Street vendors in Los Angeles remain on alert after detecting an increase in operations by the immigration and customs control service (ICE) against them during the last week.
Even this Monday, a raid was reported in Highland Park. Members of the community assure that immigration agents the owner was arrested of the Peso Pluma Tacos business during the morning. Additionally, on Tuesday the arrest of another street vendor in West Los Angeles was reported while she was trying to sell tamales.
Last week alone, more than 12 people were reported arrested with operations in Highland Park, Echo Park, Silver Lake, Eagle Rock, and Downey. Recent raids have kept many from going out to work, while others have no choice but to risk it.
“Right now what would help me is simply for the raids to stop, I think that would help us all,” said Fabiana, a street vendor who sells fruit. “What we are living is not life.”
The 64-year-old saleswoman reported that her friend and co-worker — who also operated her own fruit cart — was detained by two alleged immigration agents on Wednesday, January 7. That day, she was at home getting ready to go to work when, suddenly, she received a call from her partner.
When she spoke to the vendor, he told her that he had only seen a normal car park next to his fruit stand around noon.
The salesman told the person in the car: ‘What am I going to give you’, while he rolled down the window, and did not realize that it was immigration until he saw that other cars arrived quickly.
“He had already started marking me when he saw the other cars approaching and then he told me to go quickly to the fruit cart because they were taking it away,” says Fabiana. “When I arrived, I saw that they just left the two coolers empty. Someone took the car, the fruit, the drinks and the coconuts; they took everything.”
“We don’t know who it was: if it was the agents or if someone stole it.”
The fruit seller was transferred to the detention center and, as soon as he could, he contacted Fabiana.
“He spoke to me at 2 in the morning and told me that he was going to sign his deportation because the detention center was very full and the conditions were not good,” says Fabiana. “He said it was hell and, the next day, they deported him to Tijuana.”
While sitting next to her fruit cart, Fabiana, who hopes to have surgery soon on her knee, says that it has not been easy since the raids began and even more so now that she does not have her co-worker, who helped her a lot with moving her equipment. He explained that, apart from sending his coworker some money, because he had only sold $30 worth of fruit when he was arrested, they are considering the best way to help him, now that he resides in Tijuana.
She adds that the latest raids have put her on alert and have affected not only her business, but also her mental health. This latest raid and arrest of someone she has lived with affected her greatly.
“This also affects our health, because we cannot sleep because of the stress. Every time we go out to sell we do it with fear, wondering if we are going to sell enough to sustain ourselves, knowing that at any moment they can come and take us,” said the seller.
“Also, I’m waiting for knee surgery that will require three months of recovery. So, right now I’m working to do as much as I can, since I won’t be able to do it later.”
Fabiana said that, with the help of a police station organizer, she reported the second fruit cart as stolen and hopes the community can help find it. She and the deported vendor shared their fruit carts, and she says they paid more than $2,000 for each cart, so she hopes to get it back soon.
Another seller from El Sereno, who operates a truck with which she sells birria in El Sereno Night Marketsaid he can’t put into words how much the situation has affected him. She and her husband operate the business, which represents their only source of income for them and their two children.
“The raids have affected our business financially, mentally, emotionally and spiritually,” said the saleswoman, who preferred not to give her name for her safety. “There have been days when we go out to work and we don’t sell a single dish.”
Advocacy groups and organizations like Inclusive Action, which work directly with street vendors and other entrepreneurs, have also noted the increase in vendor arrests.
“We are horrified by the violent kidnappings of street vendors in Los Angeles, which destroy lives, separate families and tear apart the social and economic fabric of our communities,” said Rudy Espinoza, executive director of the organization Inclusive Action for the City. “We condemn these attacks and will continue to work alongside our coalition partners to protect street vendors and immigrant entrepreneurs.”
Street vendors usually sell in different ways: alone on the streets of the city, in open-air markets or being hired for private events.
Espinoza says that one of the ways his organization is helping vendors is with the “Hire a Vendor” program, which supports street vendors to develop their skills in the restaurant sector and access new opportunities.
“This program has become especially important as the federal government has stepped up immigration enforcement in our communities. The need for safe work opportunities is now more urgent,” Espinoza said.
Some of the places where street vendors have been able to find shelter—even before the raids—have been markets or ‘night markets’. These spaces usually bring together several sellers in one place, which allows them to work more safely, without the constant fear of being detained by immigration agents, and have a more stable income.
However, given the increase in raids, these markets have also been forced to make difficult decisions. Such is the case of El Sereno Night Marketwhich today announced through its networks that it would not open today.
“We started hearing the operations on Monday, which was when we started to see that the raids were intensifying and very close to us,” said Vanessa Gutiérrez, president of El Sereno Night Market. “When they took the owner of the Peso Pluma tacos business, I was amazed because I saw him all the time.”
“There was no doubt we were going to close; I couldn’t live with myself if something happened to one of our vendors. We closed,” he added.
This is not the first time the group, which includes more than a dozen street vendors, has had to close its doors for more than a day. In June, when the raids began, their market, which is usually full of life, music, families and delicious food, closed for more than a month for the safety of its vendors and customers.
“During that time I wondered what we were going to do, because these vendors are much more than people who come to work at the market,” Gutiérrez said. “They are our family, our community, and knowing that we are back to the situation we were in in June is scary.”
Gutiérrez and his vice president, Isidro “Sid” Rea, remember how they cried alongside the vendors that month, contacting each one to tell them they would close until things improved. Although they work with watchdog groups like El Sereno Community Care Collectivewho keep an eye on the neighborhood when they are open, prefer to move with caution.
In today’s video, Gutiérrez tried to hold back tears, as he fears they will find themselves in the same situation as in June if the raids continue to intensify. Therefore, this time they plan to raise funds before having to close for an extended period. They want to provide financial assistance to their vendors during the closing days, as they were able to do in June thanks to donations from the community.
“We are going through difficulties, but we continue forward with a lot of effort,” said Cristina Villa, owner of Birria Hijos de Villa.
“We leave home every day with the uncertainty of not knowing if we will return,” says Villa. “We have seen that ICE and this administration do not care if you have documents or not; they simply see people with brown and black skin, and that, for them, is already a crime.”