Antonia Alvarez passed up an estimated $1,000 in profits for her cleaning business Feb. 16 to observe a nationwide Day Without Immigrants.
Alvarez, a parishioner of Incarnation in Minneapolis, said that immigrants “support [the] economics of this culture.”
Alvarez closed her business for the day in solidarity with many immigrants around the U.S. who chose not to go to work or school to demonstrate how much immigrants contribute to the country. The protest was organized in response to President Donald Trump’s executive orders on immigrants that banned travel from seven countries and initiated building a wall for the U.S. and Mexico border.
“I’m afraid for all [of] the community,” said Alvarez, a St. Anthony resident who emigrated from Mexico to the U.S. 15 years ago.
Incarnation parishioner Pablo Tapia, also an immigrant from Mexico, said his Catholic faith motivates him to stand up for fellow immigrants. Tapia, a Circle Pines resident, took the day off from his auto mechanic job to help organize the event at Incarnation and to stand in solidarity with immigrants. It included watching documentaries that describe the importance of immigrants for U.S. companies.
“That’s part of our faith, social justice teachings of our Catholic Church,” Tapia said.
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