"Several vendors mentioned they were scared after watching videos of immigration raids across the city. We used to go around helping vendors apply for permits so they wouldn't get fined, said Eric Nava-Perez, Street Vendor Project's Spanish-speaking member organizer. But now, we're out here distributing immigration rights information. As he checked in with various vendors, he asked them if they'd seen any recent Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) activity and instructed them on when to use the whistles he was distributing."
"Under the Trump administration's crackdown on immigration this year, ICE has made 7,488 arrests in New York. Street vendors have been increasingly targeted. In late October, 14 people, both immigrants and protesters, were detained by agents in Manhattan's Chinatown after a conservative influencer posted about a huge group of African illegal immigrants selling counterfeit goods. A second large-scale operation in lower Manhattan was thwarted in late November after 200 protesters blocked law enforcement vehicles from leaving their garages."
Street Vendor Project staff walked busy Bronx streets distributing know-your-rights materials and whistles to fruit and vegetable vendors during freezing temperatures. Many vendors reported fear after watching videos of immigration raids across the city. Organizers shifted from helping vendors obtain permits to distributing immigration rights information and advising when to use whistles to alert others to ICE presence. ICE made 7,488 arrests in New York under the Trump administration's crackdown this year. Street vendors have been increasingly targeted, with 14 people detained in Manhattan's Chinatown after an online post and a second large operation in lower Manhattan disrupted by protesters. Advocates say vendors are particularly vulnerable. Of approximately 23,000 vendors, 96% identified as immigrants.
Read at www.theguardian.com
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