Thread by @reveal

1/ In 2000, Congress created a visa that established protections for immigrant crime victims.

This "U visa" helps them get legal status if they cooperate with cops.

We found that police across the US are routinely denying victims access to this relief. revealnews.org/article/the-u-…

2/ For years, immigrants have feared calling police for fear of being deported, even when they’re the victim of a crime.

Lawmakers created the U visa to provide temporary status to immigrant victims.

It also helps law enforcement crack down on crime.

3/ Police or prosecutors need to confirm that a victim was “helpful” in the investigation by signing a five-page form.

Without it, victims can’t even apply for the U visa.

“Law enforcement holds that power,” one Florida immigration attorney said.

documentcloud.org/documents/6534…

4/ Our analysis of policies from 100+ agencies serving large immigrant communities found that nearly 1 in 4 create barriers never envisioned under the U visa.

Four agencies decline ALL requests from victims. “It’s just not something that we’re signing off on,” one official said.

5/ At least 20 other agencies created their own arbitrary rules that go beyond the federal guidelines. They consider factors like:

* Was an arrest made?
* Has a case gone to trial?
* Was the victim helpful beyond reporting a crime?

That’s not supposed to be their job.

6/ Even agencies that say they certify rarely do.

Take @MiamiPD.

Between 2016 and 2018, it received 235 requests.

It only approved 27.

Nataly Alcantara’s request was one of those denials.

7/ Alcantara, her husband, and two children were victims of a home invasion robbery in 2014. The robbers pointed a gun at their baby. They took $300 and two phones.

Nataly called 911 and helped officers as much as she could for months. It’s all documented in the police reports:

8/ But nearly a year after the robbery, Miami police declined to certify Alcantara’s request. They didn’t offer an explanation in their denial letter.

“People are qualifying and it’s just unfortunately another way that they’re being victimized,” her lawyer said.

9/ Miami police chief @Jcolina67 said he’d look into his agency’s certification review process:

“It does sound like that’s a very low number… It’s certainly something I want to go back and revisit and just make sure that we are doing our part to represent the victims.”

10/ The U visa is also critical for immigrant victims in the aftermath of mass shootings.

11/ After a gunman killed 58 at a Las Vegas music festival, police initially didn’t want to sign requests from survivors. After discussions with advocates, they began processing cases.

thenevadaindependent.com/article/undocu…

12/ “Some of these people that we represented are genuine heroes,” one lawyer said. “There’s testimony from other people saying this person picked me up and put me in a truck when I had my arm blown… that is a form of being helpful.”

Police signed some requests w/ a disclaimer:

13/ 12 states have laws that require law enforcement to review U visa requests.

“The law has done its job in terms of forcing law enforcement agencies who were just generally refusing to sign, period, to at last come to the table,” one lawyer said. revealnews.org/article/how-la…

14/ Are you a reporter interested in digging into this issue in your own community?

We have some resources to offer you, including a breakdown of departments that are putting up extra barriers for immigrants, documents and more: revealnews.org/welcome-to-rev…

15/ For more of our immigration reporting, follow reporters @aurabogado, @patrickmichels and @lauracmorel.

You can also sign up for their newsletter here:
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