The Middletown Press (Middletown, CT)
Shops close to show support for immigrants
Some businesses closed for a day to participate in a protest attempting to call attention to immigrant labor.
NEW HAVEN >> Nicolas Gutierrez ripped open a cardboard box inside a dimly lit corner at a store on Grand Avenue in a seemingly routine procedure.
Gutierrez said he’s operated the store, Mexican Grand Deli, with his son since 1995. What wasn’t routine on Thursday was that it was noon and the shop was closed. Its windows were shuttered with metal sheets. Just a few lights were on inside.
Gutierrez had joined a few businesses along Grand Avenue in closing for the day to participat in a nationwide protest attempting to call attention to immigrant labor. The day was dubbed Day Without Immigrants, and was also observed by business owners in Danbury and Stamford, as well as countless other cities. The demonstration is the latest protest against President Trump’s immigration policies and strategies.
Gutierrez said he immigrated from Mexico in 1978 before becoming a legal U.S. resident.
“What we are trying to do is let Americans know that without us, their country would decline,” Gutierrez said in Spanish. “We are here to let them know that they need us.”
A few blocks down from Mexican Grand Deli, Moises Vargas moved a dolly stacked with Corona brand beers out of his seafood restaurant, Mariscos El Pescador. He was a little pestered at other Hispanic businesses dotting the predominately Latino neighborhood that didn’t close. His restaurant had as sign in Spanish explaining the closure.
“We need to support the cause,” Vargas said in Spanish, which echoed what the sign posted on his restaurant window said.
It’s unclear exactly how many businesses participated in the protest, besides businesses on Grand Avenue and one business, a salon, on State Street.
Quinnipiac University assistant professor of management Julia M. Fullick-Jagiela said the event Thursday wasn’t necessarily organized by a single group, which meant most people learned about it through social media and word of mouth. The impact of the protest was likely larger in cities that had widespread participation, including Los Angeles and Washington, Fullick-Jagiela said.
The success of the protest can hang on a single factor.
“What’s interesting is it really depends on the political affiliation of your customers,” Fullick-Jagiela said.
Fullick-Jagiela said the response to Starbucks’ public support of refugees following Trump’s ban reaffirmed views for some of their customers but also caused others who agreed with Trump to call for a boycott of Starbucks coffee.
A study published in 2015 by New Haven-based DataHaven and The Community Foundation for Greater New Haven said immigrants are disproportionately more likely to open businesses than native-born residents. The report highlighted the cultural and economic contributions immigrants make in communities.
“The businesses that are closing in solidarity with employees, when owners themselves are not foreign-born, are inspired and showcasing that our country was built by immigrants,” Fullick-Jagiela said.
Closing a business could seem counterintuitive to the idea of opening one in the first place. By closing up shop for a day, and losing a day’s earnings, Fullick-Jagiela said these businesses are demonstrating there concerns are more important than profits.
“It’s worth remembering how many immigrant businesses and small businesses contribute to local economies,” Fullick-Jagiela
It’s unclear exactly how many businesses participated in the protest, besides businesses on Grand Avenue and one business, a salon, on State Street.
said. “Small businesses are something that we all need to pay attention to.”