The Hennepin County Attorney’s Office announced a new policy this week to reduce barriers that crime victims who are not U.S. citizens face in obtaining legal residency status.
The policy will ease the process for people to apply for U and T visas, which were introduced by the federal government about 25 years ago. U visas give legal status to crime victims who have been subjected to mental or physical abuse, and who can help investigators. T visas apply to victims of serious trafficking crimes.
One in 10 people in Hennepin County are immigrants, according to the county attorney’s office, and many immigrant community members don’t report crimes because they fear deportation.
Even though U and T visas have existed for some time, Hennepin County Attorney Mary Moriarty said the office has historically not “made full use of this public safety tool.” Crime victims require certification from a law enforcement agency in order to apply for either visa. The county attorney’s policy will increase the number of certifications the office issues to crime victims.
“This new policy was crafted to strengthen law enforcement’s ability to detect and solve crimes, and to increase trust in the legal system with community — with vulnerable populations who are often preyed upon,” Moriarty said at a news conference announcing the change.
The visas allow recipients to stay in the United States for four years. After four years, recipients can apply for a green card or U.S. citizenship.
Assistant County Attorney Eder Castillo said that law enforcement agencies in the county process about 400 certifications a year. Other agencies in the county, including police departments, can certify cases independently from the county attorney’s office. Castillo said the Minneapolis Police Department was certifying the majority of the 400 requests. In recent years, the Hennepin County Attorney’s Office has only certified about 25 cases per year.
“We really believe that victims have chosen to go and certify their cases elsewhere, with agencies that perhaps are more trusting than we have been, and so we’re trying to change that and ensure that victims throughout the county have a place that they can call home,” Castillo said.
Castillo said that in the past, the county attorney’s office would only certify cases if the cases were referred to the office for prosecution. Now, the office will certify all cases for qualifying victims in Hennepin County, regardless of whether the crime results in a criminal case.
For example, people in domestic violence cases who want an order for protection would qualify for a certification even if there is no criminal case against the subject of the order. The office will also certify visas for all residents in Hennepin County, regardless of where the crime occurred.
The cases will also be certified within 30 days of when the crime is reported to law enforcement, instead of after they’re closed.
Veena Iyer, the executive director of the Immigrant Law Center of Minnesota, said while the policy will make it easier for people to qualify for the visas, it can take years for the visas to actually get approved.
The U.S. government caps the amount of U visas distributed nationally each year at 10,000. Iyer said the amount of applicants significantly exceeds that, leading to a large backlog. If someone applies for a U visa now, she said, it might not be approved for another 10 years.
“[The attorney’s office] can’t unfortunately change the backlog,” Iyer said. “But what they can do is make sure that there have been people who should be in that pipeline to be able to get a U visa.”
The new policy will give immigrants hope and support even if it might take years to receive the visas, she said.
“Even if it’s far away, at least giving folks the hope that they’re going to be able to get those protections, eventually, they’re going to support them in the process of escaping violence and overcoming some of these crimes that they have suffered,” Iyer said.
