Legal Momentum Applauds Release of U Visa Regulations

Thousands of Crime Victims Finally to Receive the Protections of a Law Passed in 2000

Washington DC (September 5, 2007) -

Legal Momentum, the nation's oldest  legal advocacy organization dedicated to advancing the rights of women  and girls, joins with immigrant rights advocates across the country to  applaud the Department of Homeland Security's release of interim  regulations on the U visa, a remedy established by Congressional  legislation enacted in 2000. The Department of Homeland Security today  released the regulations thus making immigrant crime victims  immediately eligible for the U visa. Legal Momentum, through its  Immigrant Women Program in Washington DC, is committed to working with  the Department of Homeland Security to ensure that the regulations are  aligned with Congressional intent while providing immediate access to  visas for immigrants crime victims. The Legal Momentum Web site is a  portal for information and will provide critical resources for those  who may be eligible to file for U visas. 

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On June 13, The Sacramento Bee published Immigrant Women Program Staff Attorney Kavitha Sreeharsha's op-ed on immigration reform. Sreeharsha wrote that the interests of women and children have not been considered during the Senate debate. The most recent Senate bill fails to address immigrant victims of domestic violence or sexual assault and trafficking. Sreeharsha wrote:

"Immigrant women play a unique role within the U.S. economy. Women's work is often undervalued, but it forms the backbone of immigrant and American families."

She also wrote:
"Immigrant women need a reform bill that promotes family reunification, provides paths to citizenship and protects their health and safety." Further, "Immigrant women need independent access to legal immigration status. Any other approach increases vulnerability to abusive spouses, employers, or family members who control their access to legal immigration status and financial support. Women's economic self-sufficiency is vital to the well-being of immigrant families."

To read Sreeharsha's op-ed in The Sacramento Bee, click here.