The Daily Signal - Stopping Illegal Aliens From Squatting in US Homes

Episode Date: April 17, 2024

A new bill in Congress would stop illegal aliens from squatting in U.S. homes.  “We're trying to get out in front of it to protect American homeowners,” Rep. Dan Meuser, R-Pa., says. Leonel Moreno, an illegal immigrant from Venezuela, recently went viral on social media after a video post explaining how to take advantage of squatting laws in the U.S.  Under U.S. law, Moreno told his followers that “if a house is not inhabited, we can seize it.”  In response to the video, and growing reports over illegal aliens squatting in homes in New York and his state of Pennsylvania, Meuser introduced the Safeguarding Homes from Illegal Entry, Living, and Dwelling Act, or the SHIELD Act.  The bill makes trespassing “a deportable crime,” Meuser says.  “So if an illegal were to claim squatter rights and enter an individual's home illegally without any rental paperwork or legitimate lease” then, Meuser says “they can be arrested and deported and prohibited from ever entering the United States again.” Meuser joins “The Daily Signal Podcast” to discuss the growing need for the SHIELD Act, and what, if anything, he anticipates President Joe Biden will do to address growing concern over the crisis at the southern border.  Enjoy the show! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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This is the Daily Signal podcast for Wednesday, April 17th. I'm Virginia Allen. There's been a new issue that has arisen over the past maybe month, and that is illegal aliens squatting in the homes of American citizens. The issue surfaced when an illegal alien from Venezuela began posting videos on social media that were encouraging other illegal aliens to take advantage of U.S. squatting law and to occupy uninhabited homes. Well, Congressman Dan Muser of Pennsylvania saw what was happening and decided to take action. He has introduced the Shield Act or the safeguarding homes from a legal entry, Living and Dwelling Act.

And he's joining us here in just a moment to explain what that bill would do and why it is so important. Stay tuned for our conversation after this. So what is going on with Ukraine? What is this deal with the border? How do you feel about school choice? These are the questions that come up to conservatives sitting at parties, at dinner, at family reunions. What do you say when these questions come up?

I'm Mark Geine, the host of the podcast for you. Heritage Explains brought to you by all of your friends here at the Heritage Foundation. Through the creative use of stories, the knowledge of our super passionate experts, We bring you the most important policy issues of the day and break them down in a way that is understandable. So check out Heritage Explains wherever you get your podcasts. I am honored to welcome to the Daily Signal podcast today. Congressman Dan Muser of Pennsylvania, Congressman, thank you so much for being with us today. Virginia, it's a pleasure.

Thank you for having me on. Well, about a month ago, we saw something very interesting happen. An illegal alien from Venezuela began going viral, and many news outlets reported on this. He was making content on social media talking about squatting rights in the U.S. and squatting laws and how those specifically could be taken advantage of by illegal aliens. And he was encouraging illegal aliens to start squatting in U.S. homes that were uninhabited. Now, in response to this, you saw that this was an obvious problem. And so you introduced a bill called the Safeguarding Homes from a legal entry Living and Dwelling Act, or for short, the Shield Act.

What would this bill do? Well, again, Virginia, thanks for having me on. What the bill does, it makes trespassing a crime and is a deportable crime. So if an illegal were to claim squatter rights and enter an individual's home, illegally without any rental paperwork or legitimate lease they can be encountered by the law enforcement officials asked to see their so-called documentation if in fact it was false or if the individual already had a crime on their record they can be arrested and deported and prohibited from ever entering the United States again.

And what's important about that is this would exist in sanctuary cities and sanctuary states. It would override the sanctuary status. So it really serves a few purposes. One, it's a deterrent. We want this to be known that if you're illegal, you're coming in here. And as we saw on that video, it was let's start a business. I call me, I'll show you how to do it. That's unfortunately what many of the illegals.

I don't know about many, but enough are doing. They're getting engaged in illegal businesses. Just like the cartels showed them. They got involved in these grab bag schemes with the ride by on scooters. They're involved in the smashing grabs. And this is just the latest. So we're trying to get out in front of it to protect American. homeowners. What do we know about where this is happening or if we've seen this scenario play

out in the U.S. Are there instances of illegal aliens that have moved into those uninhabited homes and refused to leave? Yeah, I mean, there's been quite a few, actually. In New York, just last month, a woman came home and had squatters in the house and she was murdered by those that were there. There was another instance where there were eight individuals that were dealing drugs. And the main reason that they got arrested was because of the drugs there. And there were firearms. Out in California, there's a number of other examples. There was an example in Pennsylvania, where a woman tried to have the people removed and got beaten. Another instance where a woman came in, came in and had them leave and the woman got arrested for improperly handling squatters.

