AURORA, Colo. (CN) — A Venezuelan couple sued their landlord in Aurora, Colorado, on Tuesday, saying he harassed them about their status as immigrants and locked them out of their apartment in early December.
The couple, who filed the complaint anonymously, is suing PHS Rent along with landlord Avi Schwalb and property manager Nancy Dominguez in the District Court for Arapahoe County, claiming they used the tenants’ immigration status to intimidate them.
Passed in 2020, Colorado’s Immigrant Tenant Protection Act prohibits landlords from using a tenants’ citizen status against them or intimidating tenants by threatening to disclose their immigration status.
“We will not allow our immigrant neighbors to be terrorized like this,” said Tim Macdonald, legal director for the American Civil Liberties Union of Colorado in a statement. “The landlord’s threats violate Colorado state law, which prevents landlords from trying to take advantage of the perceived immigration status of their tenants and coercing them into refraining from exercising their rights.”
Long a haven for refugees and immigrants, the city of Aurora came under scrutiny last fall when viral videos of alleged Venezuelan gang activity were circulated on TikTok and distributed by President Donald Trump’s campaign. While running for office, Trump promised a mass deportation of undocumented immigrants under the banner “Operation Aurora,” a policy he wasted no time in rolling out.
Caught in the crosshairs, the Venezuelan couple have two sons, ages 3 and 15, and pending asylum applications. They signed a one-year lease with PHS Rent last September for a monthly rent of $1,800.
On Dec. 4, 2024, however, the landlord locked the family out of their apartment, forcing them to sleep in their car overnight, the plaintiffs say in the complaint. The next day, they entered their unit through a window.
According to the complaint, the landlord’s office informed the couple they “could not do anything about it because they are not from here, are Venezuelan, and have no rights.”
In the complaint, the couple say Dominguez charged them $1,300 for a new key and then served eviction paperwork demanding $4,200 in missed rent.
In a statement, the couple’s attorneys at the Colorado chapter of the American Civil Liberties Union explained that they fell behind on rent due to unexpected medical expenses.
When the couple questioned the amount owed, they say, Schwalb “escalated by threatening that they would be taken outside by immigration enforcement.”
“Defendant Schwalb intended to scare Mr. Doe and Ms. Roe into surrendering possession of the apartment without legal process,” the couple say in the complaint. “He intended to use threats of calling immigration enforcement to intimidate and coerce plaintiffs not to assert their rights as tenants.”
The couple asks the court to enjoin the landlord and property manager from continuing to make threats.
The case was originally assigned to1 8th Judicial District Chief Judge Michelle Amico, who recused herself from the case. The case was reassigned to 18th Judicial District Judge Thomas Henderson.
PHS Rent could not be immediately reached for comment Tuesday.