Mayor Karen Bass just made it official: Los Angeles is a sanctuary city when it comes to enforcing food safety laws with thousands of street stands that have popped up all over the city — many of them run by illegal aliens.
Bass’s announcement this week ordering police to stop issuing violations to unpermitted vendors follows a Breitbart News investigation last month that revealed the widespread lack of enforcement of city and county food safety laws, with street food stands run by illegal migrants getting a free pass while citizen restaurateurs and licensed food stands are subject to fines, high costs, burdensome regulations and even closure.
Bass’s office told the California Post Thursday that the mayor “stands firmly with street vendors” and has directed the Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD) to stop issuing criminal citations to unpermitted vendors.
“Street vending is a quintessential part of LA’s world-class food scene and a livelihood for thousands of hardworking Angelenos. Supporting LA’s street vendors is more important than ever given ongoing attacks by ICE,” her office told the outlet.
The message is clear, say critics. If you’re in the United States illegally and operating a business illegally, you get a free pass. If you are a citizen, you must follow all the rules or face fines and even closure.
As Breitbart News reported in July, an estimated 50,000 vendors operate throughout Los Angeles but fewer than 700 have active permits, with only 53 of those for food vendors.
Besides presenting food safety problems for America’s second largest city, the tent canopies and smokey grills that accompany many operations have become a blight on neighborhoods and business districts, contributing — along with the homeless and widespread littering — to the kind of streetscape typically found in impoverished Third World countries.
Current city statutes require a city vending permit to sell food or merchandise on city sidewalks and in city parks. It must be renewed annually. Food vendors must also obtain a county heath permit, demonstrating they have met all the requirements of food safety, such as refrigeration, sanitation stations and other commonsense practices that restaurants must follow.
Hellbound and Down 