Q: Hi, I was wondering if it is illegal to rent a home to an illegal resident..?

A: No, its not unlawful, because it is not your job to enforce the immigration laws. You are barred from demanding a green card or proof of U. S. Citizenship from anyone who is interested in renting from you. If you do, then this can be considered discrimination, which is a violation of the U. S. Civil Rights Code. If you simply believe that someone is not a U. S. Citizen, but cannot prove it, and as a result, refuse to rent to someone who appears to you to be foreign born, then that can be discrimination subject to penalty by the Federal Government. A 'pattern and practice' of refusing to rent to Hispanics, or the foreign born, can confirm discrimination, even if one insists otherwise.

There are people who may look and sound foreign born, but may be derivative Citizens or lawful permanent residents. A landlord is not to delve into that penumbra of privacy in deciding whether or not to rent to someone. You are allowed to request that they allow you to run a credit check, but in the process you may lose out on a good tenant.

It is up to the D.H.S. to decide who is foreign born. The D.H.S., through I.C.E., can investigate individuals, but must have a warrant to search an apartment for a particular individual. Otherwise, if an I.C.E. Agent threatens you, you can file a complaint with the Office of the Inspector General. The complaint form is online, but you must be able to identify the officer involved to the best of your ability, so being polite to the point where you determine the officers identification can be important, where an individual officer abuses his or her discretion. It is rare that an I.C.E. Officer abuses their discretion, but it can happen. Local Police lack the right to improperly harass landlords and can be sued. If this happens, then a landlord should contact the local office of the ACLU, when such abuse of Federal Law takes place.

This is why local law enforcement, more often, does not want to get involved with the DHS, because they can lose millions of dollars for making mistakes. That money will not be reimbursed by the Federal Government, nor can the Federal Government properly train local law enforcement. This means that INA Section 287 is 1996 law that cannot, and has yet, to be adequately funded by Congress.

The U. S. has yet to provide a rational plan for the people who are presently in the U. S. with U. S. Citizen Children and spouses. As a result, the challenge builds forcing many to overlook the human rights challenges posed by those who are not considered criminals for minor immigration infractions committed decades ago. Again, the local ordinances that tried to penalize landlords were found to be unconstitutional, because it is Congresses responsibility to regulate immigration, not the States.