As reported by The Washington Post, which obtained a memo from the agency’s director, Todd M. Lyons.
Immigration agents demand tenant information from landlords, sparking doubt and confusion
Immigration authorities are insisting that landlords hand over leases, rental applications, forwarding addresses, identification cards, and other details about their tenants, a sign that the Trump administration has directed its attention toward them to assist in its mass deportation campaign.
Eric Teusink, a real estate attorney in the Atlanta area, said several of his clients have recently received letters requesting complete documentation on their tenants. A rental application can include work history, marital status, and family relationships.
The two-page “information request,” which Teusink shared exclusively with The Associated Press, also seeks information about other people living with the tenant. One of these requests, dated May 1, is signed by an officer from the Fraud Unit of U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. However, it is not signed by a judge.
It is not clear how many such requests have been issued, but the documents could signal a new front in the government’s efforts to locate individuals who are in the country without lawful residence, many of whom were required to provide authorities with their U.S. addresses as a condition of entry into the country without a visa. President Donald Trump largely rolled back the temporary status for people who were admitted during the tenure of his predecessor, Joe Biden.
