Latest news with #MarcoAntonioContreras
Yahoo
07-03-2025
- Yahoo
Immigrant couple to get $80K in damages from former landlords who threatened to call ICE
The national Latino legal and civil rights organization representing an immigrant couple who sued their former landlords in Chicago for threatening to call ICE on them said this week the tenants will be awarded more than $80,000 in damages, after a judge found the landlords violated an Illinois state law. According to the Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund, better known as Maldef, this is the first case to reach a judgment under the Illinois Immigrant Tenant Protection Act of 2019. The law bans landlords from discriminating against or harassing a tenant based on their actual or perceived immigration status. It prohibits landlords from reporting or threatening to report a tenant to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement for intimidation or retaliation purposes, and also bars landlords from evicting tenants solely because of their immigration status. 'Such unscrupulous conduct is appropriately unlawful under Illinois state law,' Thomas A. Saenz, Maldef president and general counsel, said in a statement Monday. On Feb. 19, Cook County Circuit Court Judge Catherine A. Schneider ordered landlords Marco Antonio Contreras and Denise Contreras to pay damages, attorneys' fees and costs for violating the Immigrant Tenant Protection Act to former tenants Maria Maltos Escutia and Gabriel Valdez Garcia. Maltos Escutia and Valdez Garcia, a couple who lived together, sued the Contreras under the Illinois Immigrant Tenant Protection Act in 2022. According to the complaint, "the Defendants wrongfully threatened to report Plaintiffs to ICE with the intent to harass, intimidate, and induce them to pay rent and surrender possession of the premises." Marco Antonio Contreras could not immediately be reached for comment and Denise Contreras could not be reached at a phone number listed for her. In a Monday statement posted by Maldef, Maltos Escutia and Valdez Garcia said, '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.' 'No one should feel or act superior to others. We are all equals and deserve respect," the statement reads. "Just because someone is your landlord does not mean that they get to do whatever they want to you." Illinois is one of three states in the U.S. that have laws protecting immigrant tenants' rights. California was the first state to pass an immigrant tenant law in 2017 and Colorado followed in 2021. Saenz said the judge's decision in Illinois 'provides a measure of justice to a family facing a landlord willing to threaten to call federal immigration authorities in the belief that it would scare tenants." It also comes at a time when cities seen as safe havens for immigrants have been facing intense scrutiny as President Donald Trump ramps up his administration's efforts to detain and deport immigrants across the nation. Susana Sandoval Vargas, Maldef's midwest regional counsel and the attorney representing Maltos Escutia and Valdez Garcia, called the judgment "an important victory for all tenants in Illinois, who, like our clients, just want a safe place to call home.' 'This decision shows that those who choose to disregard these protections will face serious consequences," Sandoval Vargas said in a statement. 'Everyone has rights under the rule of law regardless of their actual or perceived immigration status." This article was originally published on
NBC News
06-03-2025
- NBC News
Immigrant couple to get $80,000 in damages from former landlords who threatened to call ICE
The national Latino legal and civil rights organization representing an immigrant couple who sued their former landlords in Chicago for threatening to call ICE on them said this week the tenants will be awarded more than $80,000 in damages, after a judge found the landlords violated an Illinois state law. According to the Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund, better known as Maldef, this is the first case to reach a judgment under the Illinois Immigrant Tenant Protection Act of 2019. The law bans landlords from discriminating against or harassing a tenant based on their actual or perceived immigration status. It prohibits landlords from reporting or threatening to report a tenant to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement for intimidation or retaliation purposes, and also bars landlords from evicting tenants solely because of their immigration status. 'Such unscrupulous conduct is appropriately unlawful under Illinois state law,' Thomas A. Saenz, Maldef president and general counsel, said in a statement Monday. On Feb. 19, Cook County Circuit Court Judge Catherine A. Schneider ordered landlords Marco Antonio Contreras and Denise Contreras to pay damages, attorneys' fees and costs for violating the Immigrant Tenant Protection Act to former tenants Maria Maltos Escutia and Gabriel Valdez Garcia. Maltos Escutia and Valdez Garcia, a couple who lived together, sued the Contreras under the Illinois Immigrant Tenant Protection Act in 2022. According to the complaint, "the Defendants wrongfully threatened to report Plaintiffs to ICE with the intent to harass, intimidate, and induce them to pay rent and surrender possession of the premises." Marco Antonio Contreras could not immediately be reached for comment and Denise Contreras could not be reached at a phone number listed for her. In a Monday statement posted by Maldef, Maltos Escutia and Valdez Garcia said, '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.' 