Joliet businesses close for one-day protest in solidarity with immigrants

A Joliet grocery store and several restaurants were closed for one day as part of a nationwide protest in solidarity with immigrants in the face of U.S. President Donald Trump’s mass deportation campaign.

Gonzalez Fresh Produce, 652 Collins St., and Niko’s Pizzeria, 20 Ohio St., were among the businesses closed on Monday as part of a nationwide A Day Without Immigrants protest.

El Molcajete restaurants were also closed in Joliet, Shorewood and Plainfield. The sign at the Shorewood location said, “In support of all hard-working immigrants, we are closed.”

On the Facebook page for Gonzalez Fresh Produce, the store owners said the business was closed “in protest of government policies and executive orders” affecting immigrants from all countries.

“This country is made by immigrants. We must let our voices be heard for the rights of all, including our community. Yes we can!” according to the store’s message on Facebook.

It was hard to tell just how many businesses in Joliet were closed on Monday for A Day Without Immigrants.

Some that were closed, such as Niko’s Pizzeria, did not have a sign on the front entrance regarding the protest.

In a message on Facebook, Latino Economic Development Association encouraged people to show support to the businesses who closed on Monday by “shopping locally, dining at family-owned restaurants and engaging with these businesses.”

The organization “stands in solidarity with immigrants and recognizes their invaluable contributions.”

Amy Sanchez, vice president of the Collins Street Neighborhood Council, said Monday’s protests “kind of initiated itself organically on social media.”

Sanchez called it a “show of strength and solidarity.”

“I think this is just a way for communities and businesses alike to show their solidarity to one another,” Sanchez said.

Sanchez pointed to recent comments from Doug Pryor, CEO of Will County Center for Economic Development, of how Joliet is a young city with a Hispanic population that is propelling its growth.

Sanchez also saw the protests as a direct response to Trump’s immigration policies.

“This is a response directly to federal legislators to act against the messaging he’s sending to the Latino communities,” she said.

Sanchez said Trump’s immigration policies are causing “everyone to live in fear,” including people who have the “proper status” to reside in the U.S.

Trump has called migrants “animals” and he said illegal immigration is “poisoning the blood of our country.”

During Trump’s first week in office, he signed 10 executive orders on immigration, according to a report from the Associated Press.

Trump expanded arrest priorities to anyone in the country illegally, not just people with criminal convictions, according to the Associated Press. He also ended a policy to avoid arrests in “sensitive locations” such as schools, hospitals and churches.

The Trump administration has threatened to punish local and state officials who limit their cooperation with federal immigration authorities, according to the Associated Press.

In the past week, there have been no confirmed reports in Will County from local authorities of federal immigration enforcement efforts.

The Chicago field office for ICE has not responded to questions from The Herald-News as of Monday about any immigration enforcement activities taking place in Will County.

On Jan. 30, Kathy Hoffmeyer, Will County Sheriff’s Office spokeswoman, said agents from U.S. Immigration Enforcement and Customs have not visited the jail.

Illinois Attorney General Kwame Raoul said civil immigration enforcement is the responsibility of the federal government, not the state government, unless federal agents “have a criminal warrant or federal law specifically requires it.”

Trump signed an executive order to end birthright citizenship, which was deemed “blatantly unconstitutional” by a federal judge appointed to the bench by the late U.S. President Ronald Reagan.

In response to Trump’s executive order, Raoul said the right of a person born in the U.S. to be a citizen was “enshrined in the 14th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution more than 150 years ago following the Civil War.”

“No president has the authority to override the Constitution. Period,” Raoul said.