Congresswoman Moore urges ICE to stop deporting T and U visa applicants
MILWAUKEE (CBS58) -- Congresswoman Gwen Moore is urging the government to put a stop to deportations for immigrants applying for T or U visas. This comes one month after MPS teacher's aide Yessenia Ruano self-deported, even though she had a visa application underway.
The letter from Congresswoman Moore and several colleagues was written to Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem as well as the acting Immigration and Customs Enforcement Director Todd Lyons, urging them to stop deporting immigrants who are applying for, or are in the process of receiving, a T or U visa. These visas are for victims of human trafficking and crimes, respectively.
MPS teacher's aide Yessenia Ruano had been living in the United States for 14 years and had a T-visa application underway. Nonetheless, she was forced to self-deport alongside her two daughters, who were born in the United States.
Ruano is a constituent of Congresswoman Moore, as is Ramon Morales-Reyes, who was wrongfully accused of writing letters threatening President Donald Trump. The man behind it, Demetric Scott, reportedly assaulted and robbed Morales-Reyes, later confessing to forging the letters so Morales-Reyes wouldn't testify against him. Morales-Reyes is still facing deportation.
These directives, according to Congresswoman Moore, are a change in immigration policy from the Trump administration and have long-lasting consequences:
"We know for a fact that this will frustrate the ability of law enforcement to bring people to justice... the perpetrators will know that this enforcement is not occurring as it is now, and it'll just be open season on non-citizens in terms of being victims of crimes," shared Congresswoman Moore.
She went on to say that this policy "not only disrupts the lives of immigrants, it disrupts their family ties, community ties. Employers are upset, and this is way off base from the promises that were made by this administration with regard to their focus, their deportation focus."
Moore explained that T and U visas were established by the Violence Against Women Act and the Victims of Trafficking and Violence Protection Act of 2000, in an effort "to strengthen the relationship and build trust between victims of crime and law enforcement. Prosecutors rely on critical eyewitness testimony of immigrant survivors and T and U visa holders to successfully investigate, prosecute, and lock up dangerous perpetrators of crimes that harm all U.S. communities... these visa programs make everyone in our communities safer; without them, undocumented victims and witnesses might be too scared to come forward to report crimes to the detriment of all.”
Moore says she hasn't heard back from Noem or Lyons since writing the letter and will continue to fight for her constituents.
In a statement sent to CBS 58 in June, Department of Homeland Security Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin said the Trump administration is committed to deporting Morales-Reyes, calling him a "criminal illegal alien" who is in the country illegally.