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ILCM Testimony in Support of Certifications for Victims of Crimes
Posted on Jan 26 2021
January 26, 2021
RE: HF (TBD) Certifications for Victims of Crimes
Dear Chair Mariani and members of the Public Safety and Criminal Justice Reform and Finance Policy Committee:
The Immigrant Law Center of Minnesota (ILCM) strongly supports the proposed bill HF (TBD) Certifications for Victims of Crimes. We respectfully request that members of this committee support efforts to prevent the victimization of Minnesota residents, especially in Greater Minnesota.
ILCM operates five offices across the state of Minnesota to provide comprehensive, free legal representation to immigrant communities, as well as education and advocacy support. Our Greater Minnesota offices include locations in Worthington, Austin, and Moorhead. In 2019, 40% of the clients we served resided in rural Minnesota.
The New Beginnings Project at ILCM assists immigrant victims of violence and their children to obtain legal status through cooperation with law enforcement, thereby gaining the independence needed to escape a cycle of violence. As one of the largest legal projects operating at ILCM, New Beginnings represents crime victims and victims of domestic violence. ILCM coordinates closely with our community partners to provide safety planning services and support for survivors during this difficult period in their lives.
Congress enacted U visa legislation to improve safety within our communities by encouraging the victim’s cooperation with law enforcement and providing immigration protection to the victim and their children.
Our primary role is assisting many of these vulnerable immigrants and their families in applying for legal status. Legal status, when awarded, lifts these victims and their families out of crisis and empowers them to obtain self-sufficiency and stability without fear of having their status exposed. With U visa status, they can rebuild their lives.
Our attorneys work hard to best serve our clients. This legislation would provide greater efficiency in the first step of the process: gaining U visa certification. Only with this certification can the immigration case continue.
At present, Minnesota lacks a standard certification process for the U visa. Attorneys and survivors work in partnership with law enforcement agencies to forge relationships beneficial for all parties involved. As victims of violent crime without lawful immigration status, U visa applicants open themselves up to law enforcement partners in order to enhance their own safety,
as well as the safety of the entire community. However, our ILCM attorneys constantly face new obstacles when they encounter different systems and timelines at each agency throughout the state. A streamlined process proposed in this bill will not only allow our attorneys to better advocate for our clients, but also allow us to participate as better partners to law enforcement. The communities we serve, and the entire state, will benefit through enhanced efficiency and effectiveness of the U visa process.
Congress intended to protect all immigrant victims of violent crimes as well as improving public safety and law enforcement systems. Our clients present horrific accounts of domestic violence, sexual assault, violent physical assault, being held hostage or criminally restrained, and more. Immigrant survivors of violent crimes rely on this U visa process in order to pursue justice through our criminal system. Every obstacle faced in the first few months affects when and how the rebuilding process happens for these victims. A survivor of domestic violence cannot wait a prolonged period for the certification process as she starts her life anew. A survivor of sexual assault desperately needs a quick process to protect her immigration status as she attempts to rebuild trust with her surroundings after an attack.
Law enforcement needs the quick and complete cooperation of victims of violent crime. Those victims need and deserve the protection offered by Congress in the U visa program.
This bill will directly uplift survivors of violence in all communities during an incredibly difficult period of their lives. It will improve the work of ILCM and attorneys across the state who partner with law enforcement agencies on behalf of their clients. Finally and most notably, this bill will provide guidance and support for law enforcement agencies to comply with the U visa process set forth by Congress.
We respectfully ask for your support for this important and necessary legislation.
Sincerely,
Veena A. Iyer, Executive Director
Immigrant Law Center of Minnesota