Thread: PROPERTY WANTS TO EVICT UNDOCUMENTED TENANTS

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Property wants to evict undocumented tenants

Anthony Welsch,
Last Updated: 8/17/2007 5:37:48 AM

An East Tennessee property manager says to protect himself, he's got to get undocumented tenants out of a Blount County apartment complex.

Carlos Maciel, the General Manager at Meadowland Property Management sent tenants of Lakeview Apartments in Louisville a letter. It said if they were in the country illegally, they have two weeks to get out of the apartment complex.

Maciel's management company started managing the property about two months ago.

He says when they took over, there was basically no paperwork documenting who lived in what units. He sent out a welcome packet when he took over, asking questions about living arrangements and for social numbers, but he didn't get very many back.

So he sent the letter threatening eviction for "illegal immigrants".

He fears if something like a fire happened, he wouldn't know if everyone was accounted for.

Some immigrant rights groups don't think his motives are so benevolent, or legal.

Lisa Barba, with the Tennessee Immigrant and Refugee Coalition says because Maciel only gave two weeks notice, it's illegal. 30 days notice is generally considered standard.

"It doesn't matter if you're undocumented, you still have rights as a human being," Barba said.

She believes it's not a case of security, it's discrimination.

"It's working, it's working and it's very sad," she said.

Barba says some of the tenants are considering moving out. She says she's not sure how many, if any of the residents are illegally in the country.

Maciel denies his letter is an attempt to get rid of any race from the property. But, the idea of housing undocumented citizens scares him. He worries his business or his family could be charged with harboring illegal aliens.

Barba says that idea is ridiculous.

"He has an application. Other apartment complexes have people living in them. As the manager of an apartment complex that doesn't make you an official immigration representative. There are other ways to get information about who's living there," she said.

As of Thursday, Barba says some of the tenants are coming together to weigh their options. At this point, she couldn't say if they're considering legal action against the property. Maciel already has legal counsel following the situation.

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http://www.wbir.com/news/local/story.as ... ider=gnews

If they lied on application, that's all you need to evict!