The U Visa, Domestic Violence, and Law Enforcement Reporting

Undergraduates: Kathryn Townsend, Kathryn Townsend

Faculty Advisor: Rebecca Kreitzer
Department: Public Policy

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Undocumented immigration has been a major modern political debate, yet there have been few immigration policies achieved since the Immigration Reform and Control Act of 1986. One of the few progressive policies passed, the U Visa, was established in 2000. The U Visa allows undocumented victims of certain violent crimes, one of which is domestic violence, a pathway to legal residence, and even citizenship, with certification that the survivor has cooperated with law enforcement. This research seeks to determine the degree to which the U Visa has had an impact on Latina victims¿¿¿ decision to report their domestic violence victimization to law enforcement, and for whom the effect was relevant. I have found that, with the establishment of the U Visa in 2000, there was only a statistically significant increase when controlling for the relationship with the abuser and, with the implementation in 2008, there was actually a statistically significant decrease in the likelihood that a Latina survivor would report victimization from domestic violence to law enforcement. This provides evidence to signify that the U Visa has been ambiguously unsuccessful in encouraging Latina survivors to involve law enforcement, although it can be improved with policy changes including, but not limited to, specific, fair, and transparent guidelines for who will receive the U Visa that remove some disproportional power from law enforcement and a higher cap on the U Visa applications.