Walking down the streets of Los Angeles, it’s impossible to miss the sound of people’s teeth biting into Mexican street corn, or the smell of bacon wrapped hot dogs sizzling on the grill cart. Street food is a staple of the City of Angels, and it’s going to remain where it belongs.

The Los Angeles City Council just recently legalized street food within its city limits. The vote passed 11-4 in front of a crowd of hundreds of street food advocates. Although this is a push in the right direction, there are more regulations and discussions necessary under this new ruling.

For the past several years this topic has arisen, but L.A. officials have taken no actions due to simple framework issues halting its advancement. The consideration of the brick and mortar business veto, which gave restaurants and business owners the right to prevent sidewalk vendors selling food within their property lines, had left street vendors and their advocates concerned.

With this issue’s circumstances being so unsettling, some advocates took campaigning matters into their own hands to encourage street vendors’ legalization. According to the Los Angeles Times, just last month police arrested seven women for protesting against the brick and mortar business veto in front of City Hall. 

Before the vote passed, selling food on the sidewalk was a violation of the municipal code, which was punishable with fines. Not only were these vendors afraid of being ticketed, but they were afraid of being detained by police.

According to The Washington Post, Juanita Mendez-Medrano was selling flowers and leis outside of Perris High School in California. Police gave her a citation for not having a permit, but the altercation quickly escalated to the officer slamming her to the ground. Onlookers recorded Mendez-Medrano yelling in frustration, “Why don’t you go after gang members? Why those who are making a living? Why do you go after us like this?”

KTLA News has reported several other unfair incidents like Mendez-Medrano’s in the past several years. Police have brutally mistreated street vendors in Los Angeles while trying to make money to support their family.

Two years ago, vendors and their advocates sued the City of Los Angeles for taking their carts and destroying all of their personal belongings while working on public sidewalks. According to the Los Angeles Times, when officers take the carts of the vendors, they should provide receipts so vendors can reclaim them. Rather, the vendors accused the Los Angeles Police of trashing their belongings without any receipts, even when the vendors weren’t being arrested.

City Council’s most recent passing vote was the push that the street vendors needed to start this ongoing conversation. 

Street vending is an established part of the city’s community and culture. Both legal and undocumented immigrants take part in this, because it is difficult for those undocumented to find employment. But at any moment police can arrest them on criminal misdemeanor charges for doing their job.

The threat of these criminal charges has been a constant concern for street vendors living in the country without authorization. But with President Donald Trump’s definitive action to deport immigrants living in the U.S. illegally and with criminal records, they live their lives in permanent fear of being ripped away from their families.

With the recent legalization of street food vendors, immigrants are reaping the benefits so they can maintain a steady job and eliminate the fear of deportation.

Restaurant owners and street food vendors will be working out a compromise of when and where they are able to sell their food within the next several months.