Thread: Mexifornia passes law forbiding landlord immigration checks

New law forbids landlord immigration checks
By Kristopher Hanson, Staff writer
Article Launched: 10/11/2007 09:59:22 PM PDT

Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger signed landmark legislation Thursday prohibiting local governments from requiring landlords to inquire or report on the immigration status of tenants.
The bill, AB 976, was originally sponsored by a Long Beach-based landlord organization upset about efforts by cities to punish landlords refusing to evict or report illegal immigrant renters or potential renters.

"Landlords are not deputies of the federal immigration program, it's not our job," said Nancy Ahlswede, CEO of the nonprofit Apartment Association of California Southern Cities.

"We can't and shouldn't get in the middle of immigration issues."

Carried by State Assemblyman Charles Calderon, D-Downey, the bill came in response to laws passed recently in several California cities threatening to revoke the business licenses of landlords who refused to check or report on illegal immigrants.

In the most high-profile case, the city of Escondido in San Diego County passed an ordinance in 2006 punishing landlords for renting to illegal immigrants.

The ACLU and other civil rights groups sued the city, and a federal judge temporarily blocked the law late in 2006, saying it was possibly unconstitutional.

The city finally abandoned the law in the face of rising legal costs early this year.

Similar efforts in Irving, Texas, and Hazelton, Pa., were blocked by court order.

"Cities don't have the authority to form their own foreign policy," Calderon said. "Only the federal government can determine the legal status of any citizen. Landlords don't want to be immigration officers; they simply want to make a living."

The law does not prevent landlords from checking the financial status of prospective tenants.

Schwarzenegger's office could not be reached for comment Thursday.
http://www.presstelegram.com/news/ci_7154024

hahaha ... you all in Cali need to boot this goof ball from office before your state is gone