Current squatting laws are being exploited by brazen criminals and some of them are people who have illegally come into our country through the southern border crisis. This has resulted in clashes between homeowners and people unlawfully occupying their property.

There are becoming more and more stories about homeowners who temporarily leave their homes for a few days or weeks, only to return home to find someone has trespassed and moved into their property–and they claim they have the right to be there. They are known as “Squatters”. They are people who live in a house or on a property without having a legal right to be there and are not paying rent. It is an illegal act that goes against the core principles of individual property rights, which our country was founded upon.

“Squatters’ rights,” also known as adverse possession, is a law where someone who does not have legal rights to a property can try to acquire possession or continue the occupation of that property without permission from the legal landowner. After claiming squatters’ rights, individuals can hold the landowner legally accountable if they change the locks or cut off utilities to the property. Instead, the landowner is blocked from getting into their house for many days or weeks and must go through the courts to remove the squatters from the property.

Some states are seeing legislation come forward to address the problem property owners are facing with squatters. A Republican legislator in New York, for example, introduced legislation to remove suspected squatters immediately upon a homeowner’s sworn complaint. Florida has also taken drastic measures to address the squatting problem and eliminated squatters’ rights. Now, property owners can call the sheriff’s office to immediately remove squatters from their property if the squatter cannot provide documentation that they are the property owner. There are increasing calls for Congress to address the squatting issue.

To be proactive in this national crisis, Minnesota Senate Republicans offered an amendment that would have removed Local Government Aid if a city fails to enforce existing squatter laws. This amendment sought to protect individual property rights and not permit trespassers on someone’s property. The squatter issue is also putting additional stress on the current housing shortage and the migrant crisis at our southern border will make this situation potentially much worse.

As a property owner, you should have the freedom to do what you want with your property. Unfortunately, every Senate Democrat voted against this commonsense amendment to protect your individual property rights, which Republicans tried to add to SF 3492 on the Senate Floor recently.