Tesuque Pueblo in northern New Mexico is giving residents of a mobile home park until June 30, 2012, to prove they are in the U.S. on a legal basis.

The tribe implemented a new policy that requires all residents, including minors, of Tesuque Trailer Village to prove their immigration status. The change came with an increase in monthly rent, stirring controversy and news media coverage.

Tesuque Pueblo "has the right to know and to determine who resides within the exterior boundaries of its reservation," the tribe said in a statement to The Santa Fe New Mexican.

No federal funds have been used at the park, the tribe said. But a Department of Housing and Urban Development spokesperson clarified that Indian housing funds cannot be used to assist people who are not legal residents of the U.S.

A tribe could lose a portion, or all, of their Indian housing grant if that happens, the spokesperson said.

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Tesuque Pueblo trailer park tenants have till June to provide proof of residency (The Santa Fe New Mexican 11/10)

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