AURORA | An Arapahoe County District Court judge on Tuesday issued a preliminary injunction against landlords from harassing a family of Venezuelan immigrants renting an Aurora apartment, allegedly threatening to turn them in to immigration authorities.
“No family deserves to be harassed and threatened because of their immigration status,” Tim Macdonald, American Civil Liberties Union of Colorado legal director, said in a statement.
The judge issued an order against owner Avi Schwalb, apartment manager Nancy Dominguez and PHS Rent LLC, barring them from harassing, threatening or intimidating the immigrant tenants over their citizenship status at Nordic Arms Apartments in northwest Aurora.
The ruling in a lawsuit filed by the ACLU alleges the landlords unlawfully targeted and harassed the family in an illegal effort to force them out of their rented apartment, at one point locking them out of it.
The lawsuit has been ongoing since Jan. 28 , when the ACLU filed on behalf of the family, under the pseudonyms John Doe and Jane Roe. The Venezuelan couple have two children and are seeking asylum in the U.S, complying with current immigration law.
The lawsuit claims the landlords violated Colorado’s Migrant Tenant Protection Act by using their immigration status as a “weapon” to intimidate and coerce the tenants.
“This case will not only impact their lives, but every tenant and every immigrant in the state,” Macdonald said. “We’ll keep fighting for all of them.”
In November, the couple incurred unexpected medical expenses that led them to fall behind on their rent, according to the ACLU statement.
The landlords repeatedly threatened to call immigration authorities, insulted the couple’s Venezuelan heritage, and unlawfully changed the locks to their apartment without notice, leaving them temporarily homeless in winter, according to court documents.
One day in early December, the father and his 15-year-old son came home from school to find that the locks on the apartment had been changed, according to court documents. The couple said they had received no notice, and attorneys said there was no valid court order for re-possession of the rental unit.
“That night, Mr. Doe and the couple’s 15-year-old son were forced to sleep in their car overnight in the winter cold,” the documents said. “The next day, they were able to access the apartment through a window.”
To get the new key to access their belongings, they were required to pay $1,300. Monthly rent was reportedly $1,800 a month. On or about Jan. 15, the Dominguez brought an eviction notice saying they owed $4,200. She told them they had 10 days to pay or get out.
Ten days later, the situation escalated when Schwalb showed up and forced himself into the apartment by pushing the door into Roe’s face, almost breaking her nose and said they had one to two hours to pay or get out, according to the ACLU lawsuit.
When the couple said it was illegal to kick them out without an order, Schwalb began to threaten to call immigration enforcement to have them removed.
The court ruled that the plaintiffs were likely to succeed in proving the allegations, according to the ACLU statement. The Immigrant Tenant Protection Act, enacted in 2020, forbids landlords from inquiring about a tenant’s immigration status or threatening to report them to law enforcement. It also prohibits harassment, intimidation or retaliation against tenants for asserting their rights, the statement said.
State and court records show that Schwalb, one of the named landlords, has previously been indicted by a state grand jury in a separate contractor fraud scheme.
Attorney General Phil Weiser announced Jan. 10 that a grand jury had indicted Schwalb and four others, Sean Schwalb, Kevin Allbritton, Michael Stein, and Blanca Dominguez, on 34 counts of racketeering, felony theft and conspiracy for allegedly defrauding homeowners through Schwalb Builders and Avi’s Remodeling and Contracting.
ACLU officials said they have confirmed that Schwalb is the same person.
Prosecutors said Schwalb and his team solicited home remodeling contracts, collected customer deposits, and failed to complete the work, often leaving homes damaged and uninhabitable. A financial analysis of bank account records revealed that more than $1.1 million was not spent on the specific customers’ projects or returned to the specific customers when they asked for a refund.
The defendants repeatedly used a set of “deceptive” tactics to commit financial fraud on their contracting customers, according to the indictment.
“Fraudsters who steal hard-earned dollars from consumers need to be held accountable,” said Weiser in a statement. “We’ll continue to work hard to get money back to homeowners who were defrauded in this scheme and bring justice to those who violate the law.”
