An immigrant rights organization is suing Fontana over street vending laws that were adopted almost two years ago. They say the laws are punitive and violate the rights of people trying to sell food.
The laws, amended and adopted in October 2023, allow authorities to seize food carts from vendors without proper permits. They also authorize a private company, 4Leaf, to enforce the rules.
The changes make it a crime to interfere with street vendor enforcement, with violators facing fines or arrest.
“People are really upset about this. There’s not a day that doesn't go by that people aren't contacting one of us saying, ‘When are we going to stop this?’" said Mayor Acquanetta Warren back when the council adopted the changes.
By mid-2024, city officials credited the ordinance with reducing complaints, saying enforcement had issued more than 500 warnings, thrown away food about 90 times and impounded equipment on 43 occasions.
The federal lawsuit filed by legal nonprofit Public Counsel on behalf of the Inland Coalition for Immigrant Justice (IC4IJ) claims Fontana’s laws violate state laws that decriminalized street vending and the constitution by denying vendors the right to sell.
“The goal of this lawsuit is to get Fontana to rescind its unlawful ordinances, to rescind its contract with 4leaf and also to send a message to other cities that if you're doing this, we're going to hold you accountable,” said Public Counsel attorney Ritu Mahajan Estes.
Estes argues that 4Leaf, the private company hired for code enforcement, has been accused of aggressive behavior toward vendors, with recorded incidents showing employees seizing carts, disposing of food and taking equipment worth hundreds or even thousands of dollars. Vendors had previously told KVCR these actions have forced some to relocate outside of Fontana, costing them their livelihoods.
Because vendors operate on thin profit margins, Estes says, such losses can be devastating and have pushed many, most of them Latino and immigrants, into financial hardship.
“The harassment and punishment from the city and 4Leaf have left vendors feeling criminalized,” said Estes. “Their carts and grills and other equipment they use are taken or destroyed, sometimes with personal belongings inside, and they’re given no clear way to get them back.”
A spokeswoman with the city declined to comment, saying that they’re not in a position to do so since they haven’t had a chance to review the complaint.
