Mitzi Ordoñez was born in Mexico City but has lived in the United States as an immigrant for 13 years. When she arrived, together with her husband, not only did she find that her family were not here, she did not know the language, and she did not know how the system worked. Shortly after, in addition, she suffered a series of injustices that marked her with fire. "When I asked my colleagues what to do, the answer was: ‘Nothing, it is normal'. Many people normalize that because they are immigrants they have to be mistreated and exploited, but something in me told me ‘it can't be like this,'" she tells LPO from Houston, Texas. With that experience and the background of having studied business administration in Mexico, Ordoñez managed herself to win a lawsuit in court against employers who had kept part of her salary. Some time later, she joined the Texas Organizing Project, first as volunteer and later as anorganizer. On March 2, together with the NGO that assists the Latino and African-American communities, she marched to the Austin Capitol to demand the approval of a declaration that defends the Rights of Tenants in Texas.
What is the focus of the work at the Texas Organizing Project?We work with African-American and Latino communities, which are the most vulnerable communities, in the three largest counties in Texas: Harris, where Houston is, Bexar, where San Antonio is, and Dallas. The purpose is strategic because they are the places where there are more people who can vote but have not voted. Our goal is to empower the community and change rules that work for them.Why do they not vote? Are they legally prevented or they do not have interest?
I think it is more that the system is made so that they cannot vote, either because they do not have the necessary documents, or because the hours they set to vote are not very accessible for our community since we have two jobs. Politicians also do not reach out to these communities because they think they do not have a voice or that they should not be part of the voting. So, the outreach that is done when it is election time does not reach those communities. Also in part there are reasons that have to do with education.
What is the situation of the Latino community from a housing point of view in these large cities?
In Houston, the problem we have with housing is that most of it is private. There are more and more huge corporations in Texas, a very friendly state for developers or large companies. They are corporate that do not have any kind of regulation, they offer non suitable rooms and they ignore the complaints of the tenants. Another problem that we see a lot is the increase in rents. The owners can raise the rents as they like, there is no regulation. We have a law in Texas that is called tax free: taxes are forgiven if you are a large corporation and you are going to build something with the argument that you are going to generate employment. The consequence is that without regulations our low-income communities cannot fight these giants.
Who are those giants?
In Houston, we used to organize small homeowners but when hurricane Harvey hit, many renters were affected and the Federal Emergency Agency (FEMA) did not help them. Instead, they helped homeowners. When we realized what the root of the problem really was, we began to organize ourselves. In Houston, tenants are already 56% of the population and there are only eight corporations that position themselves as a mafia. Some corporations do not only have properties in Texas but they also have them in other states as well. They are all part of a national association called the National Multifamily Housing Council. They are very strong because they do a lot of lobbying and they also give money to many politicians for their campaigns.When did evictions start to rise in Texas and what happened after the rent increase?
Many people say that after COVID, evictions were on the rise. For me, they were already happening long before in the African-American and Latino communities, but with COVID, the issue began to have more visibility because it began to affect other communities and white people were among them. That was when they paid more attention to it and launched federal programs. But evictions were already taking place and in large numbers as well.
[Miles de latinos en riesgo de desalojo tras el fin de la moratoria por Covid-19]What happened in Houston?
Despite the fact that there has been aid, this aid has not been very equitable because one of the criteria for you to access is that you have documents. COVID did not affect everyone equally. Many undocumented people who were already working on low incomes were unable to enter these programs and were left more vulnerable to non-payment of rent and eviction.
What impact are evictions having on the Latino community today?Many of the evictions that happen are not documented in the statistics because they are done at their own expense. There are people who call me and say: "They are going to evict me tomorrow." And if they could approach us as an organization, we can say: "Hey, no, they cannot evict you like that. It is a process, you must receive an eviction letter, they have to sent you to court, we can find a lawyer to accompany you." But if a lot of people do not know my phone number or they do not look for information, they are evicted the next day with the notice that they have from the manager.
Houston and San Antonio are governed by the Democratic Party. How does the Democrats' housing policy differ from that of the Republicans?
In Houston our leaders are very committed to changing the status quo. Programs that are more accessible to the community in terms of habitat have come out and we as an organization have created committees together with they county and the city, so the community is within those spaces. I think that the Democrats have intentions of involving the community in decision-making and planning, it is very good to start making decisions with the people affected. Yet we have decades and decades of very conservative leadership. To see the results we would like, it is going to be a few years before the Democrats can have a chance to make their changes.
It is often said that Texas is a growing option and that many Latinos move from places like California or Florida because housing is more affordable. How does that change affect local communities?
Well, we are very concerned because we are indeed receiving a lot of people from California since the pandemic began. Houston is very friendly to receive immigrants from other places, I think that is very good and that this is one of the most diverse cities. However, we are very concerned because there is a lot of gentrification in our communities. I personally think that the people of California, when they work in this State, they should have the money to live in this State. The housing problem is national, it is already a crisis, but if we do not come together at the national level, the results will be very sad because everything is a domino effect.
[Newsom pierde una batalla crucial con Abbott: cada vez son más los californianos que se mudan a Texas]High prices and migration from other states push Texans to the margins.Exactly, many people from California are moving because they cannot pay there, so they come here... they can live well here as long as they come with California salaries. Right now we have a lot of problems in Houston due to gentrification, because the cost of living is going up and wages are not. The latest studies in Harris show that the county is not growing: many people are beginning to move to the suburbs, which is where they can find more affordable housing.
How likely is a Tenant Bill of Rights to pass at the state or municipal level?
Unfortunately in Texas the protections for tenants are almost nothing and they favor the owner. So our goal is to be able to pass this in San Antonio to achieve more protections at the state level, and we think that we have an opportunity to do so right now because there are several Democratic candidates who support this legislation. The idea is that it can be copied later in Houston.
Who supports the claim?We are working together with Texas Housers, the organization that helps us write the draft ordinances or polices, as we call it here. There are several local allies who are also working on the housing issue and I also know that there are congressmen and councilors from San Antonio supporting it.Some time ago you said that Latinos are afraid to demand their rights due to fear of being deported. Is it still like that?Yes, totally. One of the things we do a lot is educate the community about their tenant rights. There is a lot of misinformation and unfortunately many owners intimidate undocumented tenants, they complain or say, well, I am going to call Migration Office. So that makes our undocumented community stop reflecting on these abuses and demanding their rights. In my experience as an organizer, it is one thing for them to have the information and another thing for them to use it to sue. Many people think that the authority is not going to solve anything or that you are only going to get more into trouble. As Latino communities we are burdening the political system of our country and we have to feel more secure about the need to demand those rights.
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