All 10,000 Visas for Crime Victims Used Up

The U visa is often considered the one soft and cuddly spot in the United State's rigid and harsh immigration system. Created as part of the Victims of Trafficking and Violence Protection act of 2000, the U visa is available to undocumented victims of sexual assault, domestic violence, human trafficking, and other violent crimes who cooperate with law enforcement to put the perpetrators behind bars. It gives someone whose life was torn apart by violence or enslavement the chance to start anew in America on the right side of the law.

Those who know how broken, unwelcoming, and confusing our immigration system is, and how utterly misguided the priorities are, might not be surprised to learn that it took until 2007 for a single victim's visa to be issued. And that wasn't voluntary, either: the government had to be sued into providing U visas as the law stated.

Yet U visas contain the potential to have a real impact on reducing violent crime and human trafficking. (Kind of the opposite of what SB 1070 will do.) Undocumented victims of domestic abuse or sexual assault are often afraid to go to the authorities, for fear that they will be detained and deported, instead of their assailant. In many cases, these victims, primarily women, have family in the U.S. that they cannot risk being separated from, perhaps even leaving their children in the hands of their abuser. Moreover, as Amanda Kloer has pointed out on the Human Trafficking blog, traffickers often use harsh immigration laws to their benefit by convincing those they are enslaving that if they go to the authorities they will be tossed in jail for being illegally in the country — even if, you know, it's the trafficker's fault they don't have authorization.

Better publicizing of U visas could put more domestic abusers, rapists, and human traffickers behind bars. Frankly, I'd rather put those people in the slammer than the victims enslaved, beaten, and raped.

Unfortunately, all 10,000 U visas for this year have been used up, and the next round won't be available until October (the beginning of the next fiscal year). And while victims who are currently cooperating with authorities can be given temporary status until the visas become available again, every year the backlog will increase. Instead of putting an arbitrary cap on visas that should automatically be issued to anybody who qualifies, the federal government should make U visas unlimited and focus on making a concerted effort to get the word about their existence.

Maybe an ad along the lines of: Raped? Abused? Enslaved? Undocumented? The U visa is here for you. Go to your local law enforcement and help them put the real criminals behind bars, and you can receive authorization to remain legally in America. Okay, that could have a catchier jingle, but the important information is there.

Think about it this way: 10,000 victims visas means 10,000 violent criminals who law enforcement is able to investigate and prosecute. We should offer as many visas as there are victims, to protect both those individuals and the public from as many dangerous criminals as possible. Sign this petition to tell Congress to eliminate the arbitrary cap on crime victims visas.

Photo credit: mrsraggle