Thread: Victimized "immigrants" may get visas!!!

Victimized immigrants may get visas
Plan covers subjects of crime while in U.S. illegally.
By Vanessa Colón / The Fresno Bee
09/06/07 04:49:49


Illegal immigrants who are victims of serious crime would gain temporary legal status and eventually be allowed to apply for a green card, under a federal proposal announced Wednesday.

Under the proposal, which won't become final for at least two months, an illegal immigrant who qualifies could stay in the United States for up to four years and obtain a work permit. The proposal would apply to illegal immigrants who are victims of such crimes as rape, kidnapping, incest or assault and who are willing to help law enforcement agencies investigate the crime.

The program would offer up to 100,000 visas each year, and would establish a waiting list if the limit is reached. Applicants would have to pay $80 for a photo and fingerprints, but they could ask for a fee waiver.

"People will be more willing to give testimony and help law enforcement out," said Sharon Rummery, a spokeswoman for U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, which proposed the rules. "They don't have to be so afraid of coming forward."

Several Valley law enforcement agencies said they were unaware of the proposal. But one law enforcement official said he thought it could help in some cases.

"If you had a victim of a violent crime and [the victim] was deported, how would you prosecute the case?" said Capt. Dahl Cleek of the Tulare County Sheriff's Department.

Cleek said the department does not treat victims differently based on their residency status. Deputies tend to ask about someone's immigration status only if they are suspects in a crime, he said.

Fresno Police Chief Jerry Dyer and Fresno County District Attorney Elizabeth Egan could not be reached for comment.

Fresno County Sheriff Margaret Mims said she was unaware of the proposal but said it would help victims be more forthcoming.

But Mims worries some people might wrongly accuse someone of a crime to obtain the benefit of legal status.

"I would want there to be safeguards to keep someone from falsely claiming a crime. ... Some crimes will be clear-cut such as murder, [but] blackmail and extortion are hard to prove," Mims said.

Some nonprofit groups that work with immigrants say the program will help many residents and boost confidence in police.

"In cases of domestic violence, there's women who are afraid to report it because they are in the country illegally. It may help them and motivate them to report it," said Rufino DomÃ*nguez Santos, general coordinator of the Binational Front of Indigenous Organizations, a nonprofit cultural and social service group in downtown Fresno.

But some Valley residents who oppose illegal immigration said they don't approve of offering legal status to illegal immigrants even if they're victims of violence.

"What will happen is, we will have programs for this or for that. When will this end?" said Yolanda Muñoz Palmer of Fresno.

Muñoz Palmer said she doesn't sympathize with crime victims who are in the country illegally.

"That was their fault when they came here. God wants us to do the right thing. When you come in illegally, you go against God's will," Muñoz Palmer said.

Under existing rules, illegal immigrants can stay in the country if they were victims of human trafficking or witnesses or informants of criminal organizations, Rummery said.

The proposed expansion stems from the Victims of Trafficking and Violence Protection Act passed by Congress in 2000. The act was meant to help law enforcement agencies investigate and prosecute cases such as domestic violence, sexual assault and human trafficking.

According to an immigration document, drafting of the rules was delayed by the complexity of the issue and the formation of the Department of Homeland Security in 2003, which absorbed responsibility for immigration services.
The reporter can be reached at vcolon@fresnobee.com or (559) 441-6313.

http://www.fresnobee.com/263/story/130777.html

What does victimized Americans get?

Dixie

http://www.alipac.us/modules.php?name=F ... ic&t=81483

Duplicate post.