Survivors of deadly smuggling incident in San Antonio could be eligible for visas
SAN ANTONIO — The survivors of this week’s deadly immigrant smuggling incident that left 10 dead after being brought to San Antonio in a hot, airless trailer could be eligible for visas provided to crime victims, immigration experts said Tuesday.
Lawyers warned, however, that the federal government often is reluctant to offer help obtaining those visas.
Twenty-nine people survived and were taken to area hospitals after police discovered the trailer, which had been driven from Laredo, early Sunday.
As of Tuesday afternoon, 13 remained hospitalized. Of the 16 who had been released, three are minors who were turned over to the Office of Refugee Resettlement and likely will be placed with family members in the U.S. At least four are being held by the U.S. Marshals Service as witnesses against the truck’s driver, James Matthew Bradley Jr., 60.
A spokesman for U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement said the agency is not starting deportation proceedings against the survivors “at this time.”
If the survivors cannot get visas and are put into deportation proceedings, there are some forms of relief they can claim, including asylum, lawyers said.
Victims of trafficking crimes are eligible for Tvisas, and immigrants who are victims of certain other crimes and help law enforcement officials can be eligible for U-visas. Under both visas, they eventually can claim lawful permanent residency. U-visa applicants require certification from a law enforcement agency.
“It would be our position that they are victims, and they should receive visas, or at least should be allowed to go through the process of applying for those visas,” said Robert Painter, director of pro bono programs and communications for the legal services provider American Gateways. “They should be entitled to basic protection as survivors of trafficking and given time to pursue the legal remedies to which they’re entitled.”
The fact that 10 people died, and given all the media attention on the case, could bolster a visa case, Painter said.
Jerry Robinette, a former ICE special agent in charge, said that the agency vets victims for things such as criminal history and past deportations before supporting their visa applications. U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, which oversees legal immigration, has its own review process.
“I can only speak to the cases that I was involved in in my office, and I know that in the past what we considered a victim and what the attorneys consider a victim are sometimes far apart,” Robinette said.
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