Ensure Survivors Don't Have to Wait a Decade for Safety
Members of Congress, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, the Department of Homeland Security, and the Department of Justice
Every day in cities across the United States, strength and hope is prevailing. Undocumented survivors of crime are coming forward to protect themselves and their children from danger, to protect their families and friends, and to protect their communities.
They are people like Dolores,* who reported her daughter’s sexual abuse to the police and testified against the abuser at trial so that he could not hurt any other children. They are people like Angelina,* who worked with law enforcement to catch and prosecute her neighbor who kidnapped, raped, and shot her, and who shared his plans to kill his wife. They are people like Jose, who placed himself in harm’s way to save his coworkers from an active shooter and then worked with police and prosecutors to prosecute the assailant.
These strong and brave people are entitled to immigration protections under our laws through a program called a "U visa."
But the U visa is not working as it should because of two fundamental flaws in design.
The first is the U visa's requirement that survivors engage with our criminal justice system. There are many survivors of crime--particularly Black and LGBTQIA survivors--who may never be able to access the U visa safely because interacting with law enforcement is not safe for them.
The second is the U visa's 10,000 annual cap, which is forcing people filing a U visa petition today to wait nearly a decade, while fighting to avoid re-victimization in various aspects of their lives.
We are overdue for change. Tell our government officials that survivors need a real pathway to safety--not an elusive promise a decade away.
P.S. Looking to find out more? Check out HRI and the Hunter Center's report, Flawed Design, here.
Sponsored by
To:
Members of Congress, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, the Department of Homeland Security, and the Department of Justice
From:
[Your Name]
Survivors shouldn't have to wait a decade for safety. We call on you use your authority to reform our flawed U-visa system, which is re-victimizing the already-vulnerable people it was intended to help.
Specifically, we ask that:
Congress:
1. Eliminate the 10,000 annual cap on U visas
2. Eliminate the U visa’s mandated interactions with law enforcement
3. Increase resources for adjudication of U visa petitions
USCIS:
1. Grant work authorization within 180 days of submitting a U visa petition
2. Adjudicate petitions and grant deferred action to petitioners on the wait list within 6 to 12 months
3. Grant parole to wait-listed U visa petitioners and qualifying derivatives residing abroad.
Department of Homeland Security & Department of Justice
1. Stop Detaining and Deporting U Visa Petitioners
Every day in cities across the United States, strength and hope is prevailing. Undocumented survivors of crime are coming forward to protect themselves and their children from danger, to protect their families and friends, and to protect their communities.
They are people like Dolores,* who reported her daughter’s sexual abuse to the police and testified against the abuser at trial so that he could not hurt any other children. They are people like Angelina,* who worked with law enforcement to catch and prosecute her neighbor who kidnapped, raped, and shot her, and who shared his plans to kill his wife. They are people like Jose, who placed himself in harm’s way to save his coworkers from an active shooter and then worked with police and prosecutors to prosecute the assailant.
These strong and brave people are entitled to immigration protections under our laws through a program called a "U visa." But the U visa is not working as it should because of two fundamental flaws in design.
The first is the U visa's requirement that survivors engage with our criminal justice system. There are many survivors of crime--particularly Black and LGBTQIA survivors--who may never be able to access the U visa safely because interacting with law enforcement is not safe for them.
The second is the U visa's 10,000 annual cap, which is forcing people filing a U visa petition today to wait nearly a decade, while fighting to avoid re-victimization in various aspects of their lives.
We are overdue for change. It's time to use your power to give survivors a real pathway to safety--not an elusive promise a decade away.