# Illinois landlords ordered to pay tenants threatening them with ICE

CHICAGO – An Illinois judge ordered a pair of landlords to pay $80,000 to former tenants after threatening to report them to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents after a dispute in 2020.

Cook County Circuit Court Judge Catherine A. Schneider ordered Marco Antonio Contreras and Denise Contreras to pay the sum to former tenants, Maria Maltos Escutia and Gabriel Valdez Garcia, according to court filings. The pair of tenants filed the lawsuit in 2022 against the Contrerases under the Illinois Immigrant Tenant Protection Act, a law  signed in 2019 that prohibits landlords from evicting or retaliating against their tenants based on their immigration status.

"We decided not to stay silent because our landlords threatened us with calling immigration, and we do not believe that anyone has a right to threaten us," the tenant couple said in a statement this week announcing the judgment from February. "No one should feel or act superior to others. We are all equals and deserve respect. Just because someone is your landlord does not mean that they get to do whatever they want to you.”

Marco Antonio Contreras had threatened to call immigration agents on the family over a rent dispute in June 2020, according to the lawsuit. The dispute with the landlords originated when Maltos Escutia and Valdez Garcia were in the process of moving out and it was unclear if they would remain in the apartment for the entire month.

When reached by USA TODAY, attorneys for the Contreras family declined to comment citing further matters pending before the judge in the case.

Sexual extortion and intimidation: 

## Apartment deal sours

Maltos Escutia and Valdez Garcia moved into the basement apartment of the South Side bungalow in 2017 after verbally agreeing to pay the Contrerases $600, according to court filings.

The basement consisted of a bedroom, bathroom with shower, living room, and kitchen. The rent payment was due at the end of the prior month, according to court documents.

A disagreement arose between the landlords and renters when the Contrerases told them they would have to vacate the apartment because they were selling the house but asked for a full month's rent. It was unclear to the tenants that they would stay the full final month so they asked to pay a prorated amount upon leaving. Marco Antonio Contreras responded by threatening to call immigration authorities, the lawsuit said.

After vacating the apartment, Denise Contreras would not let them back to retrieve some possessions from the attic, including a stroller, bassinet, baby clothes, and baby swing, according to court filings. It’s unclear in the lawsuit if Maltos Escutia or Valdez Garcia paid rent for their last month in the apartment.

An attorney for the family said the $80,000 figure was based in part on an assessment of damages and in part as a penalty.

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