'No one should feel or act superior to others. We are all equals and deserve respect," the statement reads. "Just because someone is your landlord does not mean that they get to do whatever they want to you." An 'important victory' for tenants Illinois is one of three states in the U.S. that have laws protecting immigrant tenants' rights. California was the first state to pass an immigrant tenant law in 2017 and Colorado followed in 2021. Saenz said the judge's decision in Illinois 'provides a measure of justice to a family facing a landlord willing to threaten to call federal immigration authorities in the belief that it would scare tenants." It also comes at a time when cities seen as safe havens for immigrants have been facing intense scrutiny as President Donald Trump ramps up his administration's efforts to detain and deport immigrants across the nation. Susana Sandoval Vargas, Maldef's midwest regional counsel and the attorney representing Maltos Escutia and Valdez Garcia, called the judgment "an important victory for all tenants in Illinois, who, like our clients, just want a safe place to call home.' 'This decision shows that those who choose to disregard these protections will face serious consequences," Sandoval Vargas said in a statement. 'Everyone has rights under the rule of law regardless of their actual or perceived immigration status."
USA Today
06-03-2025
- USA Today
Illinois landlords ordered to pay former tenants $80K after threatening to call ICE
Illinois landlords ordered to pay former tenants $80K after threatening to call ICE Show Caption Hide Caption 'Sanctuary city' mayors defend immigration policies "Migrants did not bring a wave of crime to Denver." Mayors of several large cities defended their policies in front of the House Oversight Committee. CHICAGO – An Illinois judge ordered a pair of landlords to pay $80,000 to former tenants after threatening to report them to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents after a dispute in 2020. Cook County Circuit Court Judge Catherine A. Schneider ordered Marco Antonio Contreras and Denise Contreras to pay the sum to former tenants, Maria Maltos Escutia and Gabriel Valdez Garcia, according to court filings. The pair of tenants filed the lawsuit in 2022 against the Contrerases under the Illinois Immigrant Tenant Protection Act, a law Governor J.B. Pritzker signed in 2019 that prohibits landlords from evicting or retaliating against their tenants based on their immigration status. "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," the tenant couple said in a statement this week announcing the judgment from February. "No one should feel or act superior to others. We are all equals and deserve respect. Just because someone is your landlord does not mean that they get to do whatever they want to you.' Marco Antonio Contreras had threatened to call immigration agents on the family over a rent dispute in June 2020, according to the lawsuit. The dispute with the landlords originated when Maltos Escutia and Valdez Garcia were in the process of moving out and it was unclear if they would remain in the apartment for the entire month. When reached by USA TODAY, attorneys for the Contreras family declined to comment citing further matters pending before the judge in the case. Sexual extortion and intimidation: DOJ goes after unscrupulous landlords Apartment deal sours Maltos Escutia and Valdez Garcia moved into the basement apartment of the South Side bungalow in 2017 after verbally agreeing to pay the Contrerases $600, according to court filings. The basement consisted of a bedroom, bathroom with shower, living room, and kitchen. The rent payment was due at the end of the prior month, according to court documents. A disagreement arose between the landlords and renters when the Contrerases told them they would have to vacate the apartment because they were selling the house but asked for a full month's rent. It was unclear to the tenants that they would stay the full final month so they asked to pay a prorated amount upon leaving. Marco Antonio Contreras responded by threatening to call immigration authorities, the lawsuit said. After vacating the apartment, Denise Contreras would not let them back to retrieve some possessions from the attic, including a stroller, bassinet, baby clothes, and baby swing, according to court filings. It's unclear in the lawsuit if Maltos Escutia or Valdez Garcia paid rent for their last month in the apartment. An attorney for the family said the $80,000 figure was based in part on an assessment of damages and in part as a penalty. 