LYNN — Attorney General Maura Healey’s office has opened an investigation into the alleged actions of the landlord at 5 Lloyd St.
Lynn United For Change, a community group that has been communicating with the Healey’s office, alleges that multiple tenants at the Lloyd St. apartment building have reported incidents of threats and abuse from the landlord.
Robelio Gonzalez, an undocumented Guatemalan immigrant with a pending case before Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) is considered key to Healey’s office’s investigation.
The AG’s office confirmed that it had signed off on a U Visa — a document that allows legal residency to victims of crimes who are helpful to government investigations — for Gonzalez.
Gonzalez’s case received significant attention a couple weeks ago, when he was detained in an ICE vehicle for about an hour in front of his Lloyd street apartment. He was released from ICE custody later that afternoon following a community protest.
Prior to his detention, Gonzalez was working with a group of tenants to address issues in the building, including non-functioning smoke detectors, electrical issues and other health risks, said Lynn United for Change’s Isaac Simon Hodes.
“We were fed up,” said Gonzalez. “There were too many problems and too many abuses. We had to speak up.”
He said that the building had threatened to have him deported multiple times.
At a news conference Thursday, Lynn United members, along with church leaders and community members, voiced their support for Robelio, who was to have a check-in with ICE Friday morning.
“We’re asking ICE, please do the right thing. Do not detain or deport Robelio tomorrow,” said Hodes. “So that he has a chance to help in this investigation.”
“It is important that we stand up for those who speak for justice,” said Ian Holland, the pastor at the First Church in Swampscott. Holland immigrated to the United States from Ireland in 1989, and became a citizen in 2008.
“Without compassion, there is no freedom for anyone,” he said, calling on ICE to take Robelio’s status as a witness into consideration at the check-in.
The AG’s office would not provide specifics on the investigation, though they did point out that it is illegal for a landlord to threaten to call ICE because that tenant has exercised his rights. They also noted that their office had been keeping a close eye on self-help evictions, in which the landlord goes around the court process and forcibly tries to remove the tenant from the property.
The landlord of the building refused to identify himself when asked about the allegations, nor did he want to comment on the situation.
Robelio has also submitted an request for asylum, which will be addressed at his check-in with ICE.
At the news conference, Gonzalez was asked how he felt about the upcoming check-in.
“I’m petrified,” said Gonzalez, through a translator. “Thinking about losing everything.”
