Donald Trump Immigration Ban: Over 1,000 NYC Bodegas To Keep Shut In Protest Of The Executive Order

Few days after the yellow cab drivers went on strike in New York against U.S. President Donald Trump's executive order, Bodegas across the city plan to shut down for most of Thursday to protest the immigration ban on seven Muslim majority countries barred from entering the U.S.

The strike is being carried out by Yemeni-Americans who own small grocery or corner stores generally known as bodegas. Yemen is one of the countries that has been barred from entering the United States under Trump's executive order. Over 1,000 store owners across the city will shut down their shops for eight hours on Thursday as a mark of protest.

"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," organizers wrote on Facebook. "During the shutdown, 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," they added.

Zaid Nagi said all of his businesses will be closed from 12 p.m. to 8 p.m. EST, Thursday. He owns and invests in about 20 grocery and cell phone stores in the Bronx, New York. He mentioned that his mother had been facing problems with her visa and is currently stuck in Jordan. "We are hard working individuals who work long hours to establish businesses, who play by the rules that have been set by the system. Our community was shocked when the executive order was released," Nagi said.

One among the organizers of the strike, 27-year-old Widad Hassan said that they had been planning to take action soon after the executive order was declared. He also said that the businesses incurred loses because merchants could not visit their families in the U.S. after the order. "A lot of these stores have been in the neighborhood for twenty or thirty years," Hassan said. "And lot of people have been asking us, ‘Wouldn’t this hurt them because they’ll be losing money?’ The business owners have said the important thing is the statement being made. Many have been emotionally devastated. They can’t focus on work because they’re separated from their family members."

The protesters have also planned a rally and public call to prayer on Thursday evening at Brooklyn Borough Hall, "where some merchants will share the impact the Ban has had on them and their loved ones," and "stories read on behalf of families who are afraid to come forward."