A bill introduced in the Montgomery County Council on Tuesday intends to strengthen protections for undocumented immigrants who are victims of violent crime, something that legislation sponsors said is especially important since Donald Trump’s reelection.
The U visa Law Enforcement Certification Policy, or the Uplifting Victims and Immigrant Safety (U V.I.S.A) Act, is sponsored by councilmembers Evan Glass (D-At-large), Natali Fani-González (D-Dist. 6) and Dawn Luedtke (D-Dist. 7). It’s co-sponsored by council President Andrew Friedson (D-Dist. 1), Vice President Kate Stewart (D-Dist. 4) and councilmembers Gabe Albornoz (D-At-large), Marilyn Balcombe (D-Dist. 2) and Sidney Katz (D-Dist. 3).
The federal U visa, or U nonimmigrant status, grants legal status to victims of violent crimes — such as sexual assault, human trafficking and domestic violence — who assist law enforcement with the investigation of these crimes. While federal and state law have no statute of limitation for U visa eligibility, Montgomery County has a 10-year cap on assisting crime victims in its U visa application process. The proposed legislation would remove that cap.
“Many of our neighbors are living in fear, fear that has only been exacerbated by the outcome of the national election,” Glass said at a press conference outside the council building Tuesday afternoon. “People are scared of what might come, and it is incumbent upon local governments like ours here to protect everybody, and that is what we are doing right now, and to cooperate with police.”
Captain Jeffrey Bunge, director of the Special Victims Investigations Division of the Montgomery County Department of Police, said Tuesday that nine people in the county who applied for U visa status in 2024 were deemed ineligible due to the county’s existing 10-year cap. In 2023, the police department received 145 applications for U visa status, and so far in 2024, the department has received 121.
Glass said he was inspired to sponsor the bill after a lawyer contacted the council earlier in the year when the lawyer’s client, a survivor of sexual assault, was unable to obtain a U visa due to the county’s loophole, but that he also believes the legislation is more “urgent” following the election of Trump.
“Let’s not kid ourselves. The national election has changed everything. … We want to make sure that every single person is protected, that the law is on their side,” Glass said. “This is one of many efforts, I suspect, that will be coming forward in Montgomery County and across Maryland to make sure that everyone remains welcome.”
Trump is known for his stringent views on immigration and his efforts to build a border wall between the United States and Mexico during his previous term as president from 2016-2020. According to Forbes, Trump’s policies during his first administration placed more restrictions on legal immigration and naturalized citizenship, in addition to his pledges to crack down on undocumented migrants.
Smita Varia, program manager at the Montgomery County Family Justice Center, said that undocumented immigrants are often hesitant to report domestic violence incidents to police because they are worried about deportation.
“Immigrant victims face additional threats, intimidation and manipulation from their abusers,” Varia said in support of the bill. “Examples of this include [abusers] failing to file immigration paperwork, or hiding or destroying the victim’s important papers, such as a passport or birth certificate.”
Alice Barrett, supervising immigration attorney with CASA, an immigrant advocacy organization, said she has worked with many immigrants in Montgomery County to help them obtain U visa status. She said many of these people are women and girls who are survivors of sexual violence, including at the hands of abusers who brought them into the country under false pretenses.
“Had it not been for the U visa program, along with foster care support … they would have been forced to continue living in the shadows on the behalf of their abusers and others like them who prey on the most vulnerable,” Barrett said.
Amos Fon, a county resident and immigrant from Cameroon, praised the legislation during Tuesday’s press conference.
“As an immigrant, I understand the fear that many have in our community, particularly those who have experienced violence or witnessed crimes but are too afraid to come forward because of the threat of deportation,” Fon said. “The legislation is crucial.”
A public hearing on the legislation is scheduled for 1:30 p.m. on Jan. 14. A vote has not yet been scheduled.
