Feds Offer Possible US Visa Status Change

Those objecting to the federal government’s crackdown on so-called sanctuary cities, which protect undocumented immigrants from deportation, do so partly on the grounds that such tactics make immigrants unwilling to help Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) pursue genuinely dangerous immigrant criminals, such as the notorious MS-13 gang. But, officials claim they have several tools to gain cooperation, including a change in their US visas status.

Investigators from the Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) division of ICE say cooperation from immigrants is making a difference, and that the new tools are paying dividends. One investigator, who wished to remain anonymous, said that most undocumented immigrants are less concerned about receiving financial reward for cooperation with law enforcement, but more likely to be enticed by gaining legal resident status.

Eddy Wang, sector chief of HSI Contraband Smuggling and Gang Unit, says that the criminal gang preys on immigrant children, prompting the immigrant community to fight back by cooperating with federal officials. There are several legal status options for undocumented immigrants cooperating with law enforcement, including the S US visa for informants and witnesses, the U US visa for violence victims, and the T US visa for human trafficking victims.

Critics warn that US visas should not be used too often as a tool to gain information as this could result in fraudulent statements. The director of policy studies at the Center for Immigration Studies’, Jessica Vaughn, says some people fabricate stories of victimization to get a US visa.