Manassas bans illegal immigrants as peddlers
The city of Manassas adopted an ordinance this week that has painted the peddler picture crystal clear: People who are there illegally can't do it.
Last summer, several residents brought questions to council concerning the legal status of peddlers and the health
requirements they must follow. After nearly a year of deliberating on a new ordinance, council approved a measure Wednesday that allows peddling on city streets while upgrading the requirements to do so.
Peddlers will now have to have photo permits on them at all times and must be properly insured for the use of any vehicle, whether a truck, van or push cart. The city will also perform state and local criminal background checks before issuing a permit.
Before the ordinance was passed, city code stated that it was unlawful to peddle or hawk goods, wares or merchan-dise on any public streets or sidewalks. However, as of late last summer, the city had issued permits to 14 different peddlers and never bothered to address the issue until hearing a rash of complaints from citizens.
Originally, the city wanted to adopt provisions in the ordinance that specifically referred to checking the legal status of anyone wanting to peddle goods in the city. However, after seeking outside legal counsel on the matter, the city decided its current standards of practice and existing provisions in the ordinance more than made up for any new wording that may have been constitutionally problematic.
"The language that was removed is not needed for me to continue to deny a permit to anyone not legally present in the United States and we will continue to check status," said Commissioner of the Revenue John Grzejka in a recent e-mail. "The research of federal law indicated that I must deny a commercial license to any one not legally in the United States, so the language removed is not necessary in the ordinance."
Prior to the new ordinance, the city had issued six peddler permits (two ice cream trucks, one food vendor and three produce peddlers) and three solicitor permits. Those nine vendors will be called back in for a re-issuance of the permit with a photo, said Grzejka.
Grzejka said about a dozen peddlers haven't come back to renew their permits from last year but expects most of them, especially the food vendors, will do so as the weather warms up.
Staff writer Kipp Hanley can be reached at 703-369-5738 or .
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Reader Reactions
Once again, it is great to see any govt. body do just the little things to make citizens save. Now if we could just get a county or state wide ban in place.
PN why are you baiting people on this issue? I know in a moment of weakness I got sucked in.
How about writing a story on solutions residents have come up with outside of the “resolution” and local government “crackdowns”? Seems to me most of the residents have good ideas and should get more support than the dubious kind the “resolution” offers.
Good job MCC. It’s about time something like this was done. I’m tired of seeing Taco trucks in parking lots, garbage being left behind, IF they want to continue to do business that way, GO BACK to your country where I’m sure this is how your business is done and do it there.
So I assume they are going to check the citizen status of ALL street peddlers applying? Or are we looking at selective checking on people who look or speak differently?
And if health concerns were REALLY the issue here, wouldn’t they have just made ALL applicants provide documentation of immunizations before granting licenses?
But you see, the issue isn’t health concerns, nor is it licensure, nor is it anything else the city wants to pretend it is. Once again, it’s “let’s target people we don’t like.“
Way to go Manassas City! This needs to be done to protect health and safety standards for the public, and to ensure that the business is being conducted legally.
How about it Prince William? Time to follow suit…..
This is a fair way to prevent illegals from running businesses, but still allow properly permitted vendors to serve the public.
Thanks again Prince William. We are on track. Keep up the great work.
Wow! The city of Manassas illegally issued
permits to 14 peddlers. Bet someone lost their job over that. No?
Another case of a Prince William County government leaping without looking; and,
of course, following that with another blind act of faith, i.e., an unresearched law. By the way, did the city also lose track of 5 peddlers between paragraphs 4 & 7?
The biased media will not reveal the ugly truth? About the incessant murders, female and child violations, the drunken drivers and the carnage that goes on in every community within our borders. The unrestricted evidence about our open border and the pending Federal SAVE ACT (H.R.4088) and the new Presidents AMNESTY.
For the stark unsuppressed reality of the truth, about the illegal immigration invasion, that can only be found on the Internet. NUMBERSUSA, JUDICIAL WATCH, LIBERTY POST, IMMIGRATION NEWS INDEXER, UNIPAC and VDARE.
TIME TO FIGHT BACK OR DON’T COMPLAIN..?
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