On February 2 in cities across the country, businesses, and stores closed in order to protest against President Donald Trump’s newest immigration policies that crack down on illegal immigration.
This protest was given the name “A Day Without Immigrants”, meant to highlight the contributions and impact that immigrants have on this nation’s society and its economy. At the end of 2024, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, foreign-born workers made up 19 percent of the workforce.
Alongside businesses shutting down, people missed out on work and school as well as refrained from shopping that day to further highlight the impact immigrants have on the economy.
Many Parkdale students participated in the protest by missing out on school and not making any purchases that day. Many students believe that it was important for them to show their support for the immigrants.
“I decided to join the protest because of the way the current administration is portraying and denigrating our community,” said junior Maria Flores. “Due to my current age, I was not able to vote but I was able to raise awareness by participating in this protest and take it with a grain of salt.”
It was a loosely organized event that spread quickly through social media, especially on TikTok, where hundreds of users agreed on a set day to protest.
While many simply stayed at home, others went out to continue their protests at rallies, the biggest ones happening in Annapolis.
This protest was meant to help influence the nation to change its policies and laws to stop the inhumane treatment of immigrants in this country. It takes influences from past protests such as the Civil Rights marches in Alabama in the 1960s, which sought out equal rights for Black Americans, and the National Voting Rights Act became law after the protests.
These recent protests aim for the same goal, which is to obtain more rights for immigrants both documented and undocumented.
As Flores states “The Protest itself was not going to have a quick impact on the country but we just wanted to make a clear statement: we are the backbone of America.”
The protest has seen some progress, especially in the state of Maryland. Lawmakers have created a bill, Senate Bill 977, the Maryland Data Privacy Act, which would prohibit state and local agencies from sharing personal information to federal agencies for the purpose of immigration enforcement. The bill will also not allow federal agencies, such as Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), to enter a government facility without a valid warrant. Anyone who attempts to gain access will disclose their name and contact information.
However, even with this new bill, the Trump Administration continues to crack down on immigrants as they have reversed a policy that had directed ICE to stay away from places such as hospitals, schools, and places of worship. They also continue to degrade immigrants as the White House X account has posted a controversial video that was an ASMR deportation video, as just one example.
Protests are continuing to happen as immigrants continue to fight against the discrimination they are facing from the Trump Administration and their supporters. The hope is to change the nation’s laws and opinions and to change how this nation is run, just as generations before them have done before.
Flores asserts “The mental and emotional damage that this administration is arising in our hard-working community is unacceptable,” Flores explained. “And it was just right to demonstrate how much this country needs us.”
