A Spanish-speaking tenant recently asked the landlord of a Los Angeles slum building for a key to its new laundry facility when the landlord reportedly snapped: “We don’t rent to undocumented Mexicans anymore.”

Related Articles Vietnamese American felon facing deportation gets backing from California activists, elected leaders

Democrats to investigate claims of forced hysterectomies on immigrants at Georgia detention center

Ninth Circuit: Trump can end TPS protective status of 300,000 immigrants

Judges: Trump can’t exclude people from district drawings

Opinion: Christians must fight Trump attempt to monopolize faith In another case, a landlord threatened to call immigration authorities on a family after they complained to Los Angeles building officials in December of slum conditions with the illegally converted garage they were living in, according to a letter sent Wednesday to Gov. Jerry Brown from the Inner City Law Center, which is based on L.A.’s Skid Row.

City officials had ordered the garage vacated and the landlord had tried to evict the family without paying the required relocation-assistance payment, according to the nonprofit law firm.

“The presidential election and the administration’s policies on immigrants have created so much, at best, uncertainty, at worst, outright hostility, toward immigrants,” said Greg Spiegel, the center’s director of strategic initiatives. “Many immigrants, whether they are here legally or not, are fearing deportation and what could happen to them, and as a result are afraid to assert their rights.”

But tenant advocates across Southern California hope this will soon change. A state bill that would increase protections for immigrant tenants passed its final legislative hurdle this week and is now awaiting review by Gov. Jerry Brown.

The Immigrant Tenant Protection Act aims to protect immigrant tenants from intimidation and retaliation in their homes, according to Assemblyman David Chiu, D-San Francisco, who introduced AB 291.

“This bill will deter the small minority of landlords who unscrupulously take advantage of the real or perceived immigration status of their tenants to engage in abusive acts,” Chiu said in a statement this week.

The bill also prohibits landlords from disclosing information related to tenants’ immigration status for the purpose of retaliation, harassment, or to influence a tenant to leave the home, according to Chiu’s office. In addition, it bars landlords from threatening to report tenants to immigration authorities in an effort to influence them to vacate or in retaliation for engaging in legally-protected activities.

But not everyone is on board. Dan Faller, president of the Van Nuys-based Apartment Owners Association of California, called the legislation “just another anti-landlord bill.”

Reading this on your phone? Stay up to date with our free mobile app. Get it from the Apple app store or the Google Play store.

State lawmakers “just keep passing bills that govern and tie the hands of landlords,” he said. “They’re always going after us.”

Faller said he believes there are some cases whereby a landlord should be allowed to invoke someone’s immigration status.

“If they won’t pay their rent, I should be able to use any tool that’s available,” he said.

While some landlords may use that as a leveraging tool, Faller argued that “they’re not going to turn them in; they don’t even know how to call” to report them.

Under the bill, a tenant who prevails in a civil action involving such actions would be entitled to a civil penalty not to exceed $2,000 for each violation.

It does not affect a landlord’s right to terminate tenancy under existing state law.

Threats have been made to retaliate against tenants for reporting habitability issues, including exposed electrical wiring or animal or insect infestations, which landlords are required by law to fix, Chiu, chair of the Assembly Housing and Community Development Committee, said. Threats have also been made by landlords, looking to raise rents in gentrifying areas, who target tenants for eviction based on their immigration status.

The governor has until Oct. 15 to sign the bill, according to Chiu’s office.

Reading this on your iPhone or iPad? Check out our new Apple News app channel here and click the + at the top of the page to save to your Apple News favorites.