BILL ANALYSIS Ó ----------------------------------------------------------------- |SENATE RULES COMMITTEE | SB 674| |Office of Senate Floor Analyses | | |(916) 651-1520 Fax: (916) | | |327-4478 | | ----------------------------------------------------------------- THIRD READING Bill No: SB 674 Author: De León (D) Introduced:2/27/15 Vote: 21 SENATE PUBLIC SAFETY COMMITTEE: 7-0, 4/21/15 AYES: Hancock, Anderson, Leno, Liu, McGuire, Monning, Stone SENATE APPROPRIATIONS COMMITTEE: 6-1, 5/28/15 AYES: Lara, Bates, Beall, Hill, Leyva, Mendoza NOES: Nielsen SUBJECT: Victims of crime: nonimmigrant status SOURCE: Author DIGEST: This bill creates a rebuttable presumption that when certain factors are met a victim or victim's family member shall have their Form I-918 supplement B certified so that he or she can apply for a U Visa to stay in the United States. ANALYSIS: Existing federal law allows an immigrant who has been a victim of a crime to apply for a U Visa when he or she has been helpful to the investigation or prosecution of the criminal activity. This bill: 1) Provides that upon the request of the victim or the victim's family member a certifying official from a SB 674 Page 2 certifying entity shall certify victim helpfulness on the Form I-918 supplement B when the victim was a victim of a qualifying criminal activity and has been helpful, is being helpful or is likely to be helpful in the detection or investigation or prosecution of that qualifying criminal activity. 2) Provides that for the purposes of determining helpfulness there is rebuttable presumption that a victim is helpful, has been helpful, or is likely to be helpful to the detection or investigation or prosecution of that qualifying criminal activity, if the victim has not refused or failed to provide information and assistance reasonably requested by the law enforcement. 3) Provides that a certifying entity shall process a Form I-918 Supplement B certification within 90 days of the request unless the noncitizen is in removal proceedings in which case the certification shall be processed within 14 days of request. 4) Provides that a current investigation, filing of charges and a prosecution or conviction are not required for the victim to request and obtain a Form I-918 Supplement B certification from a certifying official. 5) Provides that a certifying official may only withdraw the certification if the victim refuses to provide information and assistance when reasonably requested. 6) Provides that a certifying entity is prohibited from disclosing the immigration status of a victim or person requesting the Form I-918 Supplement B certification, except to comply with federal law or legal process or if authorized by the person requesting the certification. 7) Provides for a certifying entity that receives a request for a Form I-918 Supplement B certification to report to the Legislature annually beginning on January 1, 2017, the number of victims that requested Form I-918 Supplement B certifications from the entity, the number of those that were signed and the number that were denied. 8) Defines certifying entity as: SB 674 Page 3 A state or local law enforcement agency; A prosecutor; A judge; Any other authority that has responsibility for the detection or investigation or prosecution of a qualifying crime or criminal activity; and, Agencies that have criminal detection or investigative jurisdiction in the respective areas including but not limited to, child protective services, the Department of Fair Employment and Housing, and the Department of Industrial Relations. 1)Defines certifying official as any of the following: The head of the certifying entity; A person in a supervisory role who has been designated to issue Form I-918 Supplement B certification; A judge; and, Any other certifying official as defined under federal law. 1) Defines qualifying criminal activity as including, but not limited to, specified crimes. 2) Defines qualifying crimes as criminal offenses for which the nature and elements are substantially similar to the listed crimes and the attempt, conspiracy or solicitation to commit any of those offenses. Background U Visa. In October 2000, Congress, as part of the reauthorization of the Violence Against Women Act, created the U Visa to provide immigrant crime victims an avenue to obtain lawful immigration status and thus encourage cooperation with law enforcement by undocumented victims of crime. In order to qualify for a U Visa: the applicant must have suffered substantial physical or mental abuse as a result of having been a victim of certain qualifying activity; the applicant must possess information concerning such criminal activity; the applicant must be helpful, have been helpful, or likely to be helpful in the investigation or prosecution of a crime; and the criminal activity must have occurred in the U.S. or violated the state or federal law of the United States. SB 674 Page 4 Certification. In order to apply for a U Visa, the qualified immigrant victim must obtain a certification of a helpfulness from a law enforcement official, prosecutor, judge or federal