SAN DIEGO, Sept. 12 (UPI) -- The U.S. Department of Homeland Security has ordered the deportation of 24 young Turkish nationals for operating pedicabs illegally in San Diego.
The government specifically banned foreign students from working as pedicab operators after a tourist was killed in San Diego in 2009, the San Diego Union-Tribune reported. Witnesses said the pedicab operator was in an area that was supposed to be limited to pedestrians and was weaving around obstacles when it tipped over.
In August, the State Department told Immigration and Customs Enforcement young people here on student visas might be working illegally on pedicabs in San Diego. ICE agents say they discovered 20 men and four women from Turkey doing that.
Pedicabs are three-wheeled vehicles operated by pedaling. The operators usually pay a fixed rate per day for the vehicle and can then charge what they wish, although the fares are supposed to be posted.
