Landlords are becoming the latest front in America’s immigration crackdown, as immigration authorities demand tenant records. In recent weeks, some property managers have received subpoenas asking for everything from rental applications and lease agreements to forwarding addresses and family details that can reveal not only where someone lives, but who they live with, where they’ve worked, and who they’re connected to.
Eric Teusink, a real estate attorney based in Atlanta, says some of his clients have started receiving subpoenas demanding full tenant files that points out everything from work history and marital status to family connections. Rental applications can reveal a lot more than just who lives at a property, as they often include deeply personal details that can be used to map out entire networks of relationships.
Teusink shared a two-page “information enforcement subpoena” with The Associated Press, which also requested details about anyone else who may have lived with the tenant. One of the documents, dated May 1, was signed by an officer from the anti-fraud unit at U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services but notably, there was no judge’s signature on it.
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For landlords, this places them in an uncomfortable position as caught between cooperating with federal authorities and protecting their tenants’ privacy.
Teusink shared that many of his clients manage large apartment buildings and are no strangers to subpoenas for things like handing over security footage or letting local police onto the property during an investigation. But in those cases, the requests always come with a judge’s signature.
This time the subpoena looked official, but something felt off. After checking in with immigration lawyers, Teusink realized that these documents weren’t legally binding. Without a judge’s signature, they’re more like formal requests than actual orders, leaving landlords in a gray area, unsure whether to comply or push back.
“It seemed like they were on a fishing expedition,” Teusink said.
While Tricia McLaughlin, a spokeswoman for Homeland Security, pushed back against criticism of the practice, she didn’t confirm whether these subpoenas are actually being issued. “We are not going to comment on law enforcement’s tactics surrounding ongoing investigations,” McLaughlin said. “However, it is false to say that subpoenas from ICE can simply be ignored. ICE is authorized to obtain records or testimony through specific administrative subpoena authorities. Failure to comply with an ICE-issued administrative subpoena may result in serious legal penalties. The media needs to stop spreading these lies.”
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It’s still not clear how many of these subpoenas have been sent out, but they seem to point to a new tactic in the administration’s effort to track down undocumented immigrants. Many of these individuals had to provide a U.S. address when they first entered the country without a visa and making that information an easy starting point.
Under President Trump, temporary protections granted under the Biden administration have mostly been rolled back, leaving thousands more people vulnerable to enforcement.
A subpoena is a formal legal document that requires someone to provide evidence like documents or testimony in an investigation. But not all subpoenas carry the same legal weight. The ones issued by a judge are court-enforceable. And under President Trump’s renewed push for mass deportations, these subpoenas are now becoming more common as it seems.