Immigrants Who Are Crime Victims And Waiting For Visas Now Face Deportation

Domingo Mendoza Méndez’s eyes capable pinch tears arsenic he says he hasn't seen his family since July 10, erstwhile he went to an assignment pinch U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and was detained.

“I’m successful nan process for a U visa and they detained me, but I don’t cognize why they’re detaining me. I’m pursuing each their rules,” Mendoza Méndez, a 45-year-old Mexican immigrant, said successful a video telephone pinch Noticias Telemundo from nan Freeborn County Correctional Facility successful Minnesota.

In 2013, Mendoza Méndez, who had crossed nan separator 13 years earlier, was nan unfortunate of a convulsive robbery successful Minnesota, which was recorded and investigated by police. The type of battle he suffered is included in nan U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) list of crimes that suffice for a U visa, a measurement designed for victims of criminal acts successful nan U.S. who work together to thief authorities analyse nan crime.

However, arsenic portion of nan Trump administration's wide deportation campaign, immoderate immigrants who've applied and are successful nan process of waiting for a U visa person been detained.

“I consciousness sad. I’m trying to stitchery my strength, but location are truthful galore things happening here. Many of america are having our authorities violated,” said nan joined begetter of 3 children, adding that he's been successful nan process of obtaining a visa since 2021.

Domingo Mendoza Méndez pinch his youngest girl astatine an amusement parkland successful Minnesota earlier this year.Rafaela Flores

Magdalena Metelska, nan migration lawyer handling Mendoza Méndez’s case, said that different administrations didn’t return coercive measures against victims applying for U visas, but that has changed pinch nan 2nd Trump administration.

Now, if personification has a visa pending and moreover been fixed a activity licence notification, for illustration Mendoza Méndez, "it doesn’t really matter because these group are besides being arrested and detained,” she said.

In April, Jose Madrid-Leiva, a Guatemalan migrant who was waiting for a U visa, was detained successful Kansas City. That aforesaid month, Guatemalan migrant Gerber Mazariegos Dávila, who was applying for a U visa, was detained by ICE agents successful Atlanta. In June, Esvin Juárez and Rosmeri Miranda-López, a Guatemalan mates pinch 4 children whose U visa exertion had been approved were deported to their homeland.

A use and a rule enforcement instrumentality — pinch a large backlog

The U visa was created by Congress successful 2000 done nan Victims of Trafficking and Violence Protection Act (TVPA) and is reserved for victims of definite crimes who “have suffered beingness aliases intelligence harm” and who cooperate pinch rule enforcement aliases authorities officials “in nan investigation aliases prosecution of criminal activity,” according to USCIS.

“The U visa is simply a humanitarian benefit, but it’s besides a rule enforcement tool," explained Hannah Shapiro, supervising lawyer astatine nan Legal Aid Society, which provides ineligible thief to low-income families and individuals. "It requires nan individual to cooperate successful an investigation aliases prosecution related to nan visa-qualifying offenses, which tin beryllium caller aliases person occurred respective years ago.”

She added nan visa was designed to make communities safer by incentivizing undocumented survivors of home maltreatment and different crimes to interaction constabulary and cooperate successful investigations, frankincense helping make abusers accountable.

The U visa's benefits see nan expertise to unrecorded and activity successful nan U.S. and a chance to use for a greenish paper successful nan future. However, arsenic pinch different visas for victims of maltreatment and crime, specified arsenic nan Special Immigrant Juvenile program, the U.S. authorities only grants 10,000 U visas per year, which has created a sizeable backlog for applicants.

There are much than 300,000 group waiting, successful summation to qualifying family members, Shapiro explained, and nan process tin return up to 15 aliases 20 years.

According to USCIS numbers, nan authorities received 266,293 superior U visa applications from fiscal twelvemonth 2017 done nan 2nd 4th of fiscal twelvemonth 2025.

“This intends that if each U visa applications were halted today, it would return much than 20 years to resoluteness nan pending cases. Since fiscal twelvemonth 2009, USCIS has seen a 2013% summation successful pending cases,” USCIS said successful a connection sent to Noticias Telemundo.

Since June 2021, USCIS has been granting “good religion determinations” — charismatic documents that validate nan legitimacy of nan U visa exertion and protects applicants from deportation while giving them activity authorization.

Recent changes, less protections

Immigration experts and attorneys opportunity nan Trump management is now asserting that “good religion determinations” do not protect group from deportation, starring to detentions of U visa applicants.

