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LA’s Macarthur Park area is known for its diverse immigrant population, open spaces, and its street vendors. Now, some vendors are claiming harassment by the Los Angeles Police Department through threats and tickets. It is illegal in Los Angeles to operate a street vending business without a license. However, licensing fees are prohibitively high for the primarily low-income immigrant vendors, some of whom have been reportedly arrested and deported. The area on 6th Street between Union and Alvarado had apparently been generally open for business for vendors since the September 2010 LAPD killing of Manuel Jamines, a Guatemalan immigrant and day laborer. However, in recent months, LAPD officers have ramped up their patrols of the area – they are pushing vendors to pay hundreds of dollars for what is described as “insurance,” and to move to the corner of 6th and Burlington, an area that receives much less foot traffic.

On Friday March 9th, a group of about 25 street vendors and supporters gathered in front of the Metro station on Alvarado street to protest the LAPD’s actions. Uprising correspondent Kevin Walker was there and filed a special report.