Advocates shared stories last week of immigrants who are facing housing discrimination in Montgomery County.
They testified on Tuesday, September 15, in support of a county council bill that would prohibit housing discrimination for rent and purchasing based on citizenship or immigration status, and would allow a renter to end a lease early due to an active immigration proceeding like detainment.
The testimony
Jacob Kmiech, supervising housing attorney with We are CASA, said one of his clients moved into a basement that floods whenever it rains. When she told her landlord that Montgomery County has a housing code, Kmiech said the landlord told her to “put up with it.”
According to Kmiech, the landlord told the tenant that “his sister is an ICE agent, and with just one call he can get her deported.” Kmiech said it is just one of many cases among their clients.
“One team member noted that many apartment complexes will simply not rent to undocumented residents,” said Denise Fredericks, on behalf of Montgomery County Community Action Board, “and very few accept ITIN numbers,” which is a number the IRS can issue someone who needs a U.S. identification number for federal tax purposes but is not eligible for a Social Security number.
Danielle Menla, lead housing organizer for the nonprofit immigrant advocacy organization African Communities Together, said one member was navigating the housing voucher program when she found that her immigration status was impeding her ability to get stable housing.
“This is not due to income, or credit, but because her immigration status makes her ineligible in the eyes of landlords and the voucher program,” Menla said. She said livelihoods are threatened now more than ever due to termination of Temporary Protected Status (TPS). If a primary earner is taken into custody with no recourse to pay rent, their family could be vulnerable to eviction. Currently, landlords are not obligated to let them out of their lease.
What the council bill would do
Currently, the county’s housing code does not protect people from housing discrimination based on citizenship or immigration status. The bill would expand the protected class under the county’s fair housing law to include citizenship and immigration status. A landlord or realtor would not be allowed to discriminate because someone or their family is from another country, is in active immigration proceedings, is undocumented, or has an immigrant visa, according to council documents.
Also, a renter would be allowed to end a lease early if the renter is being deported, detained or held for more than 30 days for immigration proceedings. A renter could also end a lease early if facing financial hardship due to someone else living there who was deported, detained, or held for more than 30 days for immigration proceedings.
During a community meeting in Gaithersburg last month, County Assistant Chief Administrative Officer Earl Stoddard said there was an “absolute increase” in ICE presence in Gaithersburg and in the Upcounty in the recent weeks. He said, “ICE is in our communities every single day, without question.”
Councilmember Kristin Mink is lead sponsor of the bill. Co-sponsors are Councilmembers Shebra Evans, Will Jawando, Dawn Luedtke, Laurie-Anne Sayles and Kate Stewart.
Apartment and Office Building Association considers the bill
One question, asked by the Apartment and Office Building Association of Metropolitan Washington (AOBA), was how a housing provider will determine when someone is undergoing an immigration proceeding, since they are not able to track it. The association’s position is that no tenant or prospective tenant should be discriminated against in housing, said AOBA Director of Government Affairs Hugo Cantu.
What’s next
A council committee work session on the bill is planned for Oct. 26.
