Pressuring landlords to hand over tenant records: Trump’s new strategy to track migrants

The Trump administration has launched a new strategy to track undocumented immigrants. The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has begun demanding that landlords provide information about their tenants, such as leases, rental applications and identification cards. Thus, Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) has opened a new avenue to track down undocumented immigrants and initiate deportation proceedings.

Atlanta real estate attorney Eric Teusink shared with the AP an “information enforcement subpoena” received by a client. The document demanded that he turn over tenant records and information about those who may have lived with them. These records often contain relevant information, such as the tenants’ marital status and employment history.

The application Teusink showed was in the name of an official with the Fraud Detection and National Security Directorate of Citizenship and Immigration Services, a DHS agency. Although it wasn’t signed by a judge, it threatened the owner with the possibility of being held in contempt of court if he refused to cooperate.

Like Teusnik, several attorneys across the country have reported similar cases. For example, Jordana Roubicek Greenman, a real estate attorney based in Massachusetts, recounted how an ICE officer asked a client of hers for information about a tenant. The landlord received a voicemail, which Roubicek Greenman advised him not to answer.

Bill Holston, executive director of the Dallas Eviction Advocacy Center (DEAC) in Texas, told EL PAÍS that while migrants “already feel intimidated by ICE’s reckless actions,” this new effort to locate them will exacerbate the situation. “This is likely to increase the already existing discrimination against tenants based on race and national origin,” he explained. He added that “landlords often look for reasons not to work with certain populations, and their anticipation of responding to subpoenas will encourage them to discriminate further or add additional fees to their contracts.”

It also recommended that landlords who receive such requests consult with their legal representatives to determine whether or not they are required to respond. On this matter, the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) asserts that compliance is not mandatory unless ordered by a judge. “Court orders signed by judges generally must be complied with,” it argues. “However, in the case of ICE subpoenas, there are no consequences for initial noncompliance. Only if a court orders you to comply and you subsequently fail to do so can sanctions be imposed.”

Based on Holston’s experience during his years working with DEAC, an organization that offers free assistance to people facing eviction, many landlords regularly violate their legal obligations to tenants. “Unfortunately, most will not be willing to take any risks to protect those who pay their rent and contribute to their financial success,” he said.

According to the attorney, tenants have a right to privacy, which includes their immigration status. “Landlords are not in a position to evaluate TPS [Temporary Protected Status], Special Immigrant Visas, parole, or the various relationships people may have with the immigration system,” he emphasized. He also noted that tenants have civil rights they can assert if they are exposed to any act of discrimination.

“All of these actions seek to create a climate of fear and pressure undocumented individuals to self-deport,” Holston stated. “Initiatives like this will continue to have a devastating impact on our immigrant neighbors and subject them to greater fear and vulnerability,” he added. He also believed that Washington “should do what they should have done years ago: create comprehensive immigration reform so that hardworking immigrants have a path to obtaining legal status.”

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