Catholic Charities agency joins in lawsuit on visas for crime victims

Published: 2007-03-26

SAN FRANCISCO (CNS) -- Catholic Charities CYO of the Archdiocese of San Francisco has joined a coalition of civil rights groups and individuals nationwide in a lawsuit against the Department of Homeland Security and U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. The suit demands compliance with what are said to be congressional requirements for those federal agencies to establish access to special visas for undocumented immigrants who have been victims of serious crime and who have cooperated in the investigation and prosecution of those crimes. According to the filing, provisions of the Victims of Trafficking and Violence Protection Act of 2000 -- also called the Crime Victims Act -- permit such undocumented immigrants to apply for "U visas," which provide legal status that can eventually lead to lawful permanent residence for them and their children on humanitarian grounds. However, the suit charges, no application regulations have been released and not a single special visa for crime victims has been granted, even after Congress granted an extension to July of last year for the development of regulations and forms for the U visa.

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