Restaurants, stores, businesses in NYC area shut down for 'Day Without Immigrants' protest

NEW YORK (WABC) -- Many businesses across the New York City area shut their doors Thursday to take part in a nationwide protest against President Trump's immigration policies.

The day-long protest is called "A Day Without Immigrants." Organizers urged immigrants across the U.S. to miss work, skip class and not shop to show the country just how important they are to America's economy.

In Manhattan, some high-profile restaurants are taking part in the event - including Eataly:

And DOUGH, which has stores in Manhattan and Brooklyn:

Not just restaurants are taking part - even art stores joined in:

On Staten Island, rows of businesses closed down:

The Chalk Point Kitchen in SoHo was one of the restaurants closing for the day in support of their new immigrant workers.

"If everyone does it together and everyone moves forward together I think it can be very beneficial. Hopefully the government will see and take action," said restaurant owner Matt Lavine.

He says he was approached by his staff, who come from a number of different countries, and asked to take off the day to show how critical they are to the economy.

"They come to work everyday eager to learn, eager to work, eager to please, so I thought it was very important for me to give back," said Lavine.

"We are all immigrants," said Angie Mar, owner and chef of the Beatrice Inn in the West Village. "That is what the city and this industry is based off of and just out of principle, we need to support this."

Mar, whose family immigrated to the U.S., also closed her restaurant in support of her staff who number 42 and come from many different countries.

"I hope that this social movement does gain traction and I hope that it continues to grow. It cannot go away, we have to address this," she said.

We're seeing reports of dozens of more stores and restaurants closed in New York, New Jersey and Connecticut. Have a photo you want to share with us? Post it on Instagram or Twitter using the hashtag #abc7NY.