Immigrants who are victims of crimes in the United States are afraid to report to the police

The restrictive immigration policy of US President Donald Trump causes many undocumented immigrants to remain in the shadows even in critical situations. Data collected WNYCshow: illegal immigrants are afraid to apply to the authorities even in cases when they become victims of crimes.

Фото: Depositphotos

For the past twenty years, the United States has been encouraging immigrants who have been victims or witnesses of crime to declare themselves. In exchange for cooperation with law enforcement agencies, they had the right (more precisely, by law they still have it) to apply for a visa of category U, which allows you to legally stay in the country and work. In 2017, 2664 man took advantage of this opportunity in New York, but in 2018 the figure dropped to 2282, or 14% less.

According to attorney Terry Lawson of the Family and Immigration Affairs Department of the Bronx Legal Service, her clients, who are victims of domestic violence, increasingly face ICE arrests when they seek help from the authorities.

“Everyone knows what’s going on,” she said, adding that domestic tyrants also take advantage of it. Previously, a victim of domestic violence had to file a petition for protection from her abuser, but now she hears: “If you file a petition, I will call ICE.”

But not only the victims are afraid of this.

“People regularly tell lawyers that they are afraid of arrests,” the lawyer explained. “They are afraid that ICE will be in the courthouse or near the courthouse - this is true both in the Bronx and in other areas.”

Data collected as part of the immigrant protection project marks an 17 multiple-shot surge of ICE arrests in and outside the courts of the state of New York. Only one arrest was documented near the family court, but that was enough to scare immigrants, according to Shani Adess, assistant director of the family law department in the New York legal aid group.

“One of the things that’s new to me that wasn’t in this world before 2017—and especially in 2018—is having to talk to a client about whether it’s safe for them to go to family court,” admits Adess.

The city authorities paid attention to this. When the District Attorney of Manhattan was asked about new data on visa applications, Cyrus Vance replied that he was not surprised. He expressed the hope that a broader coverage of the data will convince immigrants: the prosecutor’s office will not inform anyone about them.

ICE did not comment on the situation. Earlier, the agency claimed that court arrests were necessary because New York’s policy did not allow police and prisons to transfer immigrants to ICE if they were not convicted of serious crimes.

Mayor Bill de Blasio's administration also said police and other city agencies are increasing public awareness of U visas. Last year, the mayor's office announced the certification of a record 863 U and T visas (for victims of human trafficking) - 1162 out of XNUMX applications.

But the overall decline in the number of applications in New York reflects a national trend. According to the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services, which resolves the issue of issuing a category U visa, in the 2018 fiscal year (which ended at the end of September) 58 664 was filed throughout the United States, which is 5% less than in the previous period.

A final decision on issuing a U visa may take several years. Long waiting periods are another obstacle for undocumented immigrants who fear ICE arrests. Once they apply, the government knows where they are and can try to deport them.

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