Taking to Twitter Aug. 15, the San Bernardino Police Department posted photos of the latest government crackdown on illicit activity: street vendors. In a galling move, government officials wasted taxpayer-funded resources confiscating fruits and flowers, instead of allowing free enterprise to prosper.

The crackdown highlights why San Bernardino must overhaul its vending regulations.

For starters, the city bans “transient merchants/vendors” from selling on public streets, vacant lots, sidewalks or other public places.

The city’s ordinances code, in a remarkable display of disdain, declare that transient vendors “create a public nuisance” and “cause blight.”

Not only are these restrictions unfair for street vendors, they are unconstitutional.

In justifying the ban on transient merchants, the mayor and City Council argue vendors “unlawfully compete against lawful businesses without paying permit fees or taxes.” Likewise, food carts in San Bernardino must keep at least 500 feet away from any brick-and-mortar restaurant. Compared to a 2011 report by the Institute for Justice, that proximity ban is far larger than those found in most other cities.

But in 2008, the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals (which includes California) ruled that “economic protectionism … cannot be said to be in furtherance of a legitimate governmental interest.” In other words, local and state government cannot ban entrepreneurs from operating just to protect established businesses from competition.

Moreover, the 14th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution guarantees everyone the right to earn an honest living, free from undue government interference.

For decades, vending has been a time-honored path toward upward mobility, particularly for those with few means. With a little start-up capital, vending lets people run their own small businesses and hone their entrepreneurial skills, allowing them to provide for their families and move up the economic ladder. Some vendors have even earned enough money to put their children through college.

In California, one of the more successful mobile vendors was none other than Carl Karcher, the founder of Carl’s Jr. After Carl bought a hot dog cart for $326 in 1941, he eventually earned enough money hawking hot dogs to expand his business. Carl’s simple cart in time grew into the iconic fast-food chain, which now has over 1,100 restaurants worldwide. As his story demonstrates, street vending can be a potent incubator for business success.

Unfortunately, San Bernardino is not alone in clamping down on these hard-working entrepreneurs. Vending on the streets of Los Angeles can mean risking fines as high as $1,000.

In late March, the New York Police Department arrested three women for selling churros.

To fight back against unjust laws, the Institute for Justice has launched a National Street Vending Initiative and taken city governments in Atlanta, El Paso and Hialeah, Fla. to court.

Mobile vendors have a right to engage in economic liberty. San Bernardino must respect the principle that all men and women are entitled to the fruits (and flowers) of their labor.

Nick Sibilla is a writer at the Institute for Justice.