This is a special edition of the Immigration Primer diary series due to current events. Like the other diaries, the intent is to provide some background information, with a focus on the way things are, rather than the way should be.
The prior diaries covered general immigration, illegal immigration, employment-based immigration and becoming a citizen.
Today, the city of Farmers Branch, a Dallas suburb, voted to introduce a ban on renting apartments to illegal immigrants. In this diary, I try to look at some of the implications of such a law. Similar laws have been passed by city councils in Escondido, CA and Hazelton, PA, but Farmers Branch is the first time the citizens were able to vote on such a measure.
Q: What are these laws all about?
While the details vary from one locality to the next, they generally all have the same general idea: landlords who rent apartments to illegal immigrants will be punished.
Based on news reports (which may be inaccurate), the Farmers Branch ordinance may be even more restrictive because it would require either US citizenship or legal permanent residency, apparently also excluding legal temporary residents, such as tourists or students.
Q: what can a landlort do to verify immigration status?
This is largely legally uncharted territory. Nobody can give a definite answer at this point, not even a lawyer. However, there are a few aspects to keep in mind:
Practical
- There is a huge number of immigration documents, and it is impossible for a layperson, or even a general-purpose law enforcement officer, to know them all. The list of documents that show work authorization in the USA includes a total of 29 documents, according to USCIS form I-9 - and this form is actually incomplete and omits a number of documents. Some of these documents are sufficient by themselves, others are only allowed in combination. To make matters worse, there also is a "catchall" that basically says "any other work authorization document issued by DHS".
In addition, there are many more documents for people who are permitted to be in the USA without working. Some people, such as Canadian citizen tourists, actually do not possess any document at all to show they are legally in the USA - yet they are allowed to rent apartments for the duration of their stay (up to 6 months in the case of Canadians).
Here are the documents acceptable for work authorization from form I-9 - and, again, this is incomplete.
List A
- US Passport (expired or unexpired)
- Certificate of U.S. Citizenship(Form N-560 or N-561)
- Certificate of Naturalization(Form N-550 or N-570)
- Unexpired foreign passport,with I-551 stamp or attached Form I-94 indicating unexpired employment authorization
- Permanent Resident Card or Alien Registration Receipt Cardwith photograph(Form I-151 or I-551)
- Unexpired Temporary ResidentCard (Form I-688)
- Unexpired Employment Authorization Card(Form I-688A)
- Unexpired Reentry Permit(Form I-327)
- Unexpired Refugee Travel Document (Form 1-571)
- Unexpired Employment Authorization Document issued by DHS that contains a photograph(Form I-688B)
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List B (only good in combination with a document from list C)
- Driver's license or ID card issuedby a state or outlying possession of the United States provided it contains a photograph or information such as name, date of birth, gender, height, eye color and address
- ID card issued by federal, state or local government agencies or entities, provided it contains a photograph or information such as name, date of birth, gender, height,eye color and address
- School ID card with aphotograph
- Voter's registration card
- U.S. Military card or draft record
- Military dependent's ID card
- U.S. Coast Guard Merchant Mariner Card
- Native American tribal document
- Driver's license issued by a Canadian government authority
Only under age 18:
- School record or report card
- Clinic, doctor or hospital record
- Day-care or nursery school record
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List C:
- U.S. social security card issued bythe Social Security Administration(other than a card stating it is notvalid for employment)
- Certification of Birth Abroad issued by the Department of State (Form FS-545 or Form DS-1350)
- Original or certified copy of a birth certificate issued by a state,county, municipal authority or outlying possession of the United States bearing an official seal
- Native American tribal document
- U.S. Citizen ID Card (Form I-197)
- ID Card for use of Resident Citizen in the United States(Form I-179)
- Unexpired employment authorization document issued by DHS (other than those listed under List A)
In addition, evidence that an H-1B transfer petition was filed is also sufficient as evidence of work authorization, even though it is not listed on the I-9.
- Such a measure will cause an increase in demand for forged documents and identity theft.
- Such measures will greatly increase the risk of doing business for a landlord. As a result, real estate values of rentals are likely to decrease.
- Requiring disclosure of this amount of data will expose all tenants to the risk of identity theft.
- USCIS in many cases takes months, even years, to issue many of the required documents. While waiting for documents, the person is permitted to wait in the USA, but may not have any evidence of that fact.
Legal
- Antidiscrimination law may prevent asking for many of the documents that the city ordinance would require.
- Demanding this type of information from all tenants may violate at least good privacy practices, and possibly privacy laws.
- Determining the immigration status of a person is strictly a federal responsibility. Attempts to rely on immigration status at the local level are constitutionally suspect. Packaging the attempt in a business licensing ordinance is likley not going to change this.
Q: What happened to these ordinances in other cities?
Escondido, CA, decided to not enforce their ordinance to avoid the expense of litigating.
Hazelton, PA's ordinance has been blocked by a restraining order, pending a full trial.