Experts Caution That “Damage Is Done” as Migrants Teach One Another How To Squat

(PatriotPostNews.com) – As the massive issue of illegal immigrants entering the United States persists, experts are warning that more trouble is caused by migrants encouraging each other to abuse American squatting laws.

Leonel Moreno, a so-called “migrant influencer” who entered the country illegally from Venezuela, is one of the leading voices urging fellow migrants to enter vacant homes. He had allegedly been earning up to a thousand dollars a week from his TikTok account, that had a million followers.

Moreno was recently arrested by the Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agency for bailing on a program initiated by border patrol and is reportedly facing federal gun violation charges. Although his social media has been cut off, the migrant is still getting the word out about squatting through his earlier videos that continue to be shared online.

Sen. Mario Mattera, a New York state Republican lawmaker, has introduced legislation that would enable law enforcement to instantly remove any alleged squatters based on a sworn complaint from a homeowner. Speaking to Fox News Digital, he said that the “damage is already done” thanks to Moreno’s leadership and TikTok messages.

Similarly, the Pacific Legal Foundation’s vice president of legal affairs, James Burling, has pointed out that the squatting issue has reached a tipping point due to COVID-19-related evictions, housing shortages, and immigration.

Burling said that, over the years, it has become less feasible to keep up with housing demand. This, combined with many homeowners losing their houses due to problems brought up in the pandemic and the ongoing immigration crisis, is “an impetus to squat.” Burling further argued that these three components are “tipping in the favor” of increasing the squatting issue as well as leading to additional trouble for landowners.

Since Democratic President Joe Biden entered the White House in 2021—bringing his notorious “open border” policies that conservatives argue are enabling the migration crisis—a minimum of 7.2 million illegal immigrants have crossed into the American border.