From Texas Standard:
Immigration is often discussed in terms of government policy and official enforcement efforts – or lack thereof, depending on whom you ask. But when citizens take actions into their own hands, the dimensions of the discussion get more complicated.
In Dallas, one landlord is reportedly checking the immigration status of tenants and rejecting lease renewals of those who don’t have social security numbers. Now some people are urging Dallas Mayor Mike Rawlings and the Dallas City Council to step in and stop these unofficial immigration checks.
Danny Cendejas is with the Texas Organizing Project, a group advocating on behalf of the tenants, who are claiming fair housing discrimination by their landlord.
On what Texas Organizing Project is doing:
“We’re making sure that the mayor and the city council take a stand for these immigrant families, because we know the value that immigrants bring to the city of Dallas.”
On how the apartment’s management company has reportedly intimidated tenants to leave:
“They coerce the resident into signing a form of intent to move out, as if it’s coming from the resident, and they say that it’s because they didn’t meet the requirements.”
On why Texas Organizing Project hasn’t sorted out the problem with Knightvest Management:
“We’ve reached out to the company in multiple ways. We’ve gone in person to the office, on property. We’ve gone to their corporate office here in Dallas. We’ve called. We’ve emailed.”
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