June 28, 2017
By Neil Munro
President Barack Obama’s deputies hugely expanded a little-known “crime visa” program to help roughly 140,000 illegal aliens obtain amnesty and U.S. citizenship.
The U visa program was created by the Battered Immigrant Women Protection Act within the Victims of Trafficking and Violence Protection Act of 2000. It offers visas and eventually citizenship to illegal aliens who testify in court against criminals.
Supposedly, the program was limited to 10,000 visas per year. But Obama’s lax regulations encouraged a huge number of illegals to file for U visas — and also allowed many illegals to get residency and work permits years before they receive the actual U visa. This year, Democratic officials are still trying to use the “U visa” program to help illegal aliens dodge President Donald Trump’s policy of enforcing immigration law. For example, a Texas sheriff is encouraging illegals in Travis County to file for U visas so judges can block their enforced return home.
The U visa was created in 2000 to provide visas for up 10,000 witnesses to crimes each year. But that 10,000 visa-a-year cap was blown wide open by numerous exceptions and expansions because the law gave the residents’ agency officials much authority over how the program is run. In 2009, 10,937 people applied for the visa. Six years later, 60,710 people applied, according to data provided by DHS to the Immigration Law Reform Institute. … Read the full story Neil Munro.
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