Celebrity chef Rick Bayless said Wednesday he would be closing four of his Chicago restaurants "out of respect" for his staff's decision to support a planned civil action in response to recent immigration issues.
Organizers in cities across the U.S. are telling immigrants to miss class, miss work and not shop on Thursday as a way to show the country how important they are to America's economy and way of life.
The protests have been dubbed "A Day Without Immigrants."
Bayless said Frontera Grill, Topolobampo, Xoco and Fonda Frontera will all be closed Thursday.
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President Donald Trump has pledged to increase deportation of immigrants living in the country illegally, build a wall along the Mexican border, and ban people from certain majority-Muslim countries from coming into the U.S. He also has blamed high unemployment on immigration.
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Immigrant advocates on Friday decried a series of arrests that federal deportation agents said aimed to round up criminals in Southern California but they believe mark a shift in enforcement under the Trump administration.
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Twitter users responded with support and criticism after Bayless made the announcement.
"Good call. Some things are bigger than food," one user tweeted.
"Actual citizens inconvenienced so illegals can protest against the laws of this country!!" another posted in response.
A similar protest took place in Wisconsin on Monday. Thousands marched in a "Day Without Latinos" in response to Milwaukee Sheriff David Clarke's threat to crackdown on undocumented immigrants, NBC reported.
