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[Pre-order a copy of David Horowitz’s next book, America Betrayed, by clicking here. Orders will begin shipping on May 7th.]
A 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.
Is it still a lengthly and costly process to prove you own the apartment that squatters took over, before you had a chance to rent it out or sell it, if the deed to the apartment is in your safety deposit box? Bizaŕre. Disgraceful. Are none of the people who sit on their butts in our state legislatures or city councils property owners? How could they vote for such a thing?
Here in New York, the state legislature is almost exclusively made up of crooked, sleazy lawyers. Long drawn out and expensive legal procedures are very profitable for law firms of which many are partners or employees. They are more concerned with protecting a lucrative business rather the citizens of New York.
Thanks for telling me. Are you familiae with Shakespeare’s play The Second Part of King Henry the Sixth? Act IV, acene ii, line 70: “The first thing we do, let’s kill all the lawyers.”
People in privileged positions think it can’t happen to them and don’t give a shit about us plebes.
This situation is about to be enacted in Australia. Our leftist government has allowed nearly a million immigrants into the nation, but there are not enough homes available to house them. It wouldn’t surprise me if older couples whose kids have let home, will be turfed out of their homes to allow the immigrants use of their home. Building companies are going broke at a rate of knots which means new houses are being built at a very slow pace – if being built at all. Our hospitals and schools are bursting at the seams too.
Thankfully we are an island nation which means illegals have a battle to get here, but those who do so legally have no where to live! What a stupid government!
Australia is a continent nation. Be proud of that. I remember Western Australia and Perth. You people have a great country. Don’t give the scummy invaders and inch. Or centimeter, I suppose.
Yes, Australia is or was a great nation. Sadly like so many Western nations the Commies are doing their darnedest to wreck it. Our current federal government is pathetic – anti-Israel, anti-Christian, anti-renewable power sources etc..
Out of their homes and in to shipping containers? Why are building companies going broke?
Squatters don’t only squat, they also destroy the homes leaving the bereaved families with additional costs.
Surely this damage would be an offence.
Yes, I’ve noticed many of them crush holes in the walls, destroy furniture and rip out toilets, etc. WTF? What’s the point other than mindless destruction?
If I ever have to go in to assisted living, I will rent out my apartment, but I will rent it out UNFURNISHED, because even tenants who DO pay rent don’t take care of apartments.
It should be. The squatters rely on the time delays on account of the process rights of residential tenants. In most states, it takes months for a court to hear (legitimate) landlord/tenant disputes, and law enforcement agencies can only act after receiving a court order for eviction.
P.O.S. Leonel Moreno has an eminently punchable face.
He needs to disappear.
My thought exactly! I have trouble not punching my laptop when I see that little bitch. He looks like a sissified Lex Luthor with AIDS.
Private property rights are based on un-Christian SELFISHNESS and SELF-INTEREST and haven’t we all been taught from birth that selfishness is evil?
What the world needs is more Christian altruism and self-sacrifice. Altruism and sacrifice, we are told, is man’s highest virtue, ideal, and duty.
“You are your brother’s keeper”, “The meek shall inherit the earth”, “Blessed are the poor”, “The love of money is the root of all evil”, “a rich man can not enter he Kingdom of Heaven”. “Love your neighbor as you love yourself”, “Love your enemy”.
“Looking at the man, Jesus felt genuine love for him. “There is still one thing you haven’t done,” he told him. “Go and sell all your possessions and give the money to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me….
Jesus replied, “and I assure you that everyone who has given up house or brothers or sisters or mother or father or children or property, for my sake and for the Good News, 30 will receive now in return a hundred times as many houses, brothers, sisters, mothers, children, and property—along with persecution. And in the world to come that person will have eternal life. 31 But many who are the greatest now will be least important then, and those who seem least important now will be the greatest then.” – Mark 10:17:31
7th commandment “thou shall not steal.”
Squatters are thieves and in any culture that makes them a criminal.
All your bothers keepers comments are encouraging ‘giving’.
The thief is your brother too! “Judge not that ye shall not be judged”.
