DENVER, Colorado — Across the country, people called out of work and school and refused to make purchases during ‘A Day Without Immigrants’ protest against immigrant policies under the Trump administration. Parents refused to send their kids to class and some business owners made the decision to close, giving workers a day off in support of the movement.
“We spoke about it, and we decided it was for a good cause,” said Daniela Hernandez Javalera, whose father owns Casa Vallarta Restaurant in Aurora.
The restaurant, which features a menu of Chihuahua-style food from Mexico, is typically open seven days a week.
“It’s rare that we close, but we wanted to show a message and show support for our community,” Hernandez Javalera said.
The movement ‘A Day Without Immigrants’ began about a week ago on social media, with the hope people would join in to show how much impact immigrants have on the economy and society.
“I grew up in a neighborhood with immigrants, there is so much to learn,” Hernandez Javalera said. “There is so much to love and I think, this country without immigrants is nothing. Immigrants have been essential to this country since the beginning of the United States.”
Nonprofits also joined in with their support. Servicios de La Raza allowed staff to work from home.
“This is spreading like wildfire, and it’s very heartening to see how many people, individuals are picking up the action and reposting it and adding their two cents and inviting their friends and family and colleagues,” said Mario Rivas, Marketing and Media Relations Manager at Servicios de La Raza.
Rivas said he hopes people understand the “net positive impact” that immigrants play a part in “every part of society at every level and contribute in incalculable ways, both culturally, economically, politically and socially to what the fabric of the United States is.”
University of Colorado Denver Associate Professor of Economics Chloe East said that impact is reflected in studies she and her colleagues have done.
“My colleagues here at CU Denver and I conducted a study a couple years ago that looked at what happens when we do mass deportations, to the US economy and to the US labor market,” Professor East said.
The study showed that while mass deportations are intended to target immigrants, there is a significant on the labor market and unintended consequences for other American citizens.
“There’s a big reduction in the number of immigrants who are working in a community after mass deportations, and we found that this does not lead to more jobs for U.S.-born workers,” East said. “We don’t see that U.S.-born people simply take the jobs left behind by immigrants. In fact, what we see is that these negative effects on the economy of the deportations themselves lead to fewer job opportunities for U.S. foreign workers.”
East called it a ‘misperception’ that removing immigrants through deportation strategies will create job openings for U.S. citizens, citing that the equation is not as simple as supply and demand. Besides that, East’s work demonstrated that immigrants stimulate the economy.
Another day of action is planned in Capital cities for marches to take place on Wednesday.