As the reach of federal immigration raids expands, a new group is finding itself entangled in the controversy: multifamily property owners and managers. The Associated Press is reporting that landlords around the country are being asked by immigration authorities to share sweeping sets of private information about their tenants—requests that are both unsettling and legally complex.
Immigration officials have sought everything from leases and rental applications to forwarding addresses and identification cards. Atlanta-area attorney Eric Teusink explained to the AP that several of his landlord clients have received subpoenas demanding complete files on their tenants. These files often contain sensitive information, including family relationships, marital status and work history, which raises additional concerns about privacy and scope.
Teusink said that the subpoenas given to his clients sometimes extended to information about other residents living with the primary tenant. What made the documents especially confusing for his clients, he said, is that at least one subpoena was signed only by a U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services officer—not by a judge.
“It seemed like they were on a fishing expedition,” Teusink said. He noted his clients are accustomed to receiving legally sound subpoenas, but only those authorized by a judge, which wasn't the case this time.
This experience is not unique to the Atlanta area. Boston real estate attorney Jordana Roubicek Greenman told the AP that one of her clients who owns rental property received a voicemail from someone claiming to be an ICE official and requesting tenant information.
The legality behind these requests is also in question. Lindsay Nash, a law professor at Yeshiva University’s Cardozo School of Law in New York, told the AP that similar subpoenas have been issued before the Trump presidency. She explained that ICE could enforce them, but would have to take the extra step of filing a federal lawsuit and obtaining a judge’s approval before any action could occur.
Complicating matters further, Chad Cummings, an attorney and CPA with real estate practices in Florida and Texas, highlighted to GlobeSt.com the numerous issues with these administrative subpoenas. “When not issued under judicial oversight, their enforceability is questionable, and recipients retain the right to challenge them … in federal court before disclosing protected information,” Cummings said.
He explained that compliance might violate federal privacy statutes, such as the Fair Credit Reporting Act and the Privacy Act of 1974, particularly if renter applications or consumer reports are released without the tenant’s consent or a valid exception. While private landlords are generally not directly covered by these federal rules, Cummings warned they could face secondary liability if shared information includes sensitive credit or employment data obtained from consumer reporting agencies—a common practice in multifamily leasing.
Furthermore, there may be consequences under the Fair Housing Act, certain state constitutions, privacy laws and even fiduciary and contractual obligations to tenants.
For landlords or property managers faced with such a demand from ICE or another federal agency, Cummings offered a simple piece of advice to GlobeSt.com: “In this case, the cliché answer is the correct one: call an attorney.”
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