Utah immigrants skip work and school to demand pathway to citizenship on ‘A Day Without Immigrants’

Immigrants skipping work and school marched to the Capitol on Valentine’s Day to commemorate the national “A Day Without Immigrants” and call for federal immigration reform.

The protest was held on one of the busiest holidays of the year for businesses in an effort to illuminate the role of immigrants in Utah’s workforce.

“On one our most profitable days for companies and businesses across the United States, immigrants, many of whom have been considered essential throughout the pandemic, want to make it clear that just as their labor and economic contributions have been permanent, their immigration status should as well,” said Brianna Puga, an immigrant rights community organizer at Comunidades Unidas, a nonprofit that organized Monday’s protest.

Foreign-born individuals account for about 9% of the state population, according to figures from the American Immigration Council, a nonprofit that advocates for immigrant rights.

The protesters, many of whom wore red in honor of the day, called on the U.S. Congress and the Biden administration to offer a pathway to citizenship for the estimated 11 million unauthorized immigrants living in the U.S.

Protesters also waved Mexican flags and handmade signs that read “Citizenship now.” One protester held a banner that read, “America runs on immigrants.”

Cresencio Pacheco said he missed work at his construction job to attend the protest.

“I’ve only lived in the country for a little bit, but I’ve come to realize the importance of immigrants, of illegal immigrants, particularly those who pay taxes year after year,” he said in Spanish.

Pacheco attended the protest with his co-workers and his employer, who allowed him to miss work for the day to advocate for immigrant rights.

Pacheco’s employer, Craig Munford, who owns a construction company, Clearcut Building Solutions, was also in attendance. He said, for years, he’s seen some of his employees or their family members be deeply impacted by the lack of a path to citizenship.

“I believe in immigration reform,” he said. “I believe that there’s too many problems in our judicial system and there needs to be better paths and ways for immigrants to be able to find the ability to live without fear, to be able to provide for their families to be able to pursue their dreams.”

Margarita Salinas, 69, who used to work cleaning bathrooms at the Utah Capitol in the early 2000s, urged President Joe Biden to recognize the struggles of immigrants.

“My husband and I came to pursue the American dream, not just for ourselves but for our children, too,” Salinas, who moved to the U.S. from Mexico City 22 years ago, said in Spanish. Salinas also brought her 14-year-old grandson to the protest.

In Utah nearly 100,000 immigrants are undocumented, the Pew Research Center estimates. As of 2020, about 8,500 Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals recipients lived in Utah, according to the American Immigration Council. Undocumented workers in the U.S. are predominately employed in sectors such as manufacturing, construction and hospitality.