Waiting on Gavin Newsom's signature, SB 635 looks to strengthen protections for immigrant street vendors

“We have not only contributed to the economy of this state and country, but we have also kept people fed, provided basic necessities, lit up the streets and offered spaces where people can gather in community in connection to our cultures, now we ask that in return our city and state safeguard us,” Ofelia Ruiz, an L.A. street vendor for more than 30 years, said when talking about street vending protections. 

On Wednesday morning, Senator María Elena Durazo and a coalition of immigrant rights and economic justice organizations gathered in the heart of Boyle Heights to call on Gov. Gavin Newsom to sign SB 635, the Street Vendor Protection Act, into law. 

If signed into law, the bill would protect the personal information of immigrant vendors who are among the groups with the highest risk of detention and possible deportation by immigration enforcement actions, which have increased in California and more specifically in places like L.A.

“Part of the taxes paid [in California] are paid by immigrants but at this very moment, the federal administration and the Trump administration are leading a campaign of hate against our communities. It is anti-family, inhumane and immoral,” Durazo, author of the bill, said on Wednesday. 

The bill would prohibit local authorities from sharing their personal information with immigration enforcement agencies without a warrant or subpoena. It would also restrict local government agencies, via permit applications, from inquiring about specific information, such as immigration or citizenship status and the collection of fingerprints or criminal history. 

Additionally, the bill states that it would forbid local law enforcement officers who enforce sidewalk vending from utilizing their resources to assist federal immigration enforcement, including Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) raids. 

Ruiz said that she has been in fear of coming out to work in the streets, afraid that she will be racially profiled by federal agents.  

“[This bill] is important today more than ever for vendors. We have been living in fear under the federal government. Many of us have not left our homes for fear that they might kidnap us and put us into a jail far away from our loved ones, under hard conditions,” she said. 

Although the exact number is hard to determine, there are an estimated 50,000 street vendors in L.A. and of these, approximately 10,000 are food vendors.  

As initially reported by KTLA, currently the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health has paused unpermitted street vending enforcement due to fears raised by federal immigration operations. 

“At this time, Public Health’s enforcement activities for unpermitted vendors have been temporarily paused in the areas within its jurisdiction due to safety concerns for our staff arising out of federal immigration enforcement actions,” the department said. 

Lyzzeth Mendoza, senior organizer at Community Power Collective (CPC), said that getting the bill to the governor's desk has not been an easy job and is instead the result of a collaborative effort between community organizations, lawyers, state partners and, most importantly, street vendors. 

“We have worked for ten months straight to create this proposal, talking to vendors and going to those directly impacted first, always centering them throughout this process,” Mendoza said. “We are one step closer to having this bill proposal become law. Today [Newsom] can sign this. We have done the work.” 

SB 635 was co-sponsored by CPC as well as the Coalition for Humane Immigrant Rights (CHIRLA), Inclusive Action for the City, Inland Coalition for Immigrant Justice and Public Counsel. It also received support from more than 60 organizations, including the California Federation of Labor and ACLU California Action. 

Cassidy Bennett, staff attorney with Public Counsel, talked about the work that comes with the implementation of bills such as SB 635. 

“While we recognize that statewide policy changes are a big win, implementation work is also important to make sure vendors across the state benefit from these laws,” she said. “We are committed to helping vendors understand and uphold their rights under SB 536 when signed into law.”\

Social media videos of ICE agents tackling people at bus stops, car washes outside of Home Depot and handcuffing fruit vendors have spread rapidly. Shannon Camacho, senior policy associate at Inclusive Action for the City, said vendors in L.A. and in other cities across the state continue to struggle with their sales.

“Since June, ICE and border patrol agents have racially profiled and violently arrested and deported immigrant community members, cruelly targeting street vendors specifically, disappearing them to immigration prisons and tearing families apart,” she said. “Vendors have had to face an impossible choice: either go out and risk kidnapping or stay home and lose income, making them unable to pay rent or basic necessities.”

Newsom has not announced whether he will sign the bill, but if he does, AB 536 would take effect Jan. 1, 2026.