Immigration Fears Stilt Vendors Trying to Make Money During Super Bowl

Businesses and entrepreneurs of all kinds are hoping to earn a piece of the financial pie that Super Bowl organizers say the big game at Levi’s Stadium will deliver to the Bay Area this weekend.

But for some, the allure is clouded by constant concern over immigration enforcement threats from President Donald Trump’s administration, adding a layer of fear and instability for those weighing whether to try to tap into the event to earn more income in pricey Silicon Valley.

“Maybe the Super Bowl could have helped bring in some business, but with all this fear-mongering, I definitely think it’s put a damper on things,” said Liz Hernandez, who runs a longstanding boot business, Zapatería La Mexicana, with her family at the San José Flea Market in the Berryessa neighborhood.

The huge East San José marketplace, home to hundreds of vendor stalls that have served locals and tourists alike for 65 years, is known affectionately as “La Pulga.” It’s long been a popular destination for shoppers and families looking for entertainment, toys, clothes and produce, along with snacks like churros, hot dogs or tacos, and games for children.

But Hernandez and other vendors said the market’s attendance has dropped significantly since Trump began his second term, as its biggest customer base, the large Latino community in the South Bay, has tried to navigate daily life while on the receiving end of an immigration campaign built on fear and intimidation.

“They are just trying to scare people more than anything and show their dominance. It’s just terrible to see what it’s done to the community, people’s spirits overall, the way that people are being attacked,” Hernandez said.

While there was initially some hope the Super Bowl would bring a boom in business to the market, and to other diverse local business corridors in East San José, like Alum Rock, where her family also owns a brick-and-mortar store, Red Rock Western Wear, she said that optimism has faded in recent weeks.

“I don’t think the local community is going to show out,” Hernandez said, standing in front of stacks of boxed leather cowboy boots.

Even as NFL officials said at a press conference this week that there are no planned immigration enforcement actions at the game or during any related events, the threats from Trump to send a surge of federal agents into the Bay Area months ago, and vague statements from Department of Homeland Security officials more recently, have loomed over the festivities.

Jimmy Hernandez, a flea market vendor selling records, fashion accessories and art for 35 years, who is not related to Liz Hernandez, said he doesn’t oppose Trump’s stated goal of removing violent criminals, but that hasn’t been the reality.

“You’re going after the working people that built this place. And ironically, that’s probably some of the people that shop here, too. Because this is a family tradition, coming to the flea market,” he said.

Roberto González, head of the San José Flea Market Vendors Association, said he’s disappointed San José, the NFL and the Bay Area Host Committee haven’t done more to creatively promote the market and its vendors to Super Bowl visitors from near and far.

He said a small number of vendors from the market were recruited by local influencer group Sanjosefoos, as they are known on Instagram, to take part in larger city events near downtown, but otherwise, there has been little outreach.

“How great would it be that the city and the Super Bowl work together to have vendors out there at the event?” he said.

With the NFL enacting a four-mile “clean zone” around Levi’s Stadium in Santa Clara during the game and in the week leading up to it, many vendors who might have wanted to get close to the stadium to sell their wares will be unable to do so, with the restrictions even booting out longtime vendors who regularly sell there.

“It’s definitely a class war, where billionaires and these large corporations are able to set whatever they want to set up,” González said. “They have the golden road laid out for them.”

“And then it’s just dribbles for the rest of the folks. Or you have to put yourself, maybe in a compromising position, to even be able to try and make an extra buck,” he added, noting that some immigrants may choose to brave the area around the clean zone to sell merchandise or crafts even if they are worried.

San José has perhaps done more than any other South Bay city to ensure it is not shortchanged, as much of the money flowing through the region went to San Francisco when Levi’s hosted the big game a decade ago.

The city, with promotional help from Mayor Matt Mahan, has raised about $5 million from companies and sponsors to help put on a series of events the week of the game, including a concert series in front of City Hall and events at other popular outposts, like San Pedro Square and Tony Santana Row.

González thinks there should be more of a balance, with the city promoting immigrant-rich shopping and cultural hubs that make San José special.