'Hope it stands as a deterrent to other landlords' The judgment out of Illinois comes amid a federal crackdown on cities seen as safe havens for immigrants. Recently, President Donald Trump has sent some immigrants to Guantanamo Bay and reaffirmed his promise to carry out mass deportations across the nation in an address to Congress Tuesday night. On Wednesday, Vice President JD Vance went to the U.S.-Mexico border to amplify Trump's message. Only three states — Illinois, California, and Colorado — have explicit protections for immigrant renters, according to attorneys familiar with the case. When Pritzker signed the law in 2019, he expressed Illinois' willingness to "protect our immigrant tenants and give them a little more relief in these tumultuous times." The case out of Cook County is the first to be decided under Illinois law, according to the Mexican American Legal Defense and Education Fund. Attorneys at the national civil rights organization's Chicago office represented the tenants in the case. They said they were involved in another similar ongoing case in Illinois. "It's an important outcome because it's the first verdict we're aware of under this law and we hope it stands as a deterrent to other landlords that might engage in similar conduct," Thomas Saenz, president and general counsel of the civil rights organization told USA TODAY. "We want folks to understand that regardless of what they hear from the White House or this current administration - which is quite derogatory towards immigrants - there are still laws in the states and federal statutes that protect immigrants or those who are presumed to be immigrants from discrimination." 'Tough facility to access': Lawmakers to inspect Trump's migrant detention site at Guantanamo 'Just asking to be treated like everyone else' Heightened anti-immigrant rhetoric creates the conditions that make immigrant legal protections necessary, said Samir Hanna, a former Harvard Law School instructor with the Shriver Center on Poverty Law, a Chicago-based civil rights policy group that has long supported the immigrant tenant protection law. "If they don't have these types of protections then it just leads to more opportunities for landlord abuse, particularly as our current climate creates incentives for abuse," he told USA TODAY. Hanna said he sometimes represented tenants in similar situations when he was an attorney in Massachusetts. Without explicit protections it could be tricky to get them to even come forward against an unscrupulous landlord, he said. "Immigrants aren't asking for any special treatment, they're just asking to be treated like everyone else," Hanna said. "There's so many times tenants are afraid to enforce their rights in the first place and undocumented tenants all the more." Michael Loria is a national reporter on the USA TODAY breaking news desk. Contact him at mloria@ @mchael_mchael or on Signal at (202) 290-4585.
Yahoo
05-03-2025
- Yahoo
Chicago landlord ordered to pay over $80K for threatening to call ICE on tenant in 2020
CHICAGO — A Chicago landlord has been ordered to pay more than $80,000 for threatening to call immigration agents on a couple who rented an apartment from him in 2020. The couple sued their landlord under the state's Immigrant Tenant Protection Act, which prohibits landlords from discriminating against or harassing a tenant based on the tenant's actual or perceived immigration status, according to the Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund (MALDEF), which filed the suit in 2022 on behalf of the couple. Read more: Latest Chicago news and headlines According to the lawsuit, the tenants had rented a basement apartment from Marco Antonio Contreras and his wife starting in 2017. However, on June 30, 2020, the landlords went to the unit seeking rent for the next month. The lawsuit states that during the discussion with the tenants, Contreras threatened to report the couple to federal immigration officials, which attorneys argued was a violation of the law. On Feb. 19, a judge ordered Contreras to pay more than $80,000 in damages as well as attorneys' fees and costs for violating the Immigrant Tenant Protection Act. '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, said. 'This decision shows that those who choose to disregard these protections will face serious consequences. This is an important victory for all tenants in Illinois, who, like our clients, just want a safe place to call home.' In addition to the $80,000 fee, the tenants were also awarded a smaller sum for being denied access to their belongings. LATEST CASES: Missing people in Chicagoland '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,' the couple said in a statement. 'No one should feel or act superior to others. We are all equals and deserve respect. Just because someone is your landlord does not mean that they get to do whatever they want to you.' The case is the first to reach a judgment under the Immigrant Tenant Protection Act, which passed in 2019, according to MALDEF. Illinois was the second state in the US to enact legislation protecting immigrant tenants' rights. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
