Hennepin County Attorney’s Office to ease path for immigrants to receive crime victim visas

Concerned that immigrants who aren’t citizens often are afraid to report crimes for fear of deportation, the Hennepin County Attorney’s Office announced a new policy Wednesday that will make it easier for them to qualify for certain visas and reduce longstanding barriers to report offenses.

The policy will offer a smoother path for immigrants to become eligible for a U visa, a type of status granted to victims of some crimes who have suffered mental or physical abuse, and prove helpful for investigation or prosecution.

The County Attorney’s Office will also improve the process for noncitizens to qualify for a T visa for victims of severe trafficking to remain in the United States.

Officials say the move will encourage more immigrants — including those who are undocumented — to contact authorities about domestic violence, sexual assault and other crimes without fear of being deported. Hennepin County Attorney Mary Moriarty said the change “will help protect noncitizens in our community while making us all safer.”

“Because of these barriers, noncitizens are being denied justice, and law enforcement and prosecutors don’t have the valuable tools that we need to protect public safety,” Moriarty said.

The U and T visa programs have existed for decades. Applicants include certification papers from a law enforcement agency in their visa applications to U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, a process that often takes many years to resolve.

Law enforcement agencies have varying standards to certify a case. Assistant County Attorney Eder Castillo, who heads the office’s U visa practice, said that while the Minneapolis Police Department certifies 400 cases a year, the Hennepin County Attorney’s Office has only certified 25 cases annually in recent years. That’s down from about 80 in 2015, he added.

Minneapolis police, along with other law enforcement agencies in the county, can certify cases independently of the Hennepin County Attorney’s Office.

The County Attorney’s Office now will certify victims of any qualifying crime whether or not it turns into a criminal case, such as in situations where someone asks for an order of protection from domestic violence. All noncitizens will be eligible as long as they live in Hennepin County, regardless of where the crime occurred.

And the office will certify the case within 30 days of when the crime is reported, instead of waiting until the case is resolved.

Immigrant groups support the measure. Veena Iyer, executive director of the Immigrant Law Center of Minnesota, said in a statement: “Being victimized by a crime is traumatic, and particularly so for new American survivors who often worry that they will be separated from their families if they report the crime. The U and T visas are critical tools for eliminating these fears and keeping our communities safe.”