Besides the flea market, González noted the Willow Street corridor, known as Calle Willow, a hub of Latino businesses south of downtown, as well as Little Saigon, along Story Road, where many of the city’s most well-known and internet-famous Vietnamese American restaurants and cafes are located.

Jen Baker, the director of economic development for San José, said the city has been using its social media channels to promote businesses around the city, including those planning Super Bowl-centric special menus and parties.

The city also held an information and panel discussion meeting for small businesses at Mexican Heritage Plaza in East San José in early December.

“Creating those avenues, building relationships for smaller businesses to get technical assistance with marketing and finance so that they can position themselves to be responsive to some of the vendor opportunities,” Baker said. 

Zaileen Janmohamed, president and CEO of the Bay Area Host Committee, said the organization, in partnership with the NFL, launched a program called “Source LX,” that “ensures that contracts around this event go to small businesses and businesses that are based locally.”

She called the program, with over 1,000 applicants, a success.

However, applications were only accepted for a short time, and the program closed its application portal about a year ago.

Business owners and vendors interviewed for this story had not heard of Source LX.

For Israel García and Alma González, who run Antojitos y Birria Estilo Jalisco food truck in the Spartan Keyes neighborhood of San José, strict restrictions on where and how they can operate deterred them from trying to get involved with the big game.

The couple consulted a city councilmember about requirements and considered relocating their truck to Santa Clara for game day. But ultimately, the wide reach of the clean zone meant it wouldn’t be worth it to leave their normal spot, where regular customers come each week or even daily for lunch.

The couple gets up in the middle of the night six days a week to go to a commissary kitchen and prepare about 20 pounds of beef for their truck’s birria tacos and quesadillas, as well as a large quantity of their rich consomé, redolent of warm spices and topped with fresh cilantro and onion.

Alma’s father started the business 15 years ago, and now he does the grocery shopping for the business. The couple also runs a stand at the flea market, selling handmade and custom crafts, such as papier mache and crocheted items, often imprinted with pictures of customers’ family members or pets.

García, speaking Spanish translated by his wife, said the items they sell are all handcrafted, often made by his sister or mother, and they are proud to share pieces of their Mexican heritage with customers, who often become their friends.

González said business has slowed in recent weeks, as aggressive immigration agents wreak havoc in other parts of the country.

“Everybody right now is kind of nervous. Because of what they are doing in the other states, everybody is scared. Even if you are a citizen or a non-citizen, it doesn’t matter. I think everyone is nervous about it, and I think we are anxious,” she said. “Maybe they will come, maybe they won’t, but right now … everybody is like, what’s going on?”

Despite those fears, some advocates say the harshly expensive realities of the region mean the chance to boost business or sales during a major event is a necessity.

“The economic disparities between folks who can afford a home and folks who are stuck renting and barely able to afford rent, those disparities are really high,” said Socorro Montaño, the co-director and organizing coordinator for nonprofit Latinos United for a New America.

“Yet our immigrant community is so strong here, and part of that is a really, really strong work ethic and commitment to making their lives better for their families and future generations,” Montaño said.

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Montaño hopes vendors are aware of the tools and groups working to protect immigrants, such as the Rapid Response Network of Santa Clara County, and other nonprofits like LUNA.

The Community Service Organization is working to put together an “Adopt a Vendor” program, in which volunteers trained by the Rapid Response Network would accompany vendors who are selling food, crafts or other items around the South Bay, as an extra layer of support and another pair of eyes.

“At these entertainment events, nobody, regardless of their immigration status, should have any fear … during this time, which shouldn’t have anything to do with discrimination or racist profiling,” said Uriel Magdaleno, a leader with CSO.

Magdaleno said the program is a necessary step as part of a broader resistance effort to what he described as “ICE brutalization” of immigrants.

Liz Hernandez, the flea market vendor, said even after the Super Bowl is long gone, the crackdown from federal agencies could continue to hurt immigrants and the San José community as a whole.

“They’re such a value to the community and just seeing everything that’s happening is so heartbreaking because they’re such an asset and they don’t deserve to be hindered this way or accused of being terrible people,” she said. They’ve shown up in ways that other people haven’t.”

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