A new California state law prevents local governments from enacting laws that punish landlords who rent to foreign nationals unlawfully in the United States.

In the US, a number of cities have enacted laws that required landlords to ask tenants for proof of lawful immigration status or be subject to various penalties. California's Governor Arnold Schwarzenneger signed into law a California statute to prevent such behavior in the state of California. Such local ordinances have been criticized as leading to discrimination and such ordinances have been struck down in federal court as unconstitutional. In some cases, these ordinances have been repealed as too expensive to defend in court.

See Calif.: Landlords can't ask immigration status, Associated Press, October 15, 2007, for more information.