Texas Trailer Park Won’t Allow Undocumented Immigrants To Tarnish Its Image

A trailer park in Grand Prairie, Texas is at the center of a struggle against undocumented immigrants. San Grande Mobile home park’s property owners’ association board is asking for proof of legal residency for incoming prospective buyers, and some current residents of the mobile home park say their decision smacks of xenophobia. 

One disgruntled park resident notes that “they didn’t ask it from white people.  But they’re asking it from Latino people.”

Oscar Peralta was one of those people asked. He claims he purchased a title to a property in the park, but didn’t immediately move in because the property owners’ board asked him for his and his wife’s Social Security numbers. After Peralta was only able to provide his own information, he began receiving utility bills for the property he’s yet to be given the go-ahead to move onto. 

Board members have been attempting to explain their actions without painting their decisions in an anti-immigrant or xenophobic light. They’re not really doing the most excellent job of it, though:

“We want everybody to confirm that they are legal residents of the United States of America,” said Nola Wolfe, property owners board vice president and a school crossing guard.

“Everyone,“ Wolfe said, is asked for identification regarding legal status. “We don’t discriminate against anyone.”

Reta McVicker, the board president, said: “We ask for a proof of identification. Show us a green card, a Social Security number.”

Then, she added quickly, “We don’t ask about immigration.”

Which brings us to the question of what does constitute as an appropriate question to ask a prospective tenant or buyer, and what sort of questions are seen as discriminatory - because, really, it’s nowhere not exactly impossible to rent property without having legal status. 

You might recall the recent allegations launched by former Bank of America employees who maintained they were encouraged to play up their Latino heritage in order to more easily dupe Spanish-speaking client to sign up for various and often unnecessary bank accounts - the assumption being that many of these clients were recent immigrants who may or may not have had legal status. In this way, money trumps concerns over legal status. This might also explain why some states allow undocumented immigrants to obtain drivers licenses with having to provide a SSN. And, throughout our entire history as renters, the most identification we’ve ever had to provide was a drivers’ license and proof that we had a checking account with which to pay our landlords. 

So… should all individuals be asked to provide proof of residency before renting or buying property in order to ensure they won’t skip out on payments should they fall into legal trouble? And (legal experts help us out with this one) would asking for this information and denying someone a home based on it be considered discrimination? We know that it is legal for someone who does not have legal status to own property in the United States, but we’re not sure whether denying someone property or housing based on legal status is itself illegal. Weigh in!

Tension flares over ID requirement at Grand Prairie mobile home park [Dallas News]