Major American companies that rely on cheap labour took a surprisingly supportive view of the army of workers taking part in immigrant rights protests. Immigrant workers were in turn, however, nervous about taking part in a strike, which they had feared could lose them their jobs.
McDonald's, the fast-food giant, even paid tribute to its foreign workers and said it "strongly supports" immigration reform.
"Immigrants have contributed to the growth and prosperity of our nation and they deserve to be treated with respect and dignity," said a statement issued by the company to mark the "Day Without Immigrants" protests.
"Some of our employees may be participating in today's activities. We respect their right to do so. To meet our customers' needs, some of our restaurants may be operating with limited crew, limited hours or drive-thru service only," it warned.
Food giants such as Tyson Food Inc. and Cargill Foods said they would close about 20 plants between them on Monday. Goya Foods announced a complete halt to daily distribution.
Gallo Wines in California said it also closed some operations because of the protests.
All the companies said they understood the sentiments behind the protest. "We share many of the same concerns about some of the proposals in Washington," said Cargill spokesman Mark Klein.
Some employers groups were not so happy and gave only begrudging backing.
The National Council of Chain Restaurants (NCCR) said the strike and boycott of schools "could hurt companies that have been vocal advocates of treating illegal workers fairly through comprehensive immigration reform in Congress".
"No one understands how vital immigrants have become to America's economy better than the chain restaurant industry", said Scott Vinson, Vice President of Government Affairs for NCCR.
"Unfortunately, these work boycotts have the potential to handcuff the very businesses that have worked so hard for immigration reform."
But many firms organised a Tuesday-to-Saturday workweek to lessen the impact of the protests, which brought more than a million people onto the streets of US cities.
And the word on the streets was that many immigrants were wary of upsetting their employers or losing a day's business.
In the Jackson Heights neighborhood of New York, known as "Little Colombia" because of the concentration of Colombians, the "Day Without Immigrants" was mixed.
A sign on the America's Stores supermarket declared: "We are closed because we love to support our wonderful neighborhood". Other stores put up signs saying: "I Love Immigrant New York".
But many chose to stay open in the Boro of Queens, where two thirds of the residents are foreign, mainly Hispanic, according to the 2000 census.
Jorge Cubillos kept open his Latina Pharmacy. "The sick cannot wait," he said, while stressing he understood the "good reasons, human reasons" for not going to work.
Other corner stores and cafeterias also defied the strike appeal. One Hispanic shop worker, who requested anonymity, told AFP she had been ordered to turn up by her boss who did not ask whether the staff wanted to take part in the protests.
Construction sites in some of America's boom towns also depend heavily on imported labour.
At Rockville, in the Washington suburbs, only a few dozen workers turned up at a major apartment construction site where there are normally 400 people.
"In 20 years, I've never seen something like that," said Arnolfo Lopez, a crane driver.
"The electricians are not here, the carpenters are not here, neither are the concrete men," he declared.
Those who did turn up said it was largely out of fear for the future.
"The problem here is if you don't come today, the next day you're fired," said Eduardo Soriano, a 28-year-old Salvadoran who has a one-year permit to work in the United States.
"I came for my kids, my money," added Dimas Salvador, another immigrant worker.
