Several Upstate New York businesses plan to close this Friday as part of a nationwide strike protesting recent immigration enforcement actions by federal agents.
The strike’s tagline, featured on its official website, reads: “No work. No school. No shopping. Stop funding ICE.”
Organizers are asking participants to stay home from work or school and avoid making purchases on Jan. 30. The protest is a response to what organizers describe as the brutal killings of several individuals by ICE and other U.S. Department of Homeland Security agents over the past month, including Alex Pretti and Renee Good (in Minneapolis, MN); Silverio Villegas González (Franklin Park, IL), and Keith Porter Jr. (Los Angeles, CA).
Many businesses have announced on social media that they will be participating in the shutdown and will not be opening on Friday.
Upstate NY businesses that will be closed on Friday, Jan. 30:
Other businesses have announced they will remain open this Friday, but will pledge a portion of their sales to anti-ICE initiatives. Among them is Balsalm Bagels (Rochester), which will donate 10% of its proceeds to the Legal Aid Society of Rochester’s Immigration Unit.
Several Upstate NY organizations have also officially endorsed the national shutdown. They include: Syracuse Peace Council, Rochester’s Sexual and Reproductive Task Force, Peace Action New York State, The Finger Lakes Peoples Union, and the Cattaraugus-Allegany Liberation Collective.
Friday’s shutdown will be followed by street protests scheduled for Saturday, Jan. 31. A list of participating locations can be found at actionnetwork.org.