Anthony J. Machcinski

amachcinski@ydr.com

Tom Sarobon was left scrambling Wednesday, trying to find workers to cover a number of Thursday shifts at D.C. Noodles, a restaurant he manages in Washington, D.C.

“They just told me basically yesterday, and we were just scrambling to find somebody to work,” said Sarobon, who also owns District Thai in North York. “But it’s alright," he said of his immigrant employees. "They can do whatever they want… they have the right to be heard.”

Sarobon’s D.C. workers, like thousands of others on Thursday, were taking part in the “Day Without Immigrants” protests, around the country, designed to show solidarity for immigrants.

Roundup: Immigration arrests, sweeps making news across U.S.

He is a native of Thailand who became a legalized U.S. citizen six years ago. As a business owner, he’s had to balance his support for the protests and still put out a product.

“I feel like it’s their right (to protest) but at the same time, we have a business to run,” Sarobon said, adding that it wasn't an issue at his North York location. “It’s just give-and-take. We just have to do what we have to do.”

Franklin County businesses join protests

The writing on the 8-by-11-inch printer paper taped to the door of Las Palmeras Restaurant in Chambersburg was in Spanish, but the point was clear.

“We are closed… to join the cause of “A Day Without Immigrants.”

Attorney, resource center fielding calls from worried immigrants

Las Palmeras was one of six Franklin County restaurants that closed on Thursday for the protests. While many had simple messages of “closed, will be open Friday,” the long, white paper plastered on the door of El Gallo Garcia, a Mexican goods store in Chambersburg, left a message for President Donald Trump.

“Mister President, without us and without our input, this country will stand still,” the sign read. “We at El Gallo join this day since we are immigrants too.”

‘It’s just like your fingers, you count on every finger on your hand’

While many businesses were open despite the protests, the potential effects of a non-immigrant workforce were appreciated by some restaurant owners.

“We’d be struggling for staff, I can tell you that,” said Charlene Campbell, co-owner of The Accomac near Wrightsville, York County, who uses foreign workers for the restaurant’s seasonal catering service. “They’re a very important part of what we do.”

Campbell said that while their catering service is slow between January and March, many of the workers are seasonal helpers that come in and work starting in May.

Some over the years have moved from the catering staff to help in the kitchen.

Businesses across U.S. close, students skip school on 'Day Without Immigrants'

Sarobon said as many as 60 percent of his workers at D.C. Noodles are made up of immigrants from countries like Honduras or Ecuador. If that workforce wasn’t there, making up their production wouldn’t be easy.

“It’s just like your fingers, you count on every finger on your hand,” Sarobon said. “If you cut off one of your fingers… you could get by, but not as easily.”

‘We’re all equal’

Carmen Arias was born in New York City, raised in Puerto Rico and settled in York, but she still feels the struggles that the immigrant workforce faces in America.

“I know a lot of immigrants, and all they do is work and support their families,” said Arias, who co-owns Picalonga Sabor Tropical in York. “If they weren’t here, I don’t know what would happen.”

With much of Carmen’s family of Hispanic descent (her husband is a Dominican Republic native, and her parents both speak Spanish as a first language), she’s seen the reactions she gets when speaking a different language in public.

“A lot of the immigrants get treated different,” Carmen said. “We’re supposed to treat each other the same. We’re all equal.”

‘They're looking for bad people’

As arrests of undocumented immigrants with criminal records are conducted nationwide, the ramifications have received mixed feelings locally.

Hugo Garcia, owner of El Rancho in Hanover, said he hasn’t focused on them.

“I’m not worried,” Garcia said, adding that he agrees with what the government is doing. “They’re looking for bad people.”

While Arias wasn’t worried about any issues with her family or friends, her thoughts drifted to the families that might be broken up by the raids.

Why didn't deported Arizona mom apply for U.S. citizenship?

“I think that will mostly hurt the kids,” Arias said. “Some of the parents are Americans, but the other parent might be an illegal immigrant. If they deport them, a lot of kids would suffer.”

‘A hunger to succeed in every aspect of life’

Calogero Elia immigrated to the U.S. from Palermo, Sicily, when he was 6.

“April 26, 1972,” he says proudly.

Despite several years of paperwork his parents had to complete to come to the U.S., Elia said he felt pressure as an immigrant, often being called racist names by children at school.

“There was prejudice towards immigrants,” Elia said. “It wasn’t easy to speak the language. The culture was different. You dress different. There was always a bit of pressure from people.”

With decades of experience in the restaurant business, the Iron Horse York owner said foreign workers — regardless of nationality — have played a big part in the service industry.

“They’re a vital part of the workforce and the economy,” Elia said. “A lot of them will do jobs that people won’t do because they need to provide for their family.”

He said immigrants are driven by a lack of support system.

“These people have no one to fall back on, so they have a drive to succeed,” Elia said. “That’s what drives people is hunger — a hunger to succeed in every aspect of life.”

Stan Brown, owner of Brown’s Orchards in Loganville, York County, said that his “dependable workforce” of foreign laborers are “absolutely unbelievable” when it comes to production.

“Their hands are like machines,” said Brown, who noted that the workers are under the company’s normal, taxed payroll.

‘We’d be pretty lost without them’

Some owners mentioned that foreign workers often take the restaurant industry’s dirtier or more monotonous jobs — everything from washing dishes to being prep cooks.

“They’re hard working people,” said Arias, whose father worked on a farm in Long Island when she was young. “I think some businesses would get really slow, because most of the people are immigrants.”

Campbell, who has hired workers at The Accomac for the last 45 years, agreed.

“I think that across the board, anything that requires physical work, fewer and fewer people want anything to do with it,” Campbell said. “Here’s this whole population of people that will do anything, and we’d be pretty lost without them.”

Brown, who has used foreign workers for the past 25 years, said the orchard hired them after the local workforce for hard labor dried up.

“We just get no one even asking for jobs like this. No one,” Brown said. “They do a lot of activities that honestly not a lot of Americans want to do anymore.”

Local stores close for "A Day Without Immigrants"

He explained that things would be dire for not just his orchard — but all orchards — without immigrant labor.

“We would not be in business if we did not have a labor force like this,” he said. “They’re doing a lot of activities that honestly not a lot of Americans want to do anymore.”

“They’re happy people, and we really enjoy having them. There’s none of them I wouldn’t take in my house to give them a meal.”

Chambersburg Public Opinion reporter Matt Bernardini, Hanover Evening Sun reporter Dustin Levy, York Daily Record reporter Brett Sholtis and USA Today contributed to this report.

Anthony J. Machcinski is the food reporter for the York Daily Record. Follow him on Facebook, @ChinskiTweets on Twitter or email him at amachcinski@ydr.com.