LOOKS LIKE crooks aren’t’ the Venezuelan immigrants but the ‘us citizens’????
“a grand jury had indicted Schwalb and four others, Sean Schwalb, Kevin Allbritton, Michael Stein, and Blanca Dominguez, on 34 counts of racketeering, felony theft and conspiracy for allegedly defrauding homeowners through Schwalb Builders and Avi’s Remodeling and Contracting.” ok…so now I wait to hear from Mr Moore LOL
Is that you, Doug King or maybe Debra? Finally using fake names? LOL yourself. I’m now trying to stay low key as so many other conservatives are taking up my causes on the Sentinel Blog comments section.
As a side note, if you don’t pay your rent, landlords have powers to screw with your life. Especially illegal immigrants should understand this. If this landlord has done criminal things in the past, it doesn’t discount that fact. The ACLU takes on so many unwinnable cases just to try to stay relevant in these times.
This case is just one more little piece from the fallout of what we’ve seen earlier through the CBZ relationships and the non-profit influence. The NGO’s having plenty of money for rehousing the Venezuelan’s will end up in this story too. Somehow the Nordic Arms got involved in the non-profit snare. A simple question a reporter wanting to report as to give some solid background would be asking. Who was paying the rent? A similar pattern being followed as in the CBZ–cluster… But then, this absurd state law laying out there. “The Immigrant Tenant Protection Act, enacted in 2020, forbids landlords from inquiring about a tenant’s immigration status” WHAT? How could this occur? Talk about twisted Government thinking.
Now, if you are in business in Colo you are prohibited from talking to a federal agency. You are now disallowed and must be punished to have had any ideas of having a discussion with law enforcement about business. In short, you can get sued for talking to the Government about questionable citizenship. Does this sound familiar? “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press;”
But I guess Colorado legislatures think they can fool with your freedom of speech? The ACLU has this so backwards; they should be representing the Nordic Arms landlord in a Constitutional lawsuit against Colo and Governor Polis. GOV Polis seems to think this is all legit law. Then it ends up codified policy like this. Perhaps some other non-profit law firm like Mountain States Legal, or Institute for Free Speech will be watching something this ludicrous and will step in.
How is the Immigrant Tenant Protection Act constitutional? First, it prohibits the landlord’s free speech and second, it seems to be at odds with the Supremacy clause– as if a state Act can trump federal jurisdiction over immigration– banning the otherwise lawful report of a federal crime?!?!?
Trump should cut off every federal grant to Colorado that he legally can until such time that all state sanctuary laws are overturned. Until then the State of Colorado simply can’t be trusted. Also start pulling the military out (He can’t close a base but I believe he can redeploy troops elsewhere). Shutdown the Denver Mint. Shutdown NREL. Move NOAA elsewhere. Begin planning for a new Air Force Academy in another state. Close RMNP and Black Canyon. Move functions handled at the Federal Center to other states. Accelerate the transfer of Space Force HQ.
Frankly, Polis should be criminally indicted for obstruction of federal immigration law and treason. And I say this as a moderate Independent who didn’t vote for Trump or Harris.
Soon, money the NGOs have used to pay rents for the undocumented will disappear. When that happens, will landlords be expected to provide their property for free?
This story is heartbreaking and infuriating. No one should ever be treated this way—especially not families who are trying to make a better life for themselves. As someone who works in home improvement and insulation, it really hit me how the places we call home can either be safe havens or sources of stress and fear, depending on who’s managing them. We recently completed an insulation project for a family who had just moved into a new home after dealing with a terrible living situation, and it reminded me just how powerful a secure, comfortable environment can be.
The work we do—whether it’s installing insulation or improving energy efficiency—is ultimately about helping people feel more secure and supported in their homes. That’s why it’s so important that everyone, regardless of their background or immigration status, is treated with basic dignity. This case is an important reminder that housing isn’t just about bricks and walls—it’s about respect and humanity.