A DAY WITHOUT IMMIGRANTS
Santa Fe, ABQ businesses close to support workers
SANTA FE — Santa Fe is known for its restaurants. They are part of the appeal of a town that relies heavily on tourism.
But on Thursday the city’s visitors and residents had to pass up many of the town’s most popular eateries.
Dozens of restaurants — including several in the historic Plaza area — were among businesses that closed in recognition of “A Day Without Immigrants,” a national protest intended to highlight the contributions of immigrants to the U.S. economy and culture.
“In solidarity with all immigrants we are closed today,” read a sign outside of The Shed, a nationally known restaurant just off the Plaza. “May we all reflect on the vital role they play in our day to day lives.”
Some businesses in Albuquerque also joined in the protests.
Jose Lopez, the owner of La Michoa-
cana Del Sur restaurant in the South Valley, said it was important to demonstrate how vital immigrants were to the country. Popular Albuquerque restaurants Taqueria Mexico in Downtown and Los Compadres on historic Route 66 also were closed.
Nationally, shopping centers in immigrant enclaves sat largely empty on Thursday as businesses posted signs in support of immigrants opting to stay home from work and school. The protests were a reaction to President Donald Trump’s plans for stricter enforcement of immigration laws and construction of a wall on the Mexican border.
Student absences
An Albuquerque Public Schools spokeswoman provided numbers that appeared to show that absences were up, although no direct comparisons with the same date last year could be made because there was no school on Feb. 16, 2016. Compared to attendance on Feb. 18 of last year, there were about 800 more students missing from elementary classes and about 1,500 more absentees recorded at middle and high schools.
Santa Fe Public Schools reported much lower attendance rates Thursday, particularly at the south-side schools that serve much of the city’s immigrant population, although elementary schools weren’t in session because of parent-teacher conferences.
At Capital High School, Principal Channell Wilson-Segura said about 600 of the 1,400 students weren’t in attendance. She also knew of about three teachers who didn’t come in as a form of protest, she said.
“It was very quiet, eerily quiet,” she said. “We all felt it. It was a day of reflection for everybody.”
Empty parking lots
Immigrants provide chefs, cooks and other employees for much of Santa Fe’s hospitality industry. The list of restaurant closures in Santa Fe included La Boca, the Burrito Company, Counter Culture Café, Tune up Café, La Choza, Tia Sophia’s, Burrito Company, The Pantry and Jambo Café.
Just east of Santa Fe city limits, the parking lot at Harry’s Roadhouse was uncharacteristically empty Thursday morning. Those phoning the restaurant got a message informing them Harry’s was closed due to the Day Without Immigrants protest. “We support their voices and their actions. We look forward to seeing you Friday,” it said.
The parking lot was also nearly empty at The Pantry, another favorite eatery among locals and tourists alike.
A single pickup truck was parked next to the building during what normally would have been the lunch rush. Inside the truck were Juanita Spencer of Portland, Ore., and a friend, who were passing through town.
“We Googled and found this place. It had a good rating and was not too far off the highway,” Spencer said.
But a sign on the door said The Pantry was closed. “So we went across the street (to El Parasol) and got a burrito. It’s really good,” she said between bites.
There were still plenty of dining choices to be had in Santa Fe. The Plaza Café on the Plaza was pulling diners as usual.
“We gave consideration (to closing Thursday),” Jared Razatos, manager of the store, said. “We talked to the staff. They wanted to work, which is cool with us.”
Razatos said one or two people who work in the kitchen didn’t come in Thursday. The Plaza Café Southside, owned by the same family, did close for the day.
Santa Fe businesses as varied as Mobil Clean Car Wash, Goler Fine Imported Shoes, Santa Fe Guitar Academy and Southwest Plastering were reported to have shut down Thursday. Ten Thousand Waves, an upscale Japanese-themed spa and hotel, was offering free use of its communal baths to all Spanishspeaking immigrants.
On Airport Road on Santa Fe’s south side, away from businesses that cater to the tourism industry and where most of the city’s immigrant population resides, the day of protest was obvious.
At the Chamisa Center strip mall, about half the businesses were shut.
One of the few people parked in the west end of the center’s parking lot early Thursday afternoon, Rafael Rodriguez, was there to visit a tax preparation firm to have his taxes done.
Rodriguez was born in Mexico but has lived in Santa Fe for many years. He said he’s not a U.S. citizen but is “working on it.”
“Donald Trump, he wants to take all the immigrants out of here,” he said. “But without immigrants, there is no business here. There’s no nothing.”
Next door at Latinos Unidos mini-market, signs posted all around the building printed in Spanish said the store was closed in support of its Latino brothers. The signs also noted that undocumented residents and immigrant citizens shop in stores, eat at restaurants and buy gasoline.
Signs posted at Latinos Unidos also had a message for Trump: “Mister President, without us and without our contribution this country is paralyzed,” it said in Spanish. “We’re prepared not to leave; we will lose a day of work but we could win much more.”