And another instance too, where the woman changed the locks on the doors and she got arrested. So it's pretty outrageous situation. It makes no sense to you and I and 98.5% of the rest of the population. But what needs to be done, and for instance, what's happening in Pennsylvania, some of these squatter laws, state laws, need to be corrected because there's obviously loopholes in them where the leniency and the benefit of the doubt and innocent and two proven guilty goes to the squatter as opposed to the homeowner. So for instance in Pennsylvania, state representative Joe Hamm, who his district is in my district, he has a bill for Pennsylvania

to change that law. So all a homeowner has to do is present their documentation that they own the home, and then they will be in the right, and the person trespassing will be removed. So these things need to be corrected. But we haven't been, it hasn't been a problem, really, I mean, here and there, but until illegals felt that this was, something that they would promote and even start a business behind, like that very troubling and disturbing video that you referenced.

Speaking of the laws right now, are there federal laws that address squatting already on the books, or is it really just state by state right now? It's state by state. I mean, there are imminent domain laws. There are property rights laws. but nothing that addresses and supersedes the state squatter laws that exist. And some are a lot worse than others. So states have to get on the ball, frankly, and work on this.

It's, you know, it's unfortunate, but as crime gets more rampant and out of control, I mean, who would have thought smash and grab? would have become such a situation where police, security guards, and certainly the store managers and store workers, just back off and let people just rob at will. You know, and then who would have guessed that in California, you don't stop them if it's less than $1,000. So thieves are looking at price tags,

getting it to add up to $999.99. and walking out. So, you know, it's very unfortunate. The left has created an ideology, a social experiment of criminals being catered to, and it needs to be reversed. I find it interesting that, as you reference, you know, this bill is the bill that you've introduced, the Shield Act, it's federal, so it would be of service to, states across the nation that are struggling with this. And as you referenced, this has been happening where there's been squatting in states red and blue in America. So that would maybe incline that there is bipartisan support. But what have you found? Is there bipartisan support in the House for the Shield Act?

Yeah, that's a great question. As of now, no. I certainly would expect some Democrats in the House would come on board, and hopefully on some of these state laws, they would as well. You know, far too many of them are more about what the leadership dictates or the Biden White House as opposed to doing the right thing. And many of them believe in this social experiment, this ideology, that it's a good idea to go lenient on criminals and, somehow or another, that's going to create a better society. Their social experiment is failing miserably. Their defunding and denouncing police has added to it.

And as well as the unbelievably liberal prosecutors who shouldn't even be named prosecutors, that many of which in many cities were literally bankrolled by George Soros, and his son that won't prosecute violent criminals. I mean, the average, I have another bill actually, forcing prosecutors to prosecute violent criminals at a reasonable level of two-thirds. In the past, that wasn't an issue. A few years back, prosecutors were, again,

prosecuting 70% plus of violent criminals, as you'd expect. Today, in New York, Washington, Philadelphia, in some other city, Chicago, believe it or not, it's less than 30% in some cases. Wow. So it's insane. It's wrong. And we're doing what we can to help correct it. Has Speaker Mike Johnson said that he'll bring the Shield Act to the floor for a vote?

Not yet. Only because he's aware of it, went over it with him. But we've got these other matters. And we're building the support now. I mean, any Republican that hears about or knows, about it and I'll focus on it more. They sign on readily. I gave a speech on the House floor. Every Republican on the House floor said, put me on it. So it clearly makes a lot of sense and an end is unfortunately necessary. Yeah. Well, speaking of those other matters that Speaker Mike Johnson

and yourself and your colleagues have been dealing with, we saw in February that Homeland Security Secretary Al-a-Henrae, Mike Orcus, was impeached in the House. And on Tuesday, those articles of impeachment were delivered to the Senate. And the big question now is what's going to happen? What is Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer going to do with those articles of impeachment? What's your take? Well, they were introduced to brought over, walked over to the Senate. The Senate members will be sworn in.

