Two Los Angeles City Council members want to legalize sidewalk vendors, arguing it will help people who fear deportation in the wake of President-elect Donald Trump's promise to ship out millions who are in the country illegally.
Joe Buscaino and Curren Price sent a letter Tuesday to their fellow councilmembers outlining a policy to decriminalize and regulate street vending.
It's currently a lightly enforced misdemeanor to sell food and wares on all 10,750 miles of public sidewalks in Los Angeles, making it the only major U.S. city to completely ban such vending.
Buscaino's policy director, Dennis Gleason, says many of the estimated 20,000 sidewalk vendors are believed to be illegally in the U.S. and current law makes them criminals, raising chances of their deportation for simply earning a living.
