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 The federal government grants visas to undocumented immigrants who
help law enforcement try to catch criminals. The so-called U visa
allows the recipient to live and work in the United States for four
years, but to apply, a victim must first ask local law enforcement
to verify their cooperation.
A Reuters investigation last year found vast geographic disparities
in law enforcement approaches to this visa, with some agencies
readily verifying cooperation and others stonewalling.
The California bill was passed unanimously by the state Assembly on
Thursday. Twenty-seven Republicans voted for the California crime
victim bill, joined by 51 Democrats. A representative for Governor
Jerry Brown on Friday declined to comment on whether Brown would
sign it.
The vote comes as immigration features heavily in the early stages
of the November 2016 presidential election, particularly among
Republican candidates, where Donald Trump has made opposition to
illegal immigration a hallmark of his campaign.
"Right now is such an important time," said Angie Junck, supervising
attorney at the Immigrant Legal Resource Center in San Francisco.
"Immigrant communities are increasingly living in fear."
If enacted, California would be the first state to mandate that law
enforcement sign U visa certifications in a particular time frame.
It would require California law enforcement to verify a victim's
cooperation within 90 days, unless the agency can demonstrate that
the victim was uncooperative.
If the victim is in the process of being deported, the time frame
shrinks to 14 days.
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The Reuters report last year made public federal data on U visa
certifications. It found, for example, that law enforcement in
Oakland, California had verified 2,992 immigrants between January
2009 and May 2014 compared to just 300 in Sacramento, California,
which has a slightly higher population.
Congress has limited the number of U visas to 10,000 a year, and the
program is heavily oversubscribed. In fiscal 2012, U.S. Citizenship
and Immigration Services received 24,768 applications from crime
victims certified by local law enforcement.
If the agency determines an immigrant is eligible for the visa but
the yearly cap has been reached, that person can still obtain
protection against deportation - and work authorization - while
joining the U visa queue.
(Reporting by Dan Levine)
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