TRENTON — Immigrant workers across New Jersey are expected to join those in major cities across the U.S. on Thursday in skipping work and forgoing shopping to demonstrate their importance to the American economy.
National "Day Without Immigrants" demonstrations are planned in New York, Philadelphia and Washington, D.C. and businesses around New Jersey are expecting a segment of their workforce to strike.
The day of action is a direct response to President Donald Trump's immigration policies, including his efforts to ramp up deportation of those in the U.S. illegally, his pledge to build a wall along the Mexican border and his controversial executive order enacting a travel ban affecting several majority-Muslim countries.
It's unclear how prevalent the protest will be in the Garden State, but Marilou Halvorsen, president of the New Jersey Restaurant & Hospitality Association, told NJ Advance Media that trade associations around the U.S. have told their members to prepare for the strike.
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"Our members support their employees and their freedom of speech," she said. "They understand) it's not a protest against restaurants. It's a protest against the executive order."
Organizers in Philadelphia told the Associated Press they expect hundreds of workers and families to participate.
"Our goal is to highlight the need for Philadelphia to expand policies that stop criminalizing communities of color," said Erika Almiron, executive director of Juntos, a nonprofit group that works with the Latino immigrant community. "What would happen if massive raids did happen? What would the city look like?"
Halvorsen, whose group represents restaurant owners around New Jersey, said her group was not involved in organizing the strike but recognized "how important immigration is to the success of small businesses."
Material from the Associated Press was used in this story.
S.P. Sullivan may be reached at ssullivan@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter. Find NJ.com on Facebook.
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