Native Tribe Members Asked to Prove Immigration Status to Rent

From the Santa Fe New Mexican:

Tenants of the Tesuque Trailer Village will have to pay $126.50 more per month to rent their mobile-home spaces — and show proof that everyone in the household is living in the U.S legally.

The pueblo notified residents in a letter dated Oct. 17 that all tenants must sign new rental contracts and comply with the new policies if they want to continue living in the community.

Last week, property manager Dan Clavio, who signed the letter, explained to a tenant seeking to renew her contract that “the tribe receives lots of funding from the federal government and they want to make sure they are doing things right.”

But neither the U.S. government nor the laws of New Mexico prohibit renting to undocumented immigrants.

Tesuque Pueblo does receive money from several federal agencies, including the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development’s Native American Housing Block Grant program, but a HUD spokeswoman said the department does not ask that landlords verify residency documents.

In 2009, Tesuque Pueblo received $64,584 from the Native American Housing Block Grant administered through Sen. Jeff Bingaman’s office. Maria Najera, Bingaman’s spokeswoman, said Tesuque Pueblo “can’t use federal laws to hide behind them and use that as an excuse to ask for proof [of legal residency].”

Under New Mexico state law, undocumented immigrants do not have to show they are legally in the U.S. to rent housing — or attend public schools and get basic utilities such as water and sewer. Read more…

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