JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — Dozens of people gathered outside a restaurant in Jacksonville Monday evening to protest against President Donald Trump’s immigration policies. 

The group gathered outside the El Pacifico restaurant at 3911 W. University Blvd. The protesters represented various countries like Mexico, Honduras, El Salvador, Venezuela, Guatemala and Peru. They held signs, waved flags and signaled to passing traffic. 

“We are scared,” said Rafael, the organizer of the protest, “All the Latinos we are scared. We don’t know what will happen in the future. We don’t want to lose our jobs. We don’t want to go back to our country. We have a good life in this country. We just want to work and improve in this country.”

One protestor told First Coast News the group’s protest aligns with “Day Without Immigrants” day, a movement aimed at demonstrating the vital role immigrants play in the United States. 

The Jacksonville protest was one of many held across the country as part of the campaign, which encouraged immigrants to take the day off from work and refrain from spending money to show their economic contribution to the country. 

To stand in solidarity, some businesses closed and even students in Duval County skipped school. 

One Frank H. Peterson Academies mom said her ninth grader participated in the protest due to her father being undocumented. She asked First Coast News if we could hide her identity for fear of retaliation. 

“She just finds it unfair how everything is going and how everybody’s being treated,” said the DCPS mom. “So it’s very worrying and I prepped her like ‘Hey look you let them know you’re a minor. Call my mom.’ A kid isn’t supposed to deal with that. I worry about her friends. If you’re seeing your friend, get taken away by an officer, whether immigration of JSO that’s still a scary thing.” 

“We are not criminals,” said one undocumented woman from Mexico. “We just working hard to make our families live better. We trying to live better and make our kids live a better life.” 

As Trump’s administration prepares to carry out its deportation plans, the protests continue to highlight the division over how to address the millions of immigrants living in the U.S. illegally. 

First Coast News received reports from parents Monday inquiring about ICE at Frank H Peterson. We reached out to the district about this and we’re told “these rumors are 100% false.” DCPS also said that there have been no ICE-related incidents at their schools.