Rental ‘coyotes’ take advantage of Trenton tenants

Coyotes, guides who lead many undocumented arrivals through tough Central America terrain onto U.S. soil, play a major role in immigration.

Some collect between four to 15 thousands of dollars from individuals then abandon them in the frontier.

People who do reach the U.S. face unscrupulous landlords who employ Spanish-speaking middle men, rental coyotes, if you will, to rent unsafe houses overrun by roaches and jam packed with other code violations.

English-speaking landlords struggle to rent properties to Spanish-speaking tenants, so, a bilingual middleman stands to make a decent living as a homeland hawker for rental properties that exist as death traps.

“I think it’s a widespread phenomenon. Clearly the market is made up of Spanish speaking immigrants so landlords need a go-between. And people need to survive. It’s a long story throughout world history that people in power need these people in oppressed populations to effectuate the oppression,” Maria Juega, a community activist said.

Juega retired after heading the Trenton-based Latin American Legal Defense & Education Fund (LALDEF) but her pulse remains pressed on the pulse of immigration and residents who face socioeconomic challenges.

“Really, these (shelter) issues extend to our nation’s poor. Many people live in such fear of not having a place to live that they accept

what’s offered,” Juega noted.

Trenton rental coyotes can prove as ruthless as those who strand people headed through mountainous regions of Central America or along some dusty trail of nothingness in Mexico.

The City of Trenton remains under siege by slum landlords who fly under the radar of an understaffed Inspections Department.

“But we’re fooling ourselves if we believe that (city officials) do not know that these kinds of violations are occurring. People need representation

and they need education that explains their rights,” Juega said.

“And, no doubt, many residences are rental properties are off the city’s books. People need to raise their hands and voices to say this is going on. But most landlords involved in this type of action know that tenants will not take action.”

L.A. Parker is a Trentonian columnist. Reach him at laparker@trentonian.com. Follow him on Twitter@ laparker6.