The trial, quote unquote, should begin. That's what's happened in every other impeachment procedure in the history. in the history of our country. Chuck Schumer, however, isn't one that abides by precedent when it comes to their interests or the Constitution for that matter. So there's a chance he's going to try to get all 51 senators to table the impeachment articles, and if so, it would be tabled or they would send it to committee, which pretty much does the same thing.

So just ignoring the unlawfulness and lies and unwillingness of the Secretary of Homeland Security, Majorcas, to carry out his duties. He's very derelict in his duties of enforcing laws passed by Congress, including the Secure Fence Act, including Article 2, which requires him to enforce laws,

laws passed by Congress. I mean, there's a long list or even a short list. That's enough of actions the secretary has taken, that he has ignored laws and very deliberately, in many cases, done the exact opposite of what the laws required, i.e. protect our border, which is in his job description. He's done it horribly.

and yet it's stated that the border is secure, and that's outrageous, as we all well know. So it just shows where Chuck Schumer is. He doesn't really care about the laws. He doesn't care about the frustration that people have with the border issue. Obviously, he doesn't care, because he's not willing to do anything,

about all of the drugs poisoning hundreds of thousands of Americans. He doesn't care about the cost. He doesn't care about the death involved. in these people. It doesn't care about the fact that they're fortifying the cartels in Mexico and other places. So it's a disgrace. And those who vote not to impeach Majorcas either don't know the law or they support Majorcas, so therefore they're working to keep the border open in the status that it is. I would certainly think the American people would want to vote them out of office as quickly as possible.

Congressman, I'm hearing that buzzer in the background, which I believe means that you have to go vote. So we want to let you go. But one quick question before you do, President Joe Biden has raised that he is considering taking executive action on the border, given the state that it is, given Americans' concern over it. Do you think he will? Do you think that there will be some action from the White House to secure the border?

Well, day one, Joe Biden began reversing. the border policies of the Trump administration. President Donald Trump had the border secure, as secure as it's ever been. Minimal, minimal problems. CBP was happy about it. I've been to the border four times, and I saw it when it was at the level

that Donald Trump bought it to, President Trump brought it to. He had the cooperation of Mexico. He had the cooperation of the Mexican military, in the cooperation of the Mexican president. Today, the Mexican president is laughing at us. Cartels are making billions of dollars, and we have tens of thousands of Americans dying.

So Joe Biden has been in office for almost four years now, three and a half years, and he's done nothing. He had the authority to do so. They even tried to pass a bill off to us that was nothing more than funding to process and resettle illegals. It would just actually speed it up. with, by the way, a quota of 5,000 people a day, which is just outrageous. And by the way, Virginia, the cartels knew exactly how to handle us.

Do you know when they set that quota, the price went up for people trying to enter our country illegally because there was less going to come through, or so they would say. So that would only make it 150,000 a month. But the prices immediately went up. They immediately adjusted to that 5,000 per day level. And this is all accurate. The Biden administration must know it. But once again, their ideology and their desire in the end, I mean, let's face it, what's the only thing that they're really getting out of this?

Because they're paying a big political price and costs and waste and everything else is more for the future census and for voters. I mean, it's really no other reason for them to engage. in such a terrible policy that so anyway no I don't think he's going to do a thing to answer your question and that's why I'm hoping in as we look at some of these bills right now with Speaker Johnson that we pass that we bring to the floor version of HR 2 which will in fact close the border secure the border and we need to remind the American people that this is a top priority and that we're going to continue to fight to the best of our ability. We only have the U.S. House.

We don't have the Senate led by Chuck Schumer. We don't have the White House. And if there's the biggest reason in the world to replace Chuck Schumer and to evict Joe Biden from the White House and elect Donald J. Trump, it's this because they're not going to correct it. It's been almost a year since the House passed HR2, and we continue to wait for the Senate to take that up. But Congressman Dan Muser, thank you.

Really, really appreciate your time today. Likewise. Thanks very much. Take care. And with that, that's going to do it for today's episode. Thank you so much for being with us here on the Daily Signal podcast. If you have not had the chance, make sure that you check out our evening show. It's right here in this same podcast feed where every weekday, around 5 p.m.,

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