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Sidewalk vendors operate legally in the biggest cities across the United States with one notable exception: Los Angeles.

For decades, efforts to add a permit system for the city’s $500 million underground vending economy have faltered. Proponents say that’s because the city lacked a crucial ingredient: political will.

But a new bid has an unlikely motivator: President-elect Donald J. Trump’s plan to deport immigrants in the country illegally.

“It seems to have lit a fire under some of the City Council members,” said Mark Vallianatos, who teaches urban and environmental policy at Occidental College.