“27 “But I say to you who hear, Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, 28 bless those who curse you, pray for those who abuse you. 29 To one who strikes you on the cheek, offer the other also, and from one who takes away your cloak do not withhold your shirt either. 30 Give to everyone who begs from you, AND FROM ONE WHO TAKES AWAY YOUR GOODS DO NOT DEMAND THEM BACK [emphasis added]. 31 And as you wish that others would do to you, do so to them.
32 “If you love those who love you, what benefit is that to you? For even sinners love those who love them. 33 And if you do good to those who do good to you, what benefit is that to you? For even sinners do the same. 34 And if you lend to those from whom you expect to receive, what credit is that to you? Even sinners lend to sinners, to get back the same amount. 35 But love your enemies, and do good, and lend, expecting nothing in return, and your reward will be great, and you will be sons of the Most High, for he is kind to the ungrateful and the evil. 36 Be merciful, even as your Father is merciful.’ – Luke 6:27:36
ok then, take the lead on this issue – give your home to illegal criminal squatters.
but if that prevents you from providing shelter for your family, then Christ says that you are worse than an infidel.
The Bible is filled with many contradictions. But the Bible ultimately is not about the personal pursuit of happiness on earth but about escaping this life through supernatural Salvation and entering some magical, supernatural, Heaven after you’re dead.
“The mystic theory of ethics [altruism and self-sacrifice] is explicitly based on the premise that the standard of value of man’s ethics is set beyond the grave, by the laws or requirements of another, supernatural dimension, that ethics is impossible for man to practice, that it is unsuited for and opposed to man’s life on earth, and that man must take the blame for it and suffer through the whole of his earthly existence, to atone for the guilt of being unable to practice the impracticable. The Dark Ages and the Middle Ages are the existential monument to this theory of ethics.” – Ayn Rand
I hope the hovel you live in is broken into by squatters some day. Yes you are that stupid.
You provide no context and therefore no understanding. Even the devil can quote scripture.
Hey there THX,
Jesus loves you; everyone else thinks you’re an idiot
You go first if you’re such a altruistic person.
I’m not an altruist. I’m selfish. My comment was ironic, meant to show how absurd and self-destructive the religious ethics of altruism and self-sacrifice are.
“What is the moral code of altruism? The basic principle of altruism is that man has no right to exist for his own sake, that service to others is the only justification of his existence, and that self-sacrifice is his highest moral duty, virtue and value.
Do not confuse altruism with kindness, good will or respect for the rights of others. These are not primaries, but consequences, which, in fact, altruism makes impossible. The irreducible primary of altruism, the basic absolute, is self-sacrifice—which means; self-immolation, self-abnegation, self-denial, self-destruction—which means: the self as a standard of evil, the selfless as a standard of the good.
Do not hide behind such superficialities as whether you should or should not give a dime to a beggar. That is not the issue. The issue is whether you do or do not have the right to exist without giving him that dime. The issue is whether you must keep buying your life, dime by dime, from any beggar who might choose to approach you. The issue is whether the need of others is the first mortgage on your life and the moral purpose of your existence. The issue is whether man is to be regarded as a sacrificial animal. Any man of self-esteem will answer: “No.” Altruism says: “Yes.” – Ayn Rand
Thanks for showing how ignorant you are about the Christian scriptures.
He was being sarcastic, but you are so into yourself you just couldn’t see it.
I guess the adderall is finally taking effect. It’s kind of fun watching you get all hopped up.
The real truth is you have zero self esteem. Otherwise you wouldn’t keep pounding your nonsense in the face of constant rejection.
What the world really needs is fewer people like you running around supporting squatters rights and blaming Christians by saying it’s really about Christian altruism.
Squatting is basically a case of breaking and entering, whether the rightful owner is home or not.
But you wouldn’t know about rightful owners would you. Since you are basically too poor to own a home you really aren’t in a position to make an idiotic comment like that.
Squatters are rent thieves.
