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For nearly 16 years, María Irma Pérez Padilla set up her tamale cart at a busy intersection in Pilsen, selling the beloved Mexican dish to help support her family. The 52-year-old mother worked long days to pay for her diabetes medication and provide for her children after her husband’s death two years ago.

Like many older immigrants in the U.S. without legal permission, Pérez relied entirely on street vending to survive. But on a Friday morning in October, masked federal agents in an unmarked vehicle detained her as she prepared an order of tamales. Within minutes, the familiar presence who anchored the corner for more than a decade was gone.

“They were just standing between her and her cart — they didn’t even let her finish her job,” her so

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