Migrant farmworkers, advocates urge committee to bar Social Security number checks and add immigration status protections for renters

Advocates and migrant workers told the Senate Economic Development, Housing & General Affairs Committee that a common rental practice—requiring Social Security numbers on applications—is denying many workers access to housing and limiting their employment choices.

Sonia Cruz, a farmworker and leader in the migrant justice movement, said the requirement forces many families to remain tied to employer-provided housing or overcrowded living conditions: "If you cannot find a house, where are you going to be able to work?" Cruz said. She and other witnesses urged the committee to extend fair-housing protections to cover citizenship and immigration status and to prohibit landlords from refusing applicants solely because they lack a Social Security number.

Why it matters: Committee staff identified sections 7–9 of draft 2.2 as the relevant fair-housing language under consideration. Witnesses said the problem is primarily a rental-market issue—people are being blocked from renting apartments or houses when they leave farm jobs to seek other work. That restriction, they said, contributes to concentrated poverty, overcrowding and labor market immobility for Vermont’s migrant communities.

Key testimony and points

- On-the-ground impact: Witnesses described situations where workers who lack a Social Security number cannot complete a rental application, receive no follow-up, and therefore cannot access housing or change employers. Sonia Cruz and others said families sometimes sleep multiple people in a single room because rental access is denied.

- Administrative and credit checks: Witnesses and committee members discussed whether landlords or banks need Social Security numbers to run background or credit checks. Witnesses said credit or background checks can be completed using name, date of birth and prior address information and noted that other states have implemented rules or guidance to let renters without SSNs apply. Rachel Elliott of Microjustice cited a 2024 survey of immigrant dairy workers showing high rates of subminimum wages and described how housing access affects workers’ ability to leave exploitative jobs.

- Scope: Petitioners asked that the bill extend protections beyond landlords to any housing-related transactions and that the protections apply to both rental applications and certain loan or mortgage decisions. Committee members noted banks have separate compliance concerns around identification and underwriting; witnesses agreed the immediate, urgent issue is rental screening.

- Precedent: Witnesses pointed to existing state-level protections elsewhere in the U.S. that bar asking for or denying housing based on immigration-related documentation or requiring an SSN to apply, including Washington State, New York, Illinois, California, Minnesota, Alaska and Guam.

What the committee will consider next

Witnesses asked the committee to draft explicit language that would (1) add "citizenship and immigration status" to the bill’s protected classes, (2) prohibit landlords from requiring a Social Security number as a precondition to apply or from rejecting applicants solely for lacking an SSN, and (3) direct regulators to issue guidance on acceptable alternative documentation for credit and background checks. Committee members asked witnesses to provide research and statutes from other states and to submit the Microjustice survey and other supporting materials. No formal vote or committee action occurred during the hearing.

Sources and attribution

Testimony quoted above is drawn directly from the meeting transcript. Sonia Cruz identified herself as a farmworker and leader with migrant-justice advocacy; Rachel Elliott identified herself with Microjustice and cited the group's survey results.