Q: I’ve seen reports of immigration authorities demanding that landlords turn over tenant information. What should I do if ICE agents ask me for information about my tenants or access to my building?

A: When facing an inquiry from agents from U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (ICE), landlords should prioritize their legal obligations as well as the rights of their tenants, says Todd Nahins, partner at Borah, Goldstein, Altschuler, Nahins and Goidel, in Manhattan.

First, when approached by ICE agents, request a copy of their warrant. You want to see a judge’s signature and specifically what information ICE is permitted by the judge to review or what space ICE is permitted to access, Nahins says. 

What if the document isn’t a warrant signed by judge? The Associated Press recently reported that ICE presented an Atlanta-area landlord with a two-page “information enforcement subpoena” signed by an officer in ICE’s anti-fraud unit—but not by a judge (see story here). If you receive such a document, contact your attorney, says Nahins. Even though the document may look official, if it’s not signed by a judge and you turn over tenant information, you could risk violating your tenants’ rights under the federal Fair Housing Act and various local civil rights laws, which prohibit discrimination on the basis of race, color, or national origin. And an administrative warrant that may be presented by an ICE agent does not have the same weight as a warrant signed by a judge, he adds. 

Can you tell your tenant about ICE’s request? Yes, says Nahins, you may inform the tenant of the information that ICE is seeking. However, he adds, you should not, under any circumstances, give your tenants legal advice.

You also cannot ask your tenant to give you the information that ICE seeks. In NYC there are strong tenant protection laws prohibiting landlords from asking tenants for information about their immigration status, Nahins warns.

Can landlords be trapped between federal and local laws? While New York State and City laws don’t prohibit renting to unauthorized aliens, there are federal laws under which you could be convicted of knowingly harboring a person who entered the United States unlawfully. As New York City is a “sanctuary city” there is a conflict between ICE and City Hall. 

Therefore, ultimately, Nahins says, when faced with an ICE request, it would be wise to speak with an attorney who practices immigration law.