Los Angeles might be famous for its street vending culture, but the city has not always been as kind and welcoming to street vendors as it is today. As a kid, one of my biggest fears was that my parents and their taco stand would be busted by county health inspectors for selling food they depended on for their survival.
While most of my classmates looked forward to the reprieve that weekends brought, I would brace for the weekly dose of anxiety I felt over the potential citations my parents couldn’t afford and threats of arrest for the type of work they did.
Those fears have simmered over the years as the city has made strides to better embrace its vendors, and my parents have adapted to meet health standards set over the years.
But today, instead of worrying about health inspectors, or any other threat taqueros face in their line of work, I am terrified of the risk my parents run as immigrants in a city invaded by ICE agents that profile hard-working people based on race and color.
My parents became taqueros at the end of 2002. After more than a decade as a manager at Pizza Loca, my dad decided to take what he’d learned from his dad back in Puebla, Mexico, and start selling barbacoa. My mom joined him in the venture, taking on half work and becoming an essential part in the taco business they built together.