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 jhanley@potomacnews.com.