Loopholes in US housing law are large enough for illegal immigrants to sneak in, according to an expert who warns that tenants' rights laws make it difficult to evict squatters.
“We have audiences coming in. They're going to be looking for places to live. If we don't have housing for them, if they're coming in with no money, they won't be able to rent the traditional way,” said Flash Shelton, founder of the United Handyman Association and SquatterHunters.com. Fox News.
Shelton used innovative methods to evict squatters from his mother's home in 2019, and has emerged as an advocate to help others facing the difficult chore of clearing out the belongings of people who chose to stay.
The map of tenants' rights laws varies, whether it is a local or state issue. Many states require filing a civil lawsuit to evict someone, which is cumbersome and time-consuming.
Once illegal immigrants learn what rights they have as settlers, “our squatter situation will spiral out of control,” Shelton said.
Shelton noted that squatters have already been encouraged by local laws, adding: “What are we going to do next when we have a million people residing in this country?”
The housing picture will get worse “when not only do we have a border problem that we can't even solve, but now we have people who are being mentally, financially and physically distressed because they lost their home,” Shelton said. For all these people?
“No matter how you feel politically or morally about the situation, put that aside and just think about the fans,” Shelton said.
Nearly 7.3 million illegal immigrants have entered the United States since the beginning of 2021, according to Fox News.
“We have irresponsibly opened the door to a large number of people to come to this country, and we are not prepared to deal with them,” Shelton said.
“What's the downside for these people to then start taking over these homes?” He said.
Shelton predicted a “nightmare scenario” without laws that crack down on squatters.
“I spend all this time trying to spread awareness about land grabbing and spread awareness about how to change the law,” Shelton said. “Is it going to get worse before it gets better? I think it already is.”
He added: “I think the matter will go beyond reform at some point.”
Atlanta is already struggling with an estimated 1,200 homes taken by squatters, according to Fox News. Shelton said making the land grab an act of terrorism may be the next step needed to regain control.
“If we criminalize this, that will enable us to send the National Guard to sweep this entire neighborhood and clear out those 1,200 homes,” he said.
Shelton posted a petition on Change.org in support of making squats illegal. He also set up a GoFundMe appeal that has raised more than $8,000 for the cause.
This article originally appeared in The Western Journal.
