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Joseph Klein- Front Page Magazine
Venezuelan illegal immigrant named Leonel Moreno went viral on TikTok recently with a message to other illegal immigrants that squatting in owners’ homes is an easy thing to do in the United States. “I have thought about invading a house in the United States,” he said in a TikTok video. “I found out that there is a law that says that if a house is not inhabited, we can seize it.” He claimed to have “African friends” who have “already taken about seven homes.”
Moreno was one of millions of illegal immigrants apprehended and released on Biden’s watch. Fortunately, Moreno’s TikTok antics put a spotlight on him, leading to his arrest by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officials and his federal detention. Whether the Biden administration releases him again remains to be seen.
But whatever happens to Moreno himself, his message to would-be squatters rings true. Squatters are claiming the right under permissive laws to remain in homes that do not belong to them and to keep out the rightful owners.
The property owner must go to court to evict the squatter from his or her lawfully owned residence if the squatter refuses to leave voluntarily, which can be costly in legal fees and take considerable time to resolve. Instead of treating squatting as a criminal law violation that the police are authorized to address by immediately removing the squatters who have trespassed on private property, squatting is dealt with as a civil matter. This puts the onus on the homeowners to prove that they are the real owners in a lengthy court proceeding.
Illegal immigrants are being lured in droves to the United States by President Biden’s open border and catch-and-release policies. And they are provided with all sorts of freebies once they are here. After crossing the border illegally and getting away with it, illegal immigrants looking for free housing will think nothing of then crossing the threshold of an American home illegally and defying the property owner to do anything about it.
“Once illegal immigrants get wind of the rights they have as squatters, our squatter situation is going to go beyond control,” Flash Shelton, an expert on squatting who founded SquatterHunters.com, said. “What are we going to do later when we have a million people squatting in this country?” he asked.
Mr. Shelton predicted a “nightmare scenario,” adding that “We have irresponsibly opened a door for a whole lot of people to come into this country, and we aren’t prepared to deal with them. What’s the negative for these people to then start taking over these houses?”
There is none.
Nevertheless, the Biden administration could not be bothered. It considers squatting, like other problems in American communities that have worsened because of its open border and catch-and-release policies, to be only a “local” issue. To the contrary, it is not just a “local” issue anymore. Squatting is spinning out of control in communities across the country and has become an issue that all levels of government – federal, state, and local – need to address now.
New York City stands out as a squatter friendly jurisdiction, granting legal rights to individuals who have managed to enter and remain in residences for at least thirty consecutive days without the owners’ knowledge or consent. Add New York City’s permissiveness towards home theft to the city’s growing population of illegal immigrants, including violent gangs, and its criminal friendly justice system that lets dangerous suspects go free, and we have a perfect storm.
For example, eight alleged illegal migrants were arrested and charged after they were found by the police squatting in a Bronx home with guns and drugs. Six of the migrants were released without bail, but three of them were subsequently picked up by ICE and are in federal custody. The other three are still out on the streets in a position to squat in another owner’s home and prey on innocent people.
Illegal immigrants are poised to exploit New York City’s squatter-friendly environment with the help of tips on social media. However, there are many other individuals already making bogus claims of entitlement to squat in lawful owners’ homes by weaponizing New York City’s outrageous thirty-day squatter occupancy law against the homeowners.
For instance, a New York City property owner trying to deal with squatters who had invaded her home was placed under arrest and handcuffed after changing the residence’s locks. The property owner was trying to keep out for good the squatters from the family home that she inherited from her deceased parents. “It’s not fair that I, as the homeowner, have to be going through this,” the property owner said.
In another example of how squatters in New York City are turning property rights upside down, the rightful owners of a $930,000 residence are being sued by squatters who had invaded the owners’ investment property and took it over. “It’s absolutely absurd,” said the co-owner. “These people literally broke into my house. It’s not fair to us as homeowners that we are not protected by the city.”
Sometimes, squatting ends in tragedy. In one case, two squatters allegedly beat to death a woman who had been checking on her late mother’s Manhattan apartment, which was left vacant for several months after the victim’s mother passed away. “We believe that some squatters took the apartment over and this woman came home to get this apartment set up and walked in on the squatters that were there,” said NYPD Chief of Detectives Joseph Kenny.
The squatting problem is not confined to New York City. It has been spreading to other parts of the country – for example, in California, Illinois, Georgia, Maryland, and Washington – where the legitimate property owner has had trouble trying to remove a squatter.
Squatting needs to be criminalized. And an illegal immigrant caught squatting should be immediately detained by federal law enforcement officers and summarily deported.
As usual, Florida, under Republican Governor Ron DeSantis’ leadership, is showing the way on how to deal with nutty progressive ideas like squatters’ “rights.” The governor just recently signed the “Property Rights” bill, which makes squatting a criminal offense. It goes into effect this July 1st. The new law authorizes the homeowner to enlist the help of the sheriff’s office to immediately remove a squatter from the home. The law also subjects the squatter to criminal penalties in certain circumstances.
“We are putting an end to the squatters scam in Florida,” Governor DeSantis said. “While other states are siding with the squatters, we are protecting property owners and punishing criminals looking to game the system.”
It is past time for other states and localities to follow Florida’s example. And it is past time for the Biden administration to recognize its own part in worsening the squatter problem rather than just leaving it to the states and localities to solve on their own. By allowing millions of illegal immigrants into the U.S., releasing them, and raising their expectations for freebies, the Biden administration is opening the door for illegal immigrants to invade Americans’ homes en masse.
