Posted on 02/15/2017 8:29:00 PM PST by 2ndDivisionVet
President Donald Trump’s rise to the White House has been accompanied by increasingly harsh rhetoric about immigration.
In response, local immigrant rights activists have decided to give Philly a taste of what the world would be like if proponents of mass deportations had their way. They've planned a “Day without Immigrants” (Un Dia Sin Immigrante) protest on Thursday.
“What if a good chunk of Philadelphia society was gone in one day? This is what we’re talking about,” said Miguel Andrade, an organizer with Juntos, an immigrants' activist group that is coordinating the protest.
Immigrants will be “closing shops, not sending their children to school and not engaging in consumerism,” Juntos said in a statement.
But a dip in economic activity isn’t the purpose of the protest, they said.
“The point of this is not only to show what the effects on day-to-day life are going to be like, business and restaurants not being open, but really showing what mass deportations would look like,” Andrade said. “This is your classmate, your neighbor, your coworker — and they could easily be gone in the blink of an eye.”
The planned protest is one of several happening across the country Thursday. Similar walkouts are planned in such places as Washington, Austin, Texas, and the Jersey Shore.
In Philadelphia, some top restaurateurs have voiced support for the walk-out.
Stephen Starr, owner of Starr Restaurants, told Billy Penn he wouldn’t punish any workers who participated in the walkout. “It’s sad that it has come to this,” he said. “They should not have to live in fear.”
The Philadelphia Republican Party responded on Twitter to news of the planned walkout by stating, “We support legal immigration. We oppose illegal immigration.”
That’s a distinction Andrade rejected.
“No human being is illegal,” he said. “People think you just get in line, fill out a form, and come in the right way. But it’s a long and arduous process that costs thousands of dollars and takes years.”
Andrade isn’t exactly sure how many people will participate in the protest, but said another walkout is already planned for May 1.
Mass raids: fear or fiction?
The protest comes just days after immigration officers arrested more than 680 people around the country.
“This past weekend we saw large-scale raids happening across the country and are bracing for them to hit Philadelphia,” Juntos said.
U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officials said the arrests were part of regular operations.
But immigration activists from Juntos said they expect to see “more aggressive tactics from a federal agency that is now emboldened by the racist and xenophobic speech of Donald Trump.”
While such raids have not yet been reported in Philadelphia, organizers said they have been receiving panicked texts and calls from immigrants around the city who fear such raids could take place.
We love legal immigrants. Most of our forefathers were.
Immigrants or CRIMINAL INVADERS? I get confused.
I still like “border crashers.”
“The Invasion of the Border Crashers” seems accurate to me.
So hoping they do this here in Houston. Traffic will be cut in half. Well, by a 1/3 anyway. Literally.
L.A. is involved:
‘Day Without Immigrants’ protest of Trump policies planned for Thursday
http://abc7.com/politics/day-without-immigrants-protest-of-trump-policies-planned-for-thursday/1757146/
So Stephen Start is basically admitting to hiring illegals?
I am married to a Canadian. It took me a long time, many medical tests etc.and even an interview to make sure that our marriage was on the up-and-up.
We lived in the US for 10 years. He had to go through the same thing to get a green card.
It’s just not fair.
The first one they had in Philadelphia they were bussing them in from NY, NJ and Delaware. Only got 'hundreds' then, too.
This has gone beyond ridiculous at this point.
By their definition, the Germans “immigrated” into Poland during WW2, and the Mongols “immigrated” across Asia and into Europe.
Hundreds walk out on day without immigrants. Millions would walk out on day without a white guy.
Excellent!
And no doubt the leftwing media will have misleading coverage of the “large crowd” participating - with only close-up shots of the “crowd” so as not to reveal how few people will be involved
Fear The Deportation
How about a day without cops?
What the heck is going on with my tagline?!
Sorry, all.
It must be my tablet and how bad I am on it!
Besar=bear!
Hope it is fixed now! :)
Exactly!
Immigrants will be “closing shops, not sending their children to school and not engaging in consumerism,” Juntos said in a statement.
Too bad they don’t post signs on their windows
They support illegals....this way local Americans would know what shops to boycott
Let’s make A Day Without Mexicans a national holiday. Maybe celebrate on May 5th?
If they did a day without ONLY illegal immigrants no one would notice. If there is a lot of people not working they should all be arrested and deported when they come back to work.
“No human being is illegal.”
Tell that to the former restaurant owner around here who got busted for, among other things, harboring and hiring “undocumented workers,” and now sits in the federal pen.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.