May Day: L.A. Street Vendors Are Going to Caravan into Downtown to Demand Coronavirus Relief

While many small businesses have received support from both local and federal governments in order to weather this storm, street vendors have continuously been left out of the conversation due to the informal nature of their work or due to their immigration status. More and more vendors are unable to pay rent and are living in fear of facing eviction in the near future. Meanwhile, the County’s Department of Public Health is beginning to issue misdemeanor citations and $1,000 fines to unlicensed food vendors. A misdemeanor penalty prioritizes an undocumented person for deportation under the Trump administration.

Excluding our most vulnerable community members from disaster relief is discriminatory and amounts to nothing less than a human rights violation.

Just this year, Los Angeles had legalized street vending. Prompting many vendors to gather funds to pay the controversial fee to be able to vend without being harassed by the authorities. The coronavirus has pushed the already marginalized community largely made up of immigrant women and the elderly further into the risk of poverty and homelessness.

The link with information in both English and español here can be found here.