“I ever carried successful my wallet nan missive of bully religion that ICE had approved for me, which states that I person nan correct to beryllium successful nan United States without fearfulness of deportation. But nan agents told maine they were nary longer respecting that. And they took maine away,” said Mendoza Méndez.

Matthew J. Tragesser, main of USCIS' Office of Public Affairs, said successful a connection to Noticias Telemundo that “a bully religion determination connected a pending exertion for U nonimmigrant position does not protect a overseas nationalist from migration enforcement.”

Tragesser besides stated that “the U visa programme is being exploited by overseas scammers and criminals, their corrupt lawyers, and rule enforcement officers,” though he did not supply circumstantial figures aliases cases.

Last month, USCIS announced that 5 Louisiana men, including 4 progressive and retired rule enforcement officers, had been charged pinch bribery, conspiracy to perpetrate visa fraud and message fraud pursuing a national investigation that uncovered a shape of inconsistencies successful U visa applications. According to nan agency, nan defendants revenge mendacious constabulary reports truthful that overseas nationals who were supposedly victims of nan thefts could use for U visas.

A displacement distant from victims' protections

Although nan basal building of nan U visa programme remains intact (since it was created by Congress, it can't beryllium unilaterally eliminated), respective experts and applicants opportunity its applicable implementation has go importantly harder.

“Shortly aft Trump returned to power, they repealed a memorandum that considered unfortunate position a discretionary facet that, isolated from successful extenuating aliases much superior circumstances, should not beryllium a privilege for removal. This is moreover existent if their lawsuit was pending and had not been approved,” Shapiro said.

The lawyer refers to Memorandum 11005.4 , which changed nan agency’s attack to migration enforcement related to U visa applicants. Among different things, this caller directive eliminates proactive unfortunate identification, truthful ICE officers are nary longer required to look for clues aliases grounds suggesting a overseas nationalist is simply a unfortunate of a crime erstwhile making enforcement decisions.

“With nan caller Department of Homeland Security rules, these cases are being reopened. So group who were helping nan police, who had suffered immoderate type of crime, aliases were victims of a very superior crime are now successful deportation proceedings,” migration lawyer Benjamín Osorio said.

One specified lawsuit is that of Fredy Hernández Cedillos, a Salvadoran migrant who has lived successful nan U.S. since 2009. He was injured during a convulsive robbery successful Virginia successful 2010 and has been waiting for a U visa since 2020.

Fredy Hernández Cedillos, seen present pinch his son.Fredy Hernández Cedillos

"My lawyer received a missive from DHS saying they’re going to reopen our case, moreover though we’ve already gone to court. So our fearfulness is that we can’t return to our state because gangs are aft us. And we don’t cognize if we’ll person to time off our children,” said Cedillos.

U.S. rule allows migrants applying for this visa to proceed nan visa process successful nan countries to which they were deported. However, lawyers for illustration Osorio pass of nan difficulties progressive successful this process.

“Yes, they tin proceed their procedures. But nan problem is that if nan waiting database is much than 10 years long, group person to walk that clip successful nan state to which they were deported, and they are often successful threat there. Furthermore, if they person American children, they will suffer without their parents, because deportation affects nan full family,” Osorio said.

'Harmed by these delays'

The prosecution of these cases made headlines successful January, when a Michigan tribunal ruled that a group of crime survivors applying for U visas could move guardant pinch a suit against nan Department of Homeland Security for unjustifiable delays successful receiving first bully religion determinations, which, among different things, has prevented them from accessing activity permits.

"We person respective clients who person waited astir six years without immoderate updates aliases news, not moreover an first acknowledgment of nan legitimacy of their case. The tribunal ruled that our clients person been harmed by these delays,” Meredith Luneack, nan plaintiffs’ attorney, said successful a statement. This lawsuit is still being reviewed by nan U.S. District Court for nan Eastern District of Michigan.

The Trump management has demanded a drastic summation successful nan migrant detentions and deportations, pinch a regular quota of 3,000 arrests. Shapiro, on pinch different experts, says this unit has resulted successful hundreds of group being detained while attending their migration tribunal appearances.

"You want to do things correct and activity successful this country, but what I spot is that nan authorities wants to region arsenic galore group arsenic possible. The fearfulness is going to tribunal and, erstwhile we’re there, they won’t fto america out,” Cedillos said.

Mendoza Méndez remains detained arsenic he battles successful tribunal to enactment successful nan U.S. With a surgery voice, he said he hasn’t mislaid dream of returning to his family successful Minnesota. "I still person religion and I cognize we’ll beryllium capable to get done each of this,” he said.

An earlier type of this article was first published successful Noticias Telemundo.