Bodegas across New York City plan to shut down for most of Thursday to protest President Donald Trump’s executive order that bars immigrants from seven Muslim-majority countries from entering the United States for 90 days, bars Syrian refugees indefinitely, and denies entry for other refugees for at least 120 days.
The bodega trade is largely dominated by Yemeni-Americans in New York City, BuzzFeed reports — and Yemen is one of the countries that’s on President Trump’s immigration ban list. Owners plan to close their doors from 12-8 p.m. on Thursday. More than 1,000 Yemeni-American grocery store owners across the city’s five boroughs are slated to participate in the strike, according to BuzzFeed.
“This shutdown of grocery stores and bodegas will be a public show of the vital role these grocers and their families play in New York’s economic and social fabric and, during this period, grocery store owners will spend time with their families and loved ones to support each other; many of these families have been directly affected by the Ban,” the protest organizers wrote on Facebook.
The protesters will also hold a rally and public call to prayer Thursday, “where some merchants will share the impact the Ban has had on them and their loved ones,” the post reads.
The news of the bodega shutdown comes after New York Taxi Workers Alliance stopped trips at New York’s John F. Kennedy airport Saturday, in solidarity with the protesters who were opposing Trump’s ban there.