Expecting to be first in line at Heaven’s Gate, are we?? Nothing you “cut out of context” from the Bible can be used to ignore Evil. Also, between Gen 1 and Rev 21, the Bible gives The Ten “Suggestions”, of which “Thou shalt not STEAL” is in there somewhere, and elsewhere, in Ephesians, I believe, “Put on the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil”, because we are awash in Evil. We are to CONFRONT it and Overcome it! Taking what you want isn’t right because you believe it should be given, such as “Government and/or the World owes me a Living” (No, “In the sweat of thy face shalt thou eat bread, till thou return unto the ground; for out of it wast thou taken: for dust thou art, and unto dust shalt thou return.” Genesis 3:19 KJV). God says you should DEFEND your Family and dwelling from usurpers, not move out so THEY can move in for free. You are to SHOOT! THEM! (After an appropriate warning, of course).
The early church does not appear to have applied Jesus’ teachings in the way that you do. The story of Ananias and Spphira (Acts 5: 1-10) is illuminating here. Ananias and Sapphira sold a piece of land. They kept back some of the proceeds, but gave the rest to the church, claiming that it was the entire price that they had been given. In judging Ananias, Peter says:
“Ananias, how is it that Satan has so filled your heart that you have lied to the Holy Spirit and have kept for yourself some of the money you received for the land? 4 Didn’t it belong to you before it was sold? And after it was sold, wasn’t the money at your disposal? What made you think of doing such a thing? You have not lied just to human beings but to God.”
Ananias’ right to own and dispose of the property is acknowledged, as is his right to own and dispose of the proceeds of the sale. What he is judged for, is his misrepresentation of his dealings.
It appears, therefore, that the early church practised a mixed economy – that, whilst Peter and the apostles continued to live in common purse, as they had done during the earthly ministry of Jesus, there was no requirement that church members should do likewise. Which is as it should be, because a person’s attitude towards money is contingent on his or her relationship with God, for which no-one can legislate.
Christians contribute VOLUNTARILY to their church. Taxes to the government are not voluntary.
You can not depend on law enforcement to protect your rights and common sense. Gather your friends and evict the BS squatters.
some of my friends: Smith, Wesson, Colt, and Ruger.
I like our squatter’s rights in Kansas.
They have to have occupied the property for 15 continuous years and have paid the property taxes for those years.
But, but, but, the Declaration of Independence says rights are UNALIENABLE!
Squatters “rights” are not rights at all but a violation of actual rights by the government.
“Eminent domain” is also a violation of unalienable rights. The Constitution had and still has deadlly, self-destructive, errors in it.
Declaration of Independence (1776): “We hold these Truths to be self-evident, that all Men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness.”
“When we say that we hold individual rights to be inalienable, we must mean just that. Inalienable means that which we may not take away, suspend, infringe, restrict or violate—not ever, not at any time, not for any purpose whatsoever.
You cannot say that “man has inalienable rights except in cold weather and on every second Tuesday,” just as you cannot say that “man has inalienable rights except in an emergency,” or “man’s rights cannot be violated except for a good purpose.”
Either man’s rights are inalienable, or they are not. You cannot say a thing such as “semi-inalienable” and consider yourself either honest or sane. When you begin making conditions, reservations and exceptions, you admit that there is something or someone above man’s rights, who may violate them at his discretion. Who? Why, society—that is, the Collective. For what reason? For the good of the Collective. Who decides when rights should be violated? The Collective. If this is what you believe, move over to the side where you belong and admit that you are a Collectivist….
The clause giving Congress the power to regulate interstate commerce is one of the major errors in the Constitution. That clause, more than any other, was the crack in the Constitution’s foundation, the entering wedge of statism, which permitted the gradual establishment of the welfare state. But I would venture to say that the framers of the Constitution could not have conceived of what that clause has now become. If, in writing it, one of their goals was to facilitate the flow of trade and prevent the establishment of trade barriers among the states, that clause has reached the opposite destination.” – Ayn Rand
I really don’t need to hear a lot of idiotic faux intellectual Randism on the concept of ownership of anything.
I own my home. I paid cash for it and have lived in it for the last 10 years. Sounds to me that the only thing you own is computer and that you really hate people who are doing better than you.
Do you write the garbage you post simply to see your name in print or do you actually have something coherent to say. Obviously, given the years of Objecty drivel you post, you have nothing of value to offer anyone.
