Oregon businesses and students join general strike Friday to protest immigration enforcement

Small businesses in the Pacific Northwest weighed whether to close as many students prepared to walk out of class Friday in solidarity with a nationwide protest against a federal immigration crackdown and the deaths of two U.S. citizens shot by federal authorities in Minneapolis.

The loosely organized nationwide general strike, promoted on websites and social media, is likely to draw thousands of participants in Oregon.

Opposition to deportation efforts involving U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement and U.S. Customs and Border Protection has grown dramatically since the shooting deaths of Renee Good on Jan. 7 and Alex Pretti on Jan. 24 in Minneapolis. Others have been killed or hurt by federal immigration agents across the country, including two people who were shot in East Portland on Jan. 8.

President Donald Trump has replaced the person leading detention efforts in Minneapolis, but many are pushing for the federal government to rein in the sometimes violent tactics of federal officers and take further steps to reduce immigration detentions and deportations. Protesters often rally around the simple mantra of “ICE out now.”

A collective choice to close

Some small businesses struggled with the decision to close for the day or find another way to support the general strike.

It’s already been a challenging year financially for brick-and-mortar businesses with expenses going up for many companies faster than revenue. On top of the economic challenges, many businesses have feared for the safety of their immigrant workers and others who could be targeted by immigration officials.

Portland business owners and married couple Polo Bañuelos and Carlos Reynoso were grappling with the decision of whether to close their vegan restaurant for the general strike.

The Mis Tacones founders asked their more than a dozen employees for input. The consensus was to shut down the Northeast Portland restaurant in protest of how immigrants and their allies are being treated by federal immigration officials.

“In solidarity, we also decided to close our business,” Bañuelos said. “We want to be able to participate, but this was a collective decision, because as a small business, closing is not easy. Many small businesses cannot afford to close. Their employees cannot afford to lose a day.”

Related: Eugene business owners grapple with decision to open or close for Friday’s general strike

Bañuelos and husband Reynoso started Mis Tacones a decade ago, first as a temporary pop-up offering Mexican American meals they enjoyed while living in Los Angeles. In 2022, the couple opened up a permanent brick-and-mortar location on Northeast Killingsworth Street.

“The community really liked what we were doing,” Bañuelos said. “We’ve always been ourselves, we’ve always been authentic.”

Bañuelos was born in the U.S. to immigrants from Mexico. Reynoso was born in Mexico before moving to the U.S. as a kid.

Reynoso said the pair has brought those experiences, along with the cultures they grew up in, to the community they’ve built in Portland.

The couple plans to spend Friday playing with their dogs and checking in with friends and relatives.

“Things feel so heavy, it feels so emotional,” Reynoso said. “I feel like the tagline of this time in history is ‘This is not normal.’ I’m old enough to say this isn’t normal. I was undocumented as a youth. I have various people in my family who have been deported in the past. The way things are done now — this is not normal.”

After taking the day off for the strike, the pair plan to be back at the restaurant Saturday morning, cooking up brunch for customers.

Reynoso and Bañuelos acknowledge that when they first opened Mis Tacones as a full-time restaurant, they weren’t able to close down for demonstrations. Bañuelos said he knows a lot of business owners who have chosen to stay open.

“These decisions aren’t taken lightly,” Bañuelos said. “Some folks have the privilege to be able to [close]. We can do this — it might hurt a little bit — but we can do this, and it’s gonna be impactful. But the folks that can’t, they also have other ways of protesting and standing in solidarity.”

Staying open to support the strike

Christine Azar thought about closing down her chocolate and coffee shop in support of the general strike, but decided on another route: donating part of her proceeds to support small businesses in Minneapolis.

“I stand in solidarity with everyone that’s doing it,” she said of businesses closing for the strike. “I support it – but I also want to make sure that I am sending my money where it’s worthwhile.”

Azar Indulgences will send some of Friday’s proceeds to Minnesota, along with a share of money taken in on Saturday and Sunday. If it goes well, Azar might continue the process through her busy month of February.

The chocolatier was born in Beirut, Lebanon, in the 1980s during the country’s civil war. Her family fled to Syria when she was 5, and again to Canada when she was 9.

Azar moved to the U.S. in 2001. At first, she worked in banking. But after an inspiring visit with her grandma, she pivoted to chocolate, with her uncle in Lebanon as her supplier. Azar Indulgences opened in 2015, specializing in Lebanese chocolate made in the style of Belgian chocolate.

Azar said she was upset watching protesters being shot and killed in Minnesota.

“It’s a very scary time and it makes no sense,” she said. “This doesn’t make any sense at all because it’s designed to just harm people, whether it’s people that are in the immigrant community, [or] whether it’s those business owners that are employing people that are immigrants.”

Azar employs three other people at her shop inside downtown Portland’s Heathman Hotel. While she supports the strike, she said if she closed down it would mean cutting hours for one of those employees.

The general strike is an action against larger corporations in Azar’s mind, because they can have more influence on federal immigration policy.

“I feel like small businesses like mine are invested in our community,” she said while cleaning off an espresso machine. “We’re the solution, not the problem.”

Students to show support with strikes against ICE

McDaniel High School sophomore Viola DeVigal will not be heading to school Friday. Instead, she plans to join her classmates and community members at Glenhaven Park on Northeast 82nd Avenue, rallying against deportations and violence involving federal officers in Minneapolis and around the country.

“It’s just kind of a chance for us to be together as a community and to show that we are stronger together and that more change can happen together,” DeVigal said.

The day’s events will start on 82nd, where DeVigal said folks will gather and rally along the street. In the afternoon, the rally will move to Glenhaven Park for music and speeches. DeVigal plans to say a few words.

“A lot of times I think adults say that youth, we are the voices of the future,” DeVigal said. “Through this event, I kind of want to show that we are the voices of today and we are the ones who are making change today that will inevitably better our future, and make it something to look forward to.”

About 28% of McDaniel’s student body is Latino, and DeVigal said she’s heard from students afraid to come to school due to concerns about ICE agents detaining them en route. School district leaders in Minneapolis have reported absence rates as high as 40%. According to Minnesota Public Radio, families and staff there have been pulled into vehicles and detained by masked agents near schools.

Oscar Ribeiro is a sophomore at Roosevelt High School in North Portland. He and other student council members are organizing a similar event at George Park, near their school. He said the event will bring together community members, students, and teachers in what feels like a scary time.

“We’re all very afraid, and I think a lot of people don’t really have a direction. And I think that’s kind of why protests like this should be happening more. I feel like it gives people a chance to talk and put out their feelings and just generally work towards a larger accomplishment,” Ribeiro said.

Ribeiro said he feels empowered ahead of Friday’s rally. He said he’s heard of classmates whose family members have been “deported or attacked” by ICE.

“On top of that, just the general psychological and emotional oppression of our community, I think, has been felt through all of us,” he said.

Many school districts have policies for walkouts, but with Friday’s event, it’s likely that some students may not show up to school at all. Beaverton school officials say they are monitoring the events. If students do not show up, families will receive automated attendance messages.

That’s DeVigal’s plan.

“I will just be marked absent,” DeVigal said.

Some school districts in Oregon will give students an unexcused absence if they skip school or walk out before school ends, including for protests. Unexcused absences can affect a student’s eligibility to participate in athletics and other activities.

Portland Public Schools plans to treat Friday as a normal school day, but leaders say they respect the rights of students to protest and speak out.

“We know that recent immigration enforcement actions have caused real harm and deep anxiety in many of our schools and neighborhoods, and we are fully committed to supporting and advocating for our immigrant staff, students, and families,” said PPS Superintendent Kimberlee Armstrong in a message to families.