Immigration

Bay Area rallies planned, businesses close for ‘Day Without Immigrants' movement

Businesses and individuals in the Bay Area and around the country plan to participate, aiming to highlight the contributions of the immigrant community

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Some immigrant communities in the Bay Area are gearing up to stay home from work and school on Monday in a day of protest. It's part of a movement around the country to hold "A Day Without Immigrants" to show immigrant contributions to this country.

In Downtown Livermore, Monica's restaurant will be closed Monday to take part.

"The ownership here decided they wanted to close in support of our Latino community," said Arianna Norte, a server at Monica's.  

The restaurant will be closed and employees will have the day off.

In a post on Instagram, the restaurant said, "While closing our doors even for a day is incredibly costly, we would NOT be able to serve you without immigrants, and we MUST stand with them if we hope to stand at all."

Norte, whose grandparents immigrated to the U.S. from Mexico, said many employees at Monica's are immigrants.

"So without immigrants, we shouldn’t have food to serve," Norte said. "So, I think that’s mainly our point in doing that and showing people, 'this is how it would affect you' and how it really does affect us all."

Activists with the group BAMN are organizing a rally in Oakland on Monday morning as part of the national call to action on this day.

"We are joining that day of action here in the Bay Area, we’re calling for people to join us, to not go to work, not go to school, or walk out," said Jose Lagos, a community organizer with BAMN.

BAMN's rally aims to protest the deportations and rolling back of immigrant protections under the Trump administration. But Lagos said an additional goal of this rally is to highlight how immigrants contribute to the country, whether they came to the U.S. with authorization or without.

"We want to make a statement that not only are we really important to the economy of this country, but we have a right to be here, to live here," Lagos said.

In a release Sunday, a parent and organizer with Raizes Collective said that at least two dozen students at Rancho Cotati High School will not attend school on Monday as part of 'A Day Without Immigrants.'

While some may be rallying on Monday, others may demonstrate more quietly.

"I just plan on staying home and just reading or something," said Angelica Garcia Hernandez, who was in San Jose on Sunday participating in a protest against recent ICE actions.

In Sonoma, the Republic of Thrift Store also plans to close on Monday for 'A Day Without Immigrants."

Founder of Republic of Thrift, Jeanette Tomany, said the team at the store had many reasons to participate, including "to support our community -- the donors and the shoppers, many of whom are immigrants themselves or have friends or family."

In Livermore, Norte hopes that this day of action helps highlight the humanity of immigrants around the country.

"It's huge for me, it affects everything about me, they are my people, they are my family, even if they’re not from Mexico," Norte said.

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