Dean Johnson Comments on U Visa for Sacramento Bee
Dean Kevin R. Johnson commented for the Sacramento Bee on U visa, a program that enables undocumented immigrants who are victims of crime to assist authorities in the investigation and prosecution of the crime without fear of deportation. According to the article, police and immigration advocates say the program remains relatively unknown among immigrant communities, and that publicity surrounding Arizona's new immigration law will work against efforts to gain immigrants' cooperation.
The Arizona law, which requires police officers to check the residency status of anyone they stop and suspect of being in the country illegally, will mean that undocumented immigrants "are going to try to avoid dealing with police at all cost," Dean Johnson said, adding that "They are not even going to hear about the U visa."
Kevin R. Johnson is Dean and Mabie-Apallas Professor of Public Interest Law and Chicana/o studies at UC Davis School of Law. He is an internationally recognized scholar in the fields of immigration law and policy, refugee law, and civil rights.