Fresa’s Skate Shop owner Amanda Quintanilla had trepidation in her voice, but it was overpowered by a resolute sense of duty.
An immigrant who moved to the United States at six years old, Quintanilla made the decision to close her business on Friday, January 30, in solidarity with a nationwide general strike in protest of the ICE-related killings of Renee Good and Alex Pretti in Minnesota.
“I have four children. They are not blonde. They don't have blue eyes. So, I'm scared for them. I'm scared for my son, for my husband,” Quintanilla says. “We are a small business that’s struggling like everyone else, but this is so much more than that. This is not politics. It has nothing to do with that. It's just humanity—it’s lost. These are people’s lives we’re playing with.”
Good and Pretti died during separate ICE operations in Minneapolis in January, leading to plummeting ratings of President Donald Trump’s handling of immigration matters. According to a recent Reuters/Ipsos poll, just 39% of Americans approve of the job Trump is doing on immigration, down from 41% earlier this month, while 53% disapprove. Multiple cities have held demonstrations demanding “ICE out” in solidarity with the people of Minneapolis, thousands of whom took to the streets January 23 for a peaceful demonstration in sub-zero temperatures.
Local businesses like Quintanilla’s have lent their voices to a nationwide general strike encouraging people to close shop, take absence from work or school, and avoid making any purchases on January 30. Among the Las Vegas businesses were A 90s Kind of Vintage, Afterlife Tea and Boba Room, The Analog Dope Store, Jammyland, LV Plant Collective, Mojave Bloom Nursery, Tofu Tees, Venila Creamery and Yukon Pizza.
Quintanilla and some of her employees were instead planning to attend a protest at Lloyd D. George Federal Courthouse, where they’ll roll around in skates.
Like her peers at Yukon Pizza, Quintanilla says her closure announcement has already been met with some negative reviews online, from people with “hate in their hearts.” But for her, the support she’s seen from customers and fellow businesses “outweighs the negatives.”
“I don't understand how people can just sit and not say anything because they're so scared of getting hate and losing followers. This is so much bigger than any of us,” she says. “We have a voice and we need to use it. For me, it means that I have a responsibility for myself, my family, my neighbors and my parents, and I will do whatever it takes.”
Venila Creamery co-owner San Ma, a Vietnamese American who moved here as a teenager, had similar motivations. So far, she says her staff has been encouraged by the feedback they’ve received online.
“Most of our customers are also Asian Americans who are relating to everything that’s going on. So, this really hits close to home, and we wanted to do this to speak up for people who cannot advocate for themselves,” Ma says. “We are just blessed to be running this business, so that's why we just chose to do the post yesterday, and everyone has been very supportive of it.”
Quintanilla adds that there’s simply no longer an excuse for anyone to continue standing on the sidelines. She fears that the unrest in Minneapolis could find its way to her community next.
“Nothing will make me feel better until something really happens, because I'm terrified it's going to get worse. And right now, I don't see our government officials doing anything about it. I want to see actions, I want to hear them speak. I want to hear them say something,” Quintanilla says. “I don't care what side you're on. This has nothing to do with anything else but just being humans. We need to protect our people.”
