In Chicago, a landlord's threat to turn tenants over to immigration agents has ended with an $80,000 payout. According to the Chicago Sun-Times, Marco Antonio Contreras and his wife demanded rent from a couple renting a basement apartment on June 30, 2020. During that confrontation, Contreras threatened to contact immigration authorities, an action prohibited under the Illinois Immigrant Tenant Protection Act.
The couple took legal action, aided by the Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund (MALDEF), suing under the act that protects tenants from harassment based on their perceived or actual immigration status. Contreras was ordered by a judge to pay the substantial sum for his violation. As noted by the couple in a statement obtained by WGN-TV, "We decided not to stay silent because our landlords threatened us with calling immigration, and we do not believe that anyone has a right to threaten us."
"Everyone has rights under the rule of law regardless of their actual or perceived immigration status. In Illinois, landlords are prohibited from wielding the threat of immigration enforcement as a weapon against their tenants," Susana Sandoval Vargas, MALDEF Midwest Regional Counsel, pointed out, indicating that those who ignore the law's protections will face significant consequences. This court decision marks the first under the Immigrant Tenant Protection Act, passed in 2019, making Illinois the second state in the U.S. to enforce such a law.
In addition to the financial penalty, the court also awarded the couple a smaller sum for Contreras's denial of access to their belongings. "No one should feel or act superior to others. We are all equals and deserve respect," added the couple in their public statement. Their case stands as a precedent for future protection of tenant rights in Illinois and possibly beyond.
