Unknowingly renting to illegal immigrants ......
Rental Property Investor · Midland, TX · Member since 2019 · 46 posts · 17 votes
Just wondering if there could be any issues with unknowingly renting to illegal immigrants. As a landlord, are we responsible for inquiring as to their citizenship? Could we get into trouble legally if we don’t?
@Sean Tippens as long as they pay the rent and take care of your property, I don’t see any issues. They are, after all, believe it or not, “patriotic” or not, human beings just like anyone else.
They need a place to live, a place to raise their children. And trust me, they will probably take care of the place more than the “citizens” of this county.
How fast did you drive to work yesterday? I would bet every dollar I have that you were speeding at least once. Maybe it was only a little bit over the speed limit, but as you said, "illegal is illegal". Don't try to be pious and justify it by saying it was only 3 mph over the limit, and that you are a safe driver, or that you were just keeping up with traffic.
Fun fact: Roughly half of all people you call 'illegal', could have came to the US legally, and could have a valid SSN card issued to them. While many people come to America by illegally crossing the border with no documentation, an equal number of people come to America perfectly legally, under some kind of a work or student visa program, and then overstay their visa and never leave. Many of these individuals were eligible to obtain a valid SSN card prior to their visa expiring. It is not exactly rare for an illegal alien to have a valid SSN card issued to them.
While crossing the border illegally is a criminal offense, overstaying your visa is not, it is a civil matter.
Secondly, even if they don't have an SSN number, everyone is eligible for an ITIN number, so you can run your background check using that instead of the SSN. Rental history is verified the same way you verify it for everyone else, by calling the previous landlord. You can still run a full screening check on people who are here illegally if they obtain an ITIN, and if they don't have one I reject them. Not because they are illegal, but because they failed to provide the required screening information.
Finally, the fact that they will likely be good tenants due to the fact that they want to live under the radar and avoid confrontation is not exploitation.
Exploitation, N: the action or fact of treating someone unfairly in order to benefit from their work.
Me providing them housing is not treating them unfairly, in fact it's the very definition of treating them fairly. However if I use their position against them, by charging them higher rent than everyone else, or threaten to call immigration services on them for whatever reason then I would be guilty of exploitation. But doing so is already a violation of Fair Housing laws and is already illegal on my part.
The bottom line is this, there are no laws against providing housing to illegal immigrants. Several states have laws on the books that include verbiage that makes it illegal to do things such as "conceals, harbors, or shields from detection, or attempts to conceal, harbor, or shield from detection, such alien in any place." However courts have ruled time and time again that in this case 'harboring' does not merely constitute providing a rental apartment. There needs to be an attempt to conceal them from detection by providing them shelter. Think back to Nazi Germany when some people would hide Jews in the basement or hidden compartments in the house to prevent them from being shipped off to concentration camps.
"The court ruled that our clients are not harboring the undocumented immigrants that they serve," Perales said. "The 5th Circuit provided us with a narrow definition of harboring that will prevent Texas law enforcement officers from arresting humanitarian workers and landlords for simply providing shelter and conducting business with undocumented immigrants. The court said there was no "reasonable interpretation" by which merely housing or providing services to unauthorized immigrants would constitute harboring those people from protection."
Some states such as CA, and NY, actually make it illegal for you to ask about their immigration status. In all instances it is illegal to ask people that you suspect of being illegal for more documentation than you require of other potential applicants.
Is there a potential that they get deported and leave you with an empty home temporarily? Yes, However that chance is extremely small and in my opinion is well worth it considering the excellent tenants they tend to make.
If you argue that you refuse to rent to them based upon that small chance that they are deported and your home is left empty for a month, then I would ask do you rent to military members? Because I guarantee you that the chance for a military member to suddenly break their lease early is FAR greater than the chance that an illegal immigrant breaks their lease due to deportation. But nobody here would ever think to not rent to military because they can be deployed, or required to PCS at any moment and therefor can legally terminate their lease. But why are we so concerned about a small chance at deportation? It doesn't logically flow from a financial standpoint, instead it's due to the psychological fact that people tend to like military members, and dislike illegal aliens. Therefore they don't think twice about renting to military, but are hesitant to renting to illegals.
yes illegal is illegal even if you try to equate it with accidentally speeding. You are part of the problem my friend no matter how you spin it. We have law enforcement risking their lives every day to combat this issue. Do you justify murder because its illegal like speeding? Believe me believe me believe me... i used to sort of think like you, being part of a problem because you get $$$ does not make it right. You are getting $$$ and that's why you do it. Unfortunately, money can make some generally honest people slide further and further away from law and order (but cloak themselves with a humanitarian and service provider label to make it ok) . And most of all, you are never going to change my mind, so there is no point in discussing. Laws are laws for a reason, and if i break one, such as speeding, then its my ticket to pay cause its my fault and because i know better. The question is do you know better? Enjoy your weekend.
There is no need to get emotions involved in this business and as Nathan said it’s a business decision . Our goal should be risk mitigation through screening when it comes to this matter .
I don’t rent to criminals and if you are here illegally then by definition you ARE a criminal and actively breaking my countries laws. What you are doing is —-illegal—— I will not aid and abet your crime on my property . I’d rather a legal tax paying citizen be my tenant who doesn’t sneak over here only to take from the country illegally .
It should be noted some people groups are by default higher risk to your company and that risk needs mitigated through screening . I will not publicly say who or what that looks like but do this long enough and you’ll know who or what that looks like.
@Courtney Shane ITINs ?
Yes, people who are immigrants illegal or legal will receive an ITIN which is like a Social security number but they do not qualify to get a social. Their credit can be checked with an ITIN and they use it to work and pay taxes.
That is incorrect. Legal immigrants do not receive an ITIN. Legal immigrants are able to work in the US legally and eligible to receive a social security card and benefits.
You are incorrect. My husband is an immigrant and I have friends that are both legal and illegal.
You are wrong.
Being an immigrant does not make you an expert on US immigration. I am 100% certain that legal immigrants do not need an ITIN.
I never said that they need an ITIN. I said that they can get one. Most don't have them.
@Anthony Wick lol can of worms. that’s a great point on the mention of employment. A lot of companies that are mom and pop in the surrounding oil and gas industry hire illegals simply because they are hard workers and don’t complain. The big corporations on the other won’t touch them . It’s kinda like comparing a land lord with a few properties to one that owns massive apartment complexes. There’s no way a illegal immigrant can become a tenant with the larger operations. But I’ve noticed illegal immigrants are the ones hired to maintain the upkeep and housekeeping of the property . They need a place to live of course . Our goal was find out from experienced investors can and if how can you make this work . Love the feedback. Thanks
One thing to consider :
If someone wants to rent a unit, but you don't do a "background check" using a valid SSN...you'll probably have to forego background checks on all other applicants of the building... since if someone's application gets denied to do a bad background check (eviction, violent crime etc..) they can file a claim against you for not treating all applicants the same..
If AOC has her way, illegals will be able to claim ownership to your property.