Almost 10 years ago, the founder of the group Latinos for Trump warned of the possibility of “taco trucks on every corner” if something weren’t done about immigration.
Of course, the history of taco tracks and stands of all sorts is nothing new in Texas and the U.S., but now, under the current term of the Trump administration, the folks who run these mobile Mexican eateries are feeling an extra layer of anxiety.
Mando Rayo, host of the Tacos of Texas podcast, joined the Standard to discuss. Listen to the interview in the player above or read the transcript below.
This transcript has been edited lightly for clarity:
Texas Standard: Well, you talked with street vendors in Austin. Can you tell us a little bit about who you heard from?
Mando Rayo: Yeah, definitely as you go through any street, to be honest, in Austin off of East Riverside in the north side or even in like in Houston at the Tía Pancha flea market right outside there, or in El Paso in the outskirts like in Socorro, you see street vendors. They’re selling elotes. They’re selling their tacos. They’re selling raspas.
I wanted to find out and check in with them to see kind of how they’re holding up, because you’re seeing less and less of them because of the immigration crackdowns. I kind of wanted to find out firsthand what they’re going through and what motivates them to kind of keep going, considering their safety.
So what did you hear?
So I talked to this woman on East Riverside. They’re basically set up in their cars. They open up the back of their hatchbacks or put a little tiendita out and they sell their product right?
And so I talked to this woman and her daughter. And the reason why they’re there is because her husband got deported and now she has to make rent and so they’re out there from five in the morning till 11 in the morning, but they also have to be wary and move in a moment’s notice. But they’re there because they have to persevere.
She was very frank with me and she was just like “I have kids. I have to feed them. They have to go to school.” But also she was there with her daughter and her daughter is also there. And so thinking about some of those street vendors, some of them can still kind of go out there — in a sense be fearless and do this — but some of the kids are taking over some of these duties, too.
And so yeah, that’s kind of what we’ve seen out there.
She said something like, “no se rajan,” which I had to look up because I was like, let me get that translation right. It was like “we don’t give up” or “we don’t crack.” Is that kind of the right answer?
Yeah, like, “we don’t give up. We’re not scared.” That’s part of the mantra, I think, of immigrants, of like, “hey, we’re going to make it. We are going to survive, no matter the odds.”
And they’re doing it. And they are doing it by selling what they know. They know their food. They know their culture. And, they’re there to provide food for workers, for people that are building our cities.
Well, I was going to ask, there have been pictures and videos, particularly from California, showing when the ICE crackdown was really severe there, showing taco carts, other flower stands empty after witnesses say ICE picked people up — but it’s not a far away thing. I mean, in this example of this woman and her daughter, they were affected personally by the immigration crackdown.
Yes, yes. You know, I think we’re all affected personally — doesn’t matter if it happens to you, with a family member or you know somebody.
I think the idea around street vendors — paleteros, taqueros and taqueras — that provides kind of this place of a neighborhood, right? That you’re able to like go out and get yourself an ice cream, get yourself a paleta or some food and support a local family.
And I think when you see those photos of those stands that are basically… They just leave them there. And it’s pretty inhumane, I would say, because it’s their livelihood. It’s a product they pay with their own money to build their small stand and it’s just heartbreaking.
