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NYC immigrant street vendors fearing deportation urge City Council to pass protection laws

NYC street vendors especially vulnerable to new immigration policies, advocates say
NYC street vendors especially vulnerable to new immigration policies, advocates say 02:06

NEW YORK — Advocates say New York City's street vendors are among the most vulnerable to the Trump administration's immigration policies, and now they're calling on the City Council to help protect them.

Many are immigrants in a once-thriving community of street vendors in Queens. Now, they tell us, those both documented and undocumented are experiencing police crackdowns and, under the Trump administration, increased threat of deportation.

Street Vendor Reform package would expand protections for vendors, advocates say

Meanwhile, they are pleading with the city for better access to vending licenses.  

"When people ask, 'What can be done? What can New Yorkers do to protect immigrant communities?' The fact is there are laws in front of City Council right now," Street Vendor Project deputy director Carina Kaufman-Gutierrez said.

Advocates say the Street Vendor Reform package would expand access and protections for vendors in New York City, formalizing their stalls as small businesses and decreasing their risk of being detained or deported.

Some Queens locals who spoke to CBS News New York with condemn unlicensed vending as a public nuisance lacking health and safety oversight.

"People think, 'Why don't they just go get a license?' And the reality is it's the city that has put the cap in place and has created this shadow economy," Kaufman-Gutierrez said.

CBS New York pressed the City Council for a timeline for the Street Vendor Reform package. A spokesperson said: "These bills are going through the legislative process, which is deliberative and allows for thorough public engagement and input."

"If something happens to me, what will happen to my kids?"

Lola usually sells hats along the sidewalk in Corona, but Thursday, she was too afraid.

"If something happens to me, what will happen to my kids? Where will my kids go?" she said through a translator.

She arrived in this country with her family four years ago, starting work as a street vendor to make ends meet, as she had done back in Ecuador.

"I'm grateful to God that when we arrived, we came together, we came whole, and we came safe," she said.

Lola wishes for safety for her children as she works toward her goal.

"My dream is to be able to own a home," she said.

You can email Elle with Queens story ideas by CLICKING HERE

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