PALM BEACH COUNTY, Fla. — Pizza and salad served up at Pizza Al Fresco on Palm Beach.
There's talk about the food and at times the boycott against Florida's immigration bill.
WPTV sat down with general manager Javier Gonzalez.
"There were a few people trying to convince them not to show up to work," Gonzalez said. "But obviously, I said, look this is not the right thing to do, we support our families from this."
Gonzalez said he's been in the United States for more than 20 years after leaving Mexico. His children were born here.
"I'm OK with the protest, it makes people aware of the situation and understand how terrible it is. But just not showing up to work is just not the right thing," Gonzalez said. "You create a better image of yourself, when you do the right thing. Obviously, we are immigrants, we deserve better, but sometimes you have to go through these things."
From the food industry to medical care. The Caridad Center in Boynton Beach provides a diverse population of immigrants free health care. Laura Kallus is the CEO.
"We are 100 percent free charity and we are a non-profit, so we are compassion based," Kallus said. "You are eligible for care regardless of status, so we don't ask that question and we are not going to ask."
Though the center does not ask about immigration status, they've recently noticed a decline in people seeking care.
"We know that there are a lot of families that have members that are mixed status or living in certain living situations, where they are living with people of mixed immigration status," Kallus said. "And all of that can scare people into not seeking out care that they need and so, it's really detrimental to their health. We are here to keep people out of the emergency room, we save the tax payers dollars, by keeping people out of the E.R."
As for the boycott and the immigration law.
"Either I hope they revoke it or they are not going to implement it," Gonzalez said. "We have no choice. There is no way Florida can live without immigrants."
