Tenants of the Tesuque Trailer Village will have to pay $126.50 more per month to rent their mobile-home spaces — and show proof that everyone in the household is living in the U.S legally.

The pueblo notified residents in a letter dated Oct. 17 that all tenants must sign new rental contracts and comply with the new policies if they want to continue living in the community.

Last week, property manager Dan Clavio, who signed the letter, explained to a tenant seeking to renew her contract that "the tribe receives lots of funding from the federal government and they want to make sure they are doing things right."

But neither the U.S. government nor the laws of New Mexico prohibit renting to undocumented immigrants.

Tesuque Pueblo does receive money from several federal agencies, including the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development's Native American Housing Block Grant program, but a HUD spokeswoman said the department does not ask that landlords verify residency documents.

In 2009, Tesuque Pueblo received $64,584 from the Native American Housing Block Grant administered through Sen. Jeff Bingaman's office. Maria Najera, Bingaman's spokeswoman, said Tesuque Pueblo "can't use federal laws to hide behind them and use that as an excuse to ask for proof [of legal residency]."

Under New Mexico state law, undocumented immigrants do not have to show they are legally in the U.S. to rent housing — or attend public schools and get basic utilities such as water and sewer.

Phone calls and emails to Tesuque Pueblo officials seeking clarification of the policy were not returned Monday.

Because Tesuque Pueblo is a sovereign nation, however, several city, state and federal officials said the tribe is entitled to change policies with the approval of its Tribal Council and governor.

For years, all TTV tenants paid $300 a month to rent space. As of November, the rent will be $400 plus $26.50 of gross-receipts tax, an official TTV notice indicates.

The new rules present complications for some households, such as that of Alicia Olivas. She is in the process of obtaining her legal residency card, and her youngest daughter was born in the U.S. However, her husband and older daughter are undocumented. At a meeting with nearly two dozen TTV tenants Friday in a Santa Fe apartment complex, Olivas said Clavio told her the two undocumented tenants had to leave.

"If he doesn't accept my husband and my daughter, I'm going to have to leave because I'm not splitting my family," Olivas said.

Several TTV residents said they are speaking with local lawyers to see what legal options they have.

Adonias Mendez, who has become the unofficial tenant leader, said he was collecting statements from residents and is hoping they can personally speak with Tesuque Pueblo Gov. Frederick Vigil. Many residents have lived in the community for five to 10 years, Mendez said, and they've never had such problems before.

In addition to the rent increase and the legal document check, several tenants said they are being told they owe TTV rent money. Irene Mercado, whose husband has lived there since 2004, said that when she attempted to renew her contract a few days ago, Clavio informed her she owed more than $10,800 in unpaid rent.

"We've paid every month," she said. "No landlord allows you to stay for that long without paying." Mercado said she was looking for the rent receipts, "but I don't know that I have all of them."

Other renters said they paid in cash, but a former property manager, Harold Samuel, always gave them a receipt.

Another tenant said her alleged unpaid rent bill was more than $6,000. She always paid in cash, she said, and only held onto a few receipts.

Mendez said he wants to know where all the rent money has gone. "We are not accusing anybody, but the money has to be there. We don't owe the money," he said.

A TTV resident, who identified herself only as "the Anglo resident," suggested at Friday's meeting that "the bookkeeping was not done well." Referring to a 2008 case in which former Tesuque Pueblo Gov. Joseph Marvin Herrera pleaded guilty to embezzling almost $243,000 from tribal accounts, she said, "They lost money from the embezzlement, and they know the immigrant population is a vulnerable population."

The woman called the pueblo's new policies "inhumane."

"I don't think they're being treated fairly," said the tenant, who said she has been a resident at TTV for 12 years. "The pueblo has never behaved this way before."

Contact Sandra Baltazar Martínez at 986-3062 or smartinez@sfnewmexican.com.