Gastonia eyes possible changes to its approach on U visas

Gastonia’s city manager has asked local officials to consider changes to a policy that has made it difficult for immigrant crime victims to get help gaining citizenship.

The statement by City Manager Ed Munn comes on the heels of a story in Monday’s Observer, which showed the Gastonia Police Department has not been reviewing applications for U visas.

Those visas – designed for undocumented immigrants who report wrongdoing to police and cooperate with prosecutors – grant the right to stay in the U.S. for four years and seek permanent residency.

Gastonia, which has 163 officers, says it doesn’t have the manpower to review paperwork and verify whether victims were helpful during investigations in cases that sometimes go back more than a decade.

Munn said he wants the city to do everything in its power to assist crime victims.

“Our policy needs to clearly state that our Police Department will work in collaboration with the District Attorney’s office to be sure that victims of serious crimes are protected to the full extent of the law, whether they are citizens or non-citizens of our country,” Munn said in a statement Tuesday.

Munn said he has asked the town’s police department and attorneys to examine how other jurisdictions handle U visa applications to see if similar approaches might work in Gastonia.

Congress created the U visa in 2000 to encourage undocumented immigrants to report crime without fear of deportation. The law requires applicants to obtain a signature from a law enforcement agency verifying they were victims of a serious crime and cooperated with investigators and prosecutors.

Resistance from some law enforcement agencies has prompted debate about whether they are practicing sound public policy or anti-immigration bias.

Gastonia Police Chief Robert Helton said some requests involving older cases require substantial research and time, which takes officers away from other public safety duties.

Munn said he’s asking local officials to look at a change about to go into effect in neighboring Mecklenburg County that could make the workload more manageable. In January, the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department will place a five-year time limit on U visa petitions.

“What Charlotte’s policy seems to do is keep it so you can focus on the serious cases,” Munn said in an interview Tuesday. “So I thought we should look at that.”

Staff Writer Fred Clasen-Kelly contributed.

This story was originally published December 29, 2015 at 4:26 PM with the headline "Gastonia eyes possible changes to its approach on U visas."