Illegal Aliens or Deserving Victims: The Ambivalent Implementation of the U Visa Program

Abstract

The U visa potentially provides legal status to immigrant crime victims who assist law enforcement. To the detriment of petitioners, however, the government delayed the U visa's full implementation-the Department of Homeland Security released regulations seven years after the program's passage in 2000. Visa programs effectively define those immigrants who are deemed deserving of legal membership within the United States from those perceived to be undeserving, often imagined as economic migrants who illegally enter the country and abuse social services. In granting visas to the undocumented, the federal government uses guiding narratives of iconic figures that serve to validate deserving characteristics, while excluding undeserving traits. The use of a clear iconic figure is evident with the T visa, which the government enacted parallel to the U visa. In contrast, no such iconic figure propelled passage of the U visa statute. Without this guidance, the government delayed the implementation of the visa. The government and practitioners should, however, promote the U visa because it is an important tool to protect undocumented immigrants, assist law enforcement agencies, and develop a more flexible understanding of citizenship. 153 t Assistant General Counsel, United Food & Commercial Workers International Union, Washington, D.C.; J.D. University of California, Berkeley, School of Law, 2009; B.A., St. Mary's College of Maryland. ASIAN AMERICAN LAW JOURNAL