Immigrant Tenants Protest 'Offensive Remarks' by Vienna Area Real Estate Developer

FAIRFAX COUNTY, VA -- On Thursday, immigrant tenants from Northern Virginia joined together to protest what they called "offensive and stereotypical comments" made by David Hillman, chairman and CEO of Southern Management Corporation.

The protest took place in front of the offices of Southern Management, at 1950 Old Gallows Road near Vienna.

In responding to a tragic apartment explosion in Silver Spring that killed seven immigrant tenants including two children, Hillman is quoted by the group as saying: “They’re not as poor as people think. Immigrants have different needs than native-born Americans. To them, living three to four to a room is not an inconvenience.”

Although Hillman did not address the protestors directly, he emailed an apology of sorts to The Washington Post, saying: “My printed comments in the Washington Post on August 20th regarding immigrants and their housing challenges were part of a much longer and comprehensive conversation with the reporter,” Hillman said in statement that was emailed to the newspaper in response to a request for comment. “I regret that anyone has taken offense to them and I certainly apologize for any misunderstanding of the intent.”

Prior to the protest, several people offended by Hillman's previous remarks weighed in:

“When I heard about what Mr. Hillman said, I felt offended, like he was calling me something less than human,” said Everth Sanchez, an immigrant tenant in Falls Church, in a news release from the Legal Aid Justice Center. “Does he think my children don’t deserve a quiet place to do their homework in the evening? Does he think our community enjoys living with three families to a two-bedroom apartment?”

“The lack of affordable housing is a crisis. We need solutions, not stereotypes,” said Edgar Aranda-Yanoc, Organizing Coordinator of the Legal Aid Justice Center. “Apartments in some of the worst-maintained complexes in Annandale and Falls Church cost around $2,000 a month. But the minimum wage in Virginia is still $7.25 an hour, and many immigrant workers are paid even less than that. Housing is a right, and it is being denied to our community."

“The wait list for affordable housing is a mile long, and many immigrants—even legal immigrants with statuses like TPS or DACA—don’t even qualify,” said Simon Sandoval-Moshenberg, Legal Director of the Legal Aid Justice Center’s Immigrant Advocacy Program. “Immigrant families, even with two parents working full-time jobs in restaurants or construction, are paying most of their income in rent. If they get sick and miss work, they don’t get paid, they fall behind on rent, and they can find themselves evicted so quickly it leaves their head spinning. I can’t count the number of tenants I’ve represented who paid their base rent in full, but were still placed in eviction proceedings for missing a utility payment or some other junk fee of as little as $250, which balloons to $1000 with all the late fees and legal fees that the landlords add on.”

“Mr. Hillman should keep in mind that the protection of the federal Fair Housing Act extends to all tenants, even immigrants,” said Mary Bauer, Executive Director of the Legal Aid Justice
Center. “Such statements can send immigrants the message that they are not wanted here. That can violate the law.”

Immigrant tenants and their supporters protested in front of the offices of Southern Management Thursday to demand that Hillman "apologize and retract his comments, and instead of peddling in stereotypes, work together with immigrant community leaders to find a solution to the affordable housing crisis for immigrants in Northern Virginia, such as committing to offer a greater percentage of apartments in every development he manages for families below 40 percent of the area median income," the group said.

PHOTO of protest Thursday in Fairfax County courtesy of Legal Aid Justice Center's Immigrant Advocacy Program