Businesses across the US are closing for the 'Day Without Immigrants' protest

Thousands of immigrants are expected to participate in the "Day Without Immigrants" strike on February 16.

The protest, in which participants will stay home from work and school, aims to show how crucial immigrants are to America's economy and society as a whole.

The strike is in defiance of President Trump's immigration order, which would have temporarily barred immigrants and refugees from seven majority-Muslim countries from entering the country. Though the US Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit struck down the executive order on February 5, the Washington Post reported a few days later that Trump is considering re-writing the plan.

Many are also citing last week's nationwide sweep of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) arrests as a reason for the strike.

Some businesses - including a few McDonald's - are closing for the entire day, while others say they will give a portion of the day's earnings to nonprofits that help Latino communities. They range from shops to restaurants to supermarkets to bars.

Protests are planned in Philadelphia, Washington DC, Boston, Houston, Chicago, and New York City, where dozens of retailers will close. More than 250 businesses in Charlotte, North Carolina will close too, Spanish-language newspapers Que Pasa Mi Gente and Hola Noticias reported. Celebrity chefs José Andrés and Andy Shallal, both immigrants themselves, have also announced they will not open their restaurants on Thursday.

Here are a few other businesses across the country that are shuttering, according to Twitter.

 

 The efforts follow two large strikes in New York City. On January 28, members of the New York Taxi Workers Alliance went on a one-hour strike in solidarity with protesters at JFK airport. Uber, however, was still servicing riders, which prompted the #DeleteUber hashtag that led to 200,000 deleted accounts, according to The New York Times. A week later, members of New York City's Yemeni-American community closed hundreds of their markets and protested in Brooklyn.

In addition, the organizers of the Women's March on Washington are planning a "Day Without Women" strike, with the date still to be determined. Another group of grassroots organizers will hold a general strike on February 17 to protest Trump's policies.