. "And it's going to be your classmates who are not going to be in school, it's going to be your co-workers, it's going to be your neighbors."
Restaurants in the city like Tria and Tria Taproom are closing their kitchens Thursday in solidarity with their immigrant and descendent of immigrant workers. Their bars will remain open with $1 of every wine, beer and cheese order going to the Pennsylvania Immigration and Citizenship Coalition.
Other restaurants closing entirely for the day include Zavino and Tredici. Greg Dodge is the owner of the restaurants. He says the reason is not political.
"We are a company that supports and loves our employees," Dodge said. "This seems to be the best way to support them and do the job that we go to do every day, which is to do it correctly."
Dodge says they would not be able to operate the restaurant correctly without a full staff.
