It's About Time
Congress failed to pass comprehensive immigration reform, and that looks to be a dead issue for at least this session. However, things have not exactly stood still on the immigration front. The White House has announced an enforcement crackdown on employers who hire undocumented workers. Republican presidential candidates have been trying to outdo each other on how tough they would be on the illegals, led, of course, by Rep. Tom Tancredo who vowed to make the illegal immigrant the centerpiece of this election.
Not all the news has been bad, however, as was pointed out in this editorial in today's Los Angeles Times.
Since the collapse of comprehensive immigration reform this summer, legislators, including erstwhile reformers such as Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.), have felt little compunction about pursuing enforcement-only measures while ignoring the 12 million illegal immigrants in this country.
Now, the federal government is finally working on the other half of the reform equation. This fall, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services will begin granting temporary legal status to illegal immigrants who have been victims of a crime and who cooperate with law enforcement.
The idea for this "U" visa -- soon to be available for up to 10,000 petitioners per fiscal year plus eligible family members -- is an old one. Part of the Victims of Trafficking and Violence Protection Act, which was passed nearly unanimously by Congress in 2000, it seeks to protect illegal immigrants from crime, recognizing their particular vulnerability and their reluctance to cooperate with investigations for fear of deportation.
In nearly seven years, not a single U visa has been granted; the agency claims post-9/11 bureaucratic reshuffling caused the delay. It did, however, offer "interim relief" to crime victims, granting work and travel authorization but no official legal status to about 5,800 out of 7,000 applicants.
The new visa will be retroactively available to those victims, along with any illegal immigrants who procure certification from a law enforcement agency that they've suffered crimes such as rape, domestic violence or extortion committed on U.S. ground. As long as the petitioner cooperates with law enforcement, the visa would protect him or her from deportation and grant employment authorization for four years. Three years after receiving a U visa (or three years after receiving interim relief), the immigrant would be eligible to apply for legal permanent residence, though the rules for adjusting status have yet to be clarified. [Emphasis added]
The fact that it has taken seven years to implement this law is disgraceful, and no amount of posturing about 9/11 should be accepted as an excuse. Law enforcement agencies have been begging immigrants (legal or no) for cooperation in their criminal investigations, but many in that community have been too frightened of deportation to step forward. Now that they can be assured of this kind of protection, perhaps more will begin cooperating with the police and trust can be built between the two sides.
That is, unless the brave Republican men running for president hear about it and put a stop to it.
Not all the news has been bad, however, as was pointed out in this editorial in today's Los Angeles Times.
Since the collapse of comprehensive immigration reform this summer, legislators, including erstwhile reformers such as Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.), have felt little compunction about pursuing enforcement-only measures while ignoring the 12 million illegal immigrants in this country.
Now, the federal government is finally working on the other half of the reform equation. This fall, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services will begin granting temporary legal status to illegal immigrants who have been victims of a crime and who cooperate with law enforcement.
The idea for this "U" visa -- soon to be available for up to 10,000 petitioners per fiscal year plus eligible family members -- is an old one. Part of the Victims of Trafficking and Violence Protection Act, which was passed nearly unanimously by Congress in 2000, it seeks to protect illegal immigrants from crime, recognizing their particular vulnerability and their reluctance to cooperate with investigations for fear of deportation.
In nearly seven years, not a single U visa has been granted; the agency claims post-9/11 bureaucratic reshuffling caused the delay. It did, however, offer "interim relief" to crime victims, granting work and travel authorization but no official legal status to about 5,800 out of 7,000 applicants.
The new visa will be retroactively available to those victims, along with any illegal immigrants who procure certification from a law enforcement agency that they've suffered crimes such as rape, domestic violence or extortion committed on U.S. ground. As long as the petitioner cooperates with law enforcement, the visa would protect him or her from deportation and grant employment authorization for four years. Three years after receiving a U visa (or three years after receiving interim relief), the immigrant would be eligible to apply for legal permanent residence, though the rules for adjusting status have yet to be clarified. [Emphasis added]
The fact that it has taken seven years to implement this law is disgraceful, and no amount of posturing about 9/11 should be accepted as an excuse. Law enforcement agencies have been begging immigrants (legal or no) for cooperation in their criminal investigations, but many in that community have been too frightened of deportation to step forward. Now that they can be assured of this kind of protection, perhaps more will begin cooperating with the police and trust can be built between the two sides.
That is, unless the brave Republican men running for president hear about it and put a stop to it.
Labels: Immigration
posted by Diane at 12:53 PM
1 Comments:
A new can of worms was opened with the U-Visa, it is called false accusations to obtain the golden carrot. It threatens the freedom of innocent Americans in exchange for the freedom of an immigrant. We need to tell Congress enough is enough and revoke some of these bills and stop making new ones. Our court system, jails and our tax dollars are paying the price for Immigration Activist that demand more and demand it faster.
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