In this case study, researchers investigate the local use of the U visa program in the southeastern United States.
This paper examines a local case of the U visa program, a federal program administered by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security. Using U visa certification data across 5 years from a local police department and background conversations regarding the certification process, the authors provide one of the first examinations of U visa certification at the agency level. The authors also use certification request data, local crime rates, and estimates of the unauthorized immigrant population at the Census tract level to produce an exploratory U visa coverage rate. Although research has traditionally examined the role of law enforcement agencies in policing immigrants as potential perpetrators of crime and their relationship to federal immigration law enforcement, researchers have focused less on how police respond to immigrant victims of crime and help them secure legal benefits. Eligible immigrants, including unauthorized immigrants, who are crime victims can apply for a U visa if they report and assist in the investigation of a qualifying crime. A key feature of the U visa program is the mandatory involvement of a certifying agency, most commonly law enforcement. (Published Abstract Provided)
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