Handyman turned squatter hunter outlines ‘nightmare scenario’ when migrants catch on to housing laws
Squatter hunter Flash Shelton is concerned that migrants will catch on to states' lenient tenants' rights laws and create a squatting crisis that is "beyond control."
Leonel Moreno, the illegal immigrant "migrant influencer" who has urged his followers to use squatter laws to take over vacant American homes, took to Instagram Wednesday after an apparent TikTok ban to mock American taxpayers.
In a series of five short clips, Moreno flaunted a stack of cash, bragged about not having to work and also mocked fellow migrants who come to the U.S. to work cleaning, construction and landscaping jobs.
"I didn't cross the Rio Grande to work like a slave," Moreno said in Spanish, according to a translation of his videos. "I came to the U.S. to mark my territory."
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Venezuelan TikToker Leonel Moreno urged illegal immigrants to take over abandoned homes and invoke squatters' rights. (TikTok/Screenshot/Leonel Moreno)
He claimed to have enough money to go at least a year and a half without working, at times singing and waving cash with a baby in his lap.
He also mocked people who work for a living, including fellow migrants who came to the U.S. to find jobs.
"You're hurt because I make more than you without much work while you work like slaves, understand?" he said. "That's the difference between you and me. I'm always going to make lots of money without much work, and you're always going to be exploited and miserable and insignificant."
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I didn't cross 12 countries to be a slave to anyone. I came to the USA to become a millionaire.
A composite image of screen grabs shows Moreno waving cash, singing and examining a rifle at a store. (@Leitooficial_26/Instagram)
Moreno's TikTok account, which had more than 500,000 followers, appeared to have been removed as of Wednesday. In prior videos, he claimed that his family received $350 a week in government handouts since entering the U.S. illegally and has been raking in up to $1,000 a week on the video platform.
In one of the new clips, he shrugged off the loss of his TikTok account, saying he still has Facebook and Instagram and that he expects to continue using them to make money online and from government handouts.
"Yes, they closed my TikTok account, but I keep earning on Facebook and on Instagram," he said. "I won't earn the same, but I am going to get my TikTok account back. I am going to keep earning money."
Venezuelan migrant Leonel Moreno speaking to his social media followers. (TikTok @leitooficial_25)
On Monday, he had posted another video in which he sang about one day making it to the White House.
Not all of his viewers appreciated the videos, with one commenter calling him a "clown."
Others questioned the whereabouts of his wife, wondering in the comments section whether she was out working while he was posting videos and watching the baby. Many condemned his comments as inflammatory.
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Moreno allegedly received border parole but is now listed as an "absconder" from immigration authorities, the New York Post reported Wednesday, citing Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) documents.
Leonel Moreno speaks to his followers in a combination of still images taken from videos. (@Leitooficial_26/Instagram)
ICE did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Moreno reportedly received border parole in April 2022 as part of the government's Alternatives to Detention program, which is supposed to track catch-and-release migrants when there is not enough room to detain them.
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Moreno previously told his audience he planned to make a business out of "invading" abandoned houses and taking them over with squatters' rights laws, then selling them for a profit.
