What makes them especially vulnerable is that in New York City, vending without a license can be prosecuted as a criminal summons or a criminal misdemeanor rather than as a ticket or a civil liability, which puts vendors at risk of deportation if they encounter police.

Federal ICE agents launched raids in New York City early Tuesday as part of President Trump’s illegal immigration crackdown, Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem said. The agents hit at least three locations in the Bronx and took at least two people into custody, sources said.