Context context context.
EQUAL under the law.
You are correct, equal under the law, equal individual rights.
But I’m not sure what you’re getting at. My comment is not attacking equal rights but supporting them.
You couldn’t find equal rights with two hands and a flashlight.
THX: Your intellectual dishonesty if only exceeded by your malice.
The world’s most prolific “squatters” are the democrat party in Washington D.C..
Beginning with Alzheimer Joetard,
As far as I know, this man has been arrested, and hopefully prosecuted and deported.
But, based on this current climate of soft on immigration, I’m not hopeful.
This issue is Agenda 21!!
Agenda 21 is a land grab/property rights grab by the elites of the world. All the Agenda 21 zoning books are in your local government zoning departments. That’s why nothing is being or will be done to change any laws about squatters. Elites don’t want you owning any property.
Don’t squatters need to sleep? Even if they sleep with one eye is open, Id say a solution can occur during that time period.
“Squatter’s rights” and “home invasion”? Sounds like a bit of a contradiction to me.
Part of the problem is the perception that Western nations have gained their prosperity at the expense of others, and that they are therefore fair game. It would be helpful if an economic historian could analyse what the drivers of Western prosperity really have been, and what weighting should be allocated to each. Whether or not such a perception can be justified in the case of nations, it certainly becomes problematic when applied to individuals, which is what squatters’ rights laws do. And it also assumes that inheritance is the main determinant of wealth. As a white English woman , I would be lumped in with the “oppressors”. My ancestors were Roma people and agricultural labourers, though. How likely is it that they made large profits from the slave trade? Supposing, though, that I really was the descendant of a Bristol merchant whose profits had come at a human cost to others. And that I had inherited wealth and privilege as a result. How would any notional reparation parcel out what I might reasonably keep, as representing a fair return on legitimate input, and what should be paid back? Given that, for most people, their home is the main repository of any financial reserves that they have, squatters’ rights laws assume that they should be willing to hand everything back.
My sisters were very concerned not too long ago that squatters might move onto family property. My sister’s husband, who’s about as backwoods as they come, looked down at the lake cove and said, “Squatter’s won’t be no worry here.”
There’s a good slasher movie series in there somewhere. A “Squatters unfortunately pick a serial killer’s home to squat in” plot. I’m leaning towards a serial killer couple, gotta add some romance for a lucrative hollywood production, and there’s a lot of comedy potential. The sequels (Sharknado 6 exists, lol) can be the serial killer(s) getting the idea to invest in bait houses to lure in victims. They start DIY houseflipping, and with their skills turn a few into elaborate deathtrap homes. They could even get their own DIY TV show, that would add risk. This is starting to sound more like a TV series
It’s very equitable of you to refer to the two squatter murderers as Alleged, Klein, but there was nothing alleged about them. The dead woman’s son found her corpse shoved into a closet when he came to do a “wellness check” on her. We can only imagine how horrific that must’ve been. A niece I don’t know from Adam found her father, a cousin of mine I barely knew but I knew he was a nice guy, that way recently. What a nightmare. That aunt of mine is very old but not old enough to have a son die before her, in my opinion.
I’ve had at least two and maybe three wannabe squatters try to get in my apartment recently but luckily I was home those times and it didn’t work out too well for them. It makes me wonder how many Leonel Moreno type rodents have tried it when I wasn’t around. I can see scratches around my door’s keyhole so I know at least one person tried to get in. And I’m not exactly living high on the hog. I can only imagine what it must be like for property owners and legal tenants here in California and even worse, New York state, particularly NYC. Da Gov, Ho-Cthulhu and Mayor Boogie Adams are the worst. Even Wretched Shitmer in Michigan and that nasty usurper in Arizona seem almost human in comparison.
Squatters are no joke. My advice is to just kill them and call it self defense.
A face that belongs behind bars with Obama Clinton(Bill) Gore and Biden and t hrow in Gates and Soros and perhaps Schwabe as well as Coffee Cup Annan
There is no such thing as “squatter’s rights.” The real name is trespass.