Salt Lake restaurants close for "A Day Without Immigrants"
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Several Salt Lake restaurants closed Monday to protest President Trump's mass deportation orders.
Why it matters: Trump's promise to deport millions of undocumented immigrants could remove workers from U.S. industries where they have an outsized impact, including in the hospitality, construction and agriculture sectors.
Driving the news: Dubbed "A Day Without Immigrants," the nationwide movement showcases the contributions of immigrants in the U.S. workforce.
- In 2022, they accounted for about 7% of the national hospitality workforce, per the American Immigration Council.
What they're saying: "With how hard-working immigrants are being treated right now, La Casa Del Tamal is standing with our community and supporting this day of protest," the popular West Valley City Mexican restaurant wrote Sunday in an Instagram post.
- "[Immigrant workers] provide essential services that make our lives easier, and we believe it is important to show our support," the House of Corn restaurant in Salt Lake City said on Instagram.
- "We love this country and the opportunities it has helped us achieve, we are doing this out of respect for the community that we love so much," Loco Burger in Salt Lake City posted on social media.
Zoom in: Immigrants in Utah make up about 12% of the state's workforce, including about 15% of local entrepreneurs, per an American Immigration Council analysis.
- The top countries of origin for the community in Utah are Mexico, followed by Venezuela and Brazil.
By the numbers: An estimated 95,000 undocumented immigrants live in Utah, per 2016 Pew Research Center data — less than 1% of the national undocumented population at the time.