Michigan federal court judge allows immigrant survivors' lawsuit to move forward

A Michigan federal district court judge ruled this month that a lawsuit against the U.S. Department of Homeland Security alleging unreasonable delays in initial decisions for people seeking U visas has enough standing to move forward.

U visas provide legal protections for non-citizens who are victims of serious crimes in the U.S. and who help law enforcement prosecute the cases. They can earn work authorization and enter a path to citizenship.

The lawsuit was brought by a group of noncitizens who applied for U visas years ago and have not yet received DHS documentation that allows for work authorization and temporary relief from deportation, called initial bona fide determinations.

The National Immigrant Justice Center, Michigan Immigrant Rights Center, and Winston and Strawn LLP filed the lawsuit on December 19, 2023.

The court previously decided to dismiss the case in A.M.P. v. DHS (formerly known as B.L.R. v. DHS) due to the fact that there is no statutory deadline for the processing of U visa applications. The plaintiffs, who were allegedly left in precarious financial, physical, and mental situations following the decision, asked the court to reconsider.

U visas, created by Congress in October 2000, aim to aid victims of crimes such as rape, trafficking, and sexual assault who have been helpful to law enforcement’s investigation or prosecution. There is, however, a cap on how many U visas can be granted each year: 10,000.

Extended backlogs have prevented U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services from making the initial “bona fide determinations” that would support and grant these applicants amnesty.

Meredith Luneack, a staff attorney at the Michigan Immigrant Rights Center, said initial bona fide determinations allow those waiting to receive a U visa to have an understanding that their case is being processed.

Luneack also said there are community benefits to providing bona fide determination to those eligible for U visas.

“So with a work permit, which is a part of this bona fide determination, is eligibility for a work permit, (with which) comes obviously the ability to work legally in the United States, which allows for taxing in the United States, allows people to get licenses so they can drive, [and] really kind of increases their ability to become a more productive community member,” Luneak explained.

She said that the extended delays have inhibited U visas from mitigating relationships between law enforcement and immigrant communities.

“They are, you know, sitting there waiting often for years without any kind of status or any kind of acknowledgement of the fact that they have this pending U visa,” Luneack said.

This ruling overturns a previous motion brought by DHS to dismiss the case last year.