Local residents participate in immigrant demonstration

About 80 residents gathered Thursday at Free Church Park in Sturgis to participate in “A Day Without Immigrants,” a nationwide demonstration to draw attention to contributions of immigrants to business and culture.
The local demonstration was part of a movement that occurred throughout the U.S., in which immigrants were urged to stay home from work or school, close their businesses and abstain from shopping. Several Sturgis businesses were closed Thursday in observance of the occasion.
The boycott was a response to President Donald Trump’s efforts to step up deportations, build a wall at the Mexican border and close the nation’s doors to many travelers.
Andrea Salvador-Gonzalez of Bronson said the peaceful gathering was to remind community members that immigrants came to this area and call it home, and they love the country.
One participant said more of the Hispanic community would have joined Thursday’s demonstration had they not been afraid of retaliation.