Authorities offer victims, witnesses new, special visas
Posted on Sunday, February 10, 2008
A type of visa created for victims of violent crimes is being sought for two Rogers men seeking justice for a slain family member.
Federico Barron and Miguel Barron-Villeda, both illegal aliens, were witnesses in the December beating death of Miguel M. Barron, Barron’s brother and Barron-Villeda’s uncle. Since the men are helping authorities in the case, they qualify for “U visas,” which could allow them to become permanent residents.
“The bottom line is, anybody that commits this type of crime needs to be prosecuted and prosecuted effectively,” said Van Stone, Benton County prosecutor.
Stone said that his office will do what it can to help obtain the visas in such cases, which can take as long as 18 months to prosecute.
There was an aggravated robbery case years ago where the victim was in the United States illegally but assisted greatly in the successful prosecution of a violent offender, he said.
“This visa gives us the opportunity to do that, and we’re glad it’s there,” he said.
If approved, Barron and Barron-Villeda will join 8, 000 immi- grants who have been granted U visas as of October, said Bill Wright, a spokesman for the U. S. Citizenship and Immigration Service.
That number includes applicants and family members, Wright said. About 11, 000 have applied for the visa.
The U visa was created by Congress in 2000 as part of the Victims of Trafficking and Violence Protection Act, which included a reauthorization of the Violence Against Women Act of 1994.
October was the first month the visas were granted, however. The delay in creating a federal rule allowing the U visa prompted a class-action lawsuit in 2005 by the Center for Human Rights and Constitutional Law in Los Angeles. The suit sought to force the Department of Homeland Security and the Citizenship and Immigration Service to grant U visas. It was withdrawn by the plaintiffs in March 2006. Along with the U visa, the act created a similar type of visa — called a T visa — specifically for victims of human trafficking. The two visas are different from a third type of victims’ visa, called an S visa, which is offered to informants.
WIDER PROTECTIONS Those who want a T visa or U visa need to apply, said Maria Miller, immigration specialist and crime victims unit coordinator for Catholic Charities of Arkansas in Springdale.
Miller said that she works with clients of all nationalities from across the area, including parts of Oklahoma and Missouri.
Miller said the most common crimes associated with a U visa relate to domestic violence. In many cases, a woman would be held in the country because of her immigration status and the abuse would continue, she said.
Prior to the U visa’s creation, protection for victims of domestic violence was limited and provided only for those whose spouse was a legal resident. The U visa is broader and can be granted to victims regardless of the status of the accused abuser.
The visa is welcome, Miller said, but the application can be complicated. Several criteria must be met for such a visa, which includes working with authorities, she said.
To qualify for a U visa, a person must be a victim of qualifying crimes, which include rape, torture, incest, domestic violence, sexual assault, abusive sexual contact, manslaughter, murder, felonious assault and witness tampering.
The person also must have suffered substantial physical or mental abuse as a result of the crime, possess information about the crime, have an investigating agency attest that the person is helping or will help in the investigation, and the crime must occur in the United States or its territories or possessions.
Each applicant must pay $ 545 to waive inadmissibility, which could be a financial challenge for some applicants, especially in domestic violence cases.
Miller said that she is working on one case for a woman with seven children, and the fee must be paid for each member of that family.
The applications are processed by a specially trained unit of the Citizenship and Immigration Service in its Vermont office.
SIDE EFFECTS Another effect of the new U visa rule is that those who were granted interim relief since 2000 have to apply for one by April 17. That means Miller has to reach clients she’s helped over the past five years. The law allows for a person with a U visa to apply for permanent residency after three years, but the rule enabling that hasn’t been approved. There is a concern that the program could be abused, said Bob Dane, a spokesman for the Federation of American Immigration Reform. “There are certain categories of visas that are ripe for abuse. These may or may not be,” Dane said. Dane said that the visas are similar to so-called “sanctuary cities” that argue making illegal immigrants immune to deportation makes them more likely to report crimes. He said that he believes police would rather have the power to check immigration status than trade protection for information. There is a tendency of special interest groups to push for the creation of visas for every scenario, Dane said. He said the federation is monitoring the visas. There could be exceptions in extraordinary circumstances, he said, such as if “an illegal alien saves the lives of 10 people in a burning building.” DON’T BE A VICTIM Fourteen years ago, Miguel M. Barron followed his brother Federico Barron to Northwest Arkansas to escape the violence of Los Angeles.
Miguel M. Barron died Jan. 5 after being taken off life support from injuries sustained in a beating he received three days after Christmas.
Federico Barron and Miguel Barron-Villeda are helping investigators. Willie G. Blackston, 28, and Darrell D. Day, 35, face life in prison if convicted in the attack.
Barron-Villeda, 19, speaks little English. Recounting the incident last month, he said he complimented a baby being held by a woman in back seat of a car outside West-Ark Steel in Lowell. It was Blackston’s wife, and Villeda said she didn’t respond.
Barron-Villeda said the next day, she pointed him out to Blackston who walked toward him screaming and then punched him in the face, knocking him down.
It was then that Miguel M. Barron came out of the bathroom, Federico Barron said through an interpreter while sitting in his brother’s home.
He said that his brother served as the crew leader and translator for Spanish-speaking workers at West-Ark Steel, and up until the attack, Miguel Barron had seemed to have a good relationship with Blackston.
Miguel Barron asked Blackston why he was hitting his nephew, Federico Barron said. Blackston then attacked Miguel Barron, he said.
The attack lasted about 10 minutes, with Blackston hitting and kicking Miguel Barron with his steel-toed boots, Federico Barron said.
He said that when he tried to walk down a hallway toward the office to ask for help, Day dragged him by the collar back on to the shop floor.
“Somebody hit me,” Miguel Barron said, as his brother and nephew dragged him to his feet.
“He knew something had happened but not what,” Federico Barron said.
Federico Barron said that when he and his nephew tried to get his brother out of the shops, Blackston came up, said, “I’m sorry Miguel” and punched him again, Barron said.
Then Day came over and smashed the brothers’ heads together, Barron said. After a scuffle, Barron said that he finally ran for help, leaving his brother lying on the floor.
“He was bleeding all over,” Barron said. “He looked like a rag doll.” Their status wasn’t a consideration when they told police what happened, Federico Barron said.
The U visa is a valuable tool for crime investigation, Rogers Police Chief Steve Helms said.
Helms said crime victims shouldn’t fear police because criminals will target people that they think won’t report a crime. He said his office has signed off on a number of interim visas, often in cases of domestic abuse. The U visa isn’t easy to get and it shouldn’t be, Helms said. When it comes to being a victim, people shouldn’t be worried about deportation. “If you’re a victim, report it, and let us help you,” Helms said. “Don’t worry about your immigration status, because we won’t be.” Fayetteville police haven’t had as many requests for assistance in obtaining these protections, Detective Dave Williams said. Williams said that he has worked on perhaps 10 requests in the past two years. Whether it’s a question of communication or community makeup, he said, there haven’t been that many requests. “We’ve tried to spread the word that we are not interested in harassing you or initiating deportation process if you are a victim of violent crime,” he said.
To contact this reporter: awallworth@arkansasonline. com
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