A Day Without Immigrants Hits Different in 2025—And Here’s Why
“A Day Without Immigrants” is a national movement happening today, Monday, February 3, 2025. In response to the federal government’s rhetoric about the immigrant community, people and businesses across the country are not working.
The movement aims to raise awareness of just how much the United States relies on immigrants. This not only includes labor but for small business creation in general.
“A Day Without Immigrants” is a protest to show the power of immigrants in the U.S.
Immigrants and undocumented people have been a major focus of the new Trump administration. There have been executive orders rescinding protections for immigrants, Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) raids, and inflammatory rhetoric about immigrants.
Now, businesses and people are joining together in solidarity by showing what life in the U.S. would be like without immigrants. The Center of Migration Studies of New York says there are 8.3 million undocumented people in the U.S. workforce. That is 5 percent of the national workforce, reports CBS News.
This is a similar protest that happened in February 2017. At the time, people protested President Donald Trump and his attack on immigrant communities during his first campaign for president.
Businesses and people are taking part in the protest in major cities
Businesses in Washington, St. Paul, San Francisco, and Chicago are part of many closing their doors for the day to protest. Immigrants are essential contributors to the national, state, and local economies and tax bases. For example, according to the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy (ITEP), undocumented people paid $96.7 billion in taxes in 2022. This tax money goes toward public services that undocumented people are legally barred from accessing. This includes “$25.7 billion in Social Security taxes, $6.4 billion in Medicare taxes, and $1.8 billion in unemployment insurance taxes,” according to ITEP.
In an Instagram post, Republic Cantina, a restaurant in Washington, confirmed its closure to support the protest. The post highlights the importance of immigrants in the U.S. workforce and the business’s anger over the federal government’s recent actions.
“We’ve been dismayed to see the rollout of policies that tear immigrants from their homes — which is both inhumane & will cause massive harm to communities and to small business,” reads Republic Cantina’s post. “We urge you to speak out as anti-immigrant policy and rhetoric makes a comeback. Immigrants’ work is often somewhat hidden, but they absolutely make this city run.”
“A Day Without Immigrants” comes on the heels of massive protests around the country this weekend
Furthermore, over the weekend, thousands of protesters blocked traffic on the 101 freeway in downtown Los Angeles. The protest against ICE raids and deportations under the Trump administration made national headlines with images showing the crowd in a standoff against a large police presence. No arrests were reported.
The Los Angeles protest happened with the backdrop of protests against immigration policies happening around the nation. Thousands more protesters took to the streets in Houston, Dallas, Phoenix, Charlotte, and other cities to show solidarity and support for immigrants in the face of the current federal government.
