Rep. Mah Introduces Bill to Protect Immigrants From Abusive Landlords

CHICAGO, Ill. – In an effort to protect immigrant communities who rent their homes, state Rep. Theresa Mah, D-Chicago, has introduced legislation to create guidelines that would prohibit a landlord from evicting a tenant based on immigration status.

“The fact of the matter is that we need to be looking for solutions to help immigrant families who are living in fear,” said Mah.  “This legislation will lay out the guidelines so that families can sleep better at night and to help reduce fears of being cast out on the street because of their immigration status.”

House Bill 5519 creates the Immigrant Tenant Protection Act.  The legislation states that a landlord will not be able to require a tenant to disclose his or her immigration status.  Further, the legislation also forbids landlords from intimidating, harassing, or evicting a tenant because of his or her immigration status.  Supporters of the bill argue that the measure does not inhibit any currently stated reasons a landlord may evict a tenant, but simply creates guidelines for the more “gray” areas where greater protections are needed.

“At the end of the day, we need to be standing up for our immigrant communities and making sure that we are doing what we can to keep families together,” said Mah.  “Immigrant communities need protections and we need to send a strong message that we have their back.”

For more information, please contact Mah’s constituent service office at (872) 281-5775.