{"id":8942,"date":"2017-02-16T17:11:41","date_gmt":"2017-02-16T22:11:41","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/english.cpnn-world.org\/?p=8942"},"modified":"2017-02-16T17:13:36","modified_gmt":"2017-02-16T22:13:36","slug":"restaurants-will-test-if-the-u-s-can-stomach-a-day-without-immigrants","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/english.cpnn-world.org\/?p=8942","title":{"rendered":"Restaurants Will Test If The U.S. Can Stomach \u2018A Day Without Immigrants\u2019"},"content":{"rendered":"
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…. HUMAN RIGHTS ….<\/p>\n

An article by Carolina Moreno and Liz Martinez for the Huffington Post<\/a> (reprinted according to the principle of \u201cfair use\u201d)<\/p>\n

Restaurant owners across the country are hoping the way to the nation\u2019s conscience is through its stomach as they prepare to close their businesses in solidarity with immigrants on Thursday.<\/p>\n

The restaurateurs are doing their part to support the grassroots movement dubbed \u201cA Day Without Immigrants,\u201d<\/a> which asks immigrants not to go to work, open their businesses or buy any products for a full day on Feb. 16. The goal is to impress on President Donald Trump the importance of immigration.<\/p>\n

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\nNewscast about Day without Immigrants<\/a><\/center><\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m happy about it,\u201d said Benjamin Miller<\/a>, co-owner of El Compadre and South Philly Barbacoa restaurants in Philadelphia. \u201c[I\u2019m] glad to see that chefs are stepping up and taking agency and using their power to advocate for people who are more vulnerable. The most we as chefs risk are fines, but these people risk losing their families. They have a lot more to lose.\u201d<\/p>\n

Miller\u2019s wife and business partner, Cristina Martinez, is especially invested in the cause because she is an undocumented immigrant currently unable to apply for a green card<\/a>, despite being married to a U.S. citizen. The couple will close El Compadre on Thursday. (Their other restaurant opens only on weekends.)<\/p>\n

It\u2019s no surprise that restaurateurs are taking a stand against the Trump administration\u2019s immigration crackdown<\/a>, which has led to an uptick in raids by Immigration and Customs Enforcement authorities. An estimated 1.2 million undocumented immigrants work in food preparation and serving jobs in the United States, according to 2012 Pew Research Center data.<\/p>\n

Some high-profile names in the restaurant business have signed on to the effort, including Spanish-born chef Jos\u00e9 Andr\u00e9s, who was sued by Trump after he pulled out of plans to open a restaurant in the new Trump hotel in Washington, D.C. Andr\u00e9s announced on Twitter that he will be closing all five of his D.C. area restaurants on Thursday in solidarity.<\/p>\n

The Blue Ribbon restaurant group has also vowed to close seven of its restaurants <\/a> in New York City.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis is not a casual decision,\u201d Blue Ribbon partner Eric Bromberg told Eater New York, adding that closing their doors will definitely impact their bottomline. \u201cBut there are times in life when money isn\u2019t the most important thing.\u201d<\/p>\n

Two other notable chefs with Philadelphia locations, Stephen Starr <\/a> and Ecuadorian-American Jose Garces, have not said they will shut down for the day, but they are promising not to fire or otherwise punish any employee <\/a> who decides to participate in \u201cA Day Without Immigrants.\u201d <\/p>\n

(Article continued in the right column)<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

Questions related to this article:\n<\/div>\n
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The post-election fightback for human rights, is it gathering force in the USA?<\/a><\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

(Article continued from the left column)<\/p>\n

\u201cWe recognize the immigrant community is an essential part of the hospitality industry. … We support the right for hospitality industry employees to have their voices heard,\u201d Garces said in a statement to HuffPost. \u201cWe are in close communication with any employees who plan to participate Thursday and doing our best to mitigate against any potential impact to our guests\u2019 experience. We will not take any adverse action with any employee who chooses to participate.\u201d<\/p>\n

Any decision not to open even for a day is particularly difficult for those who own small businesses. Melissa Silva-Diaz, CEO and owner of the El Burrito Mercado in St. Paul, Minnesota<\/a>, decided to close her family-owned eatery on Thursday after hearing about the day of protest from customers and workers.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe had employees and a couple of customers send us the image of \u2018Un D\u00eda Sin Inmigrantes,\u2019\u201d Silva-Diaz, whose parents are from Aguascalientes, Mexico, said on Wednesday. \u201cI began to ask around and I asked employees, and some said they were planning on not working. That triggered a conversation. We had a meeting yesterday. We had a healthy discussion about it. I asked each individually what they wanted to do. I reached out to other businesses. Everyone was talking about it. Then we took a vote and unanimously we decided to do it.\u201d<\/p>\n

She acknowledged that many of her customers aren\u2019t happy about the decision. But she said, \u201cThat\u2019s what we want to do, to bring people awareness and get them talking.\u201d<\/p>\n

Juan Ramirez, manager of Taquerias Los Jaliscienses <\/a> in Austin, Texas, understands firsthand the struggles that many undocumented immigrants face. The 54-year-old worked in the fields harvesting potatoes and wheat when he arrived from Mexico decades ago and gained legal status after the Reagan administration granted a major amnesty <\/a> in 1986.<\/p>\n

\u201cI feel we are nothing without immigrants,\u201d Ramirez said. \u201cWe are all in the same boat. Why not row together to move forward?\u201d<\/p>\n

Ramirez said that his Austin restaurant will be closed on Thursday and that he supports his employees 100 percent. He also noted that many workers were concerned about having enough money to pay their bills, yet they were willing to make the sacrifice.<\/p>\n

While mobilizing around immigrants is nothing new, Miller noted, the Trump administration\u2019s immigration directives have lit a fire under the community.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis is part of a movement that has a long history,\u201d the Philly restaurant owner said. \u201cI feel like this subject is not just about Trump. There were plenty of deportations under Obama.<\/a> … This political climate is mobilizing more people.\u201d<\/p>\n

Miller also hopes consumers will do their part to ensure that \u201cA Day Without Immigrants\u201d makes a strong statement. <\/p>\n

\u201cAs a patron tomorrow, don\u2019t go to restaurants,\u201d Miller said, addressing all Americans. \u201cDon\u2019t spend money in restaurants. If you go to a restaurant and it\u2019s closed, don\u2019t go to another one. Stay home tomorrow. Cook for yourself. Show solidarity with immigrants. Restaurants not participating, they will feel the impact that immigrants make every day.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

…. HUMAN RIGHTS …. An article by Carolina Moreno and Liz Martinez for the Huffington Post (reprinted according to the principle of \u201cfair use\u201d) Restaurant owners across the country are hoping the way to the nation\u2019s conscience is through its stomach as they prepare to close their businesses in solidarity with immigrants on Thursday. The … Continue reading Restaurants Will Test If The U.S. Can Stomach \u2018A Day Without Immigrants\u2019<\/span> →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[13,91],"tags":[5],"class_list":["post-8942","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-human-rights","category-north-america","tag-north-america"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/english.cpnn-world.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8942","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/english.cpnn-world.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/english.cpnn-world.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/english.cpnn-world.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/english.cpnn-world.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=8942"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/english.cpnn-world.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8942\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/english.cpnn-world.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=8942"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/english.cpnn-world.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=8942"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/english.cpnn-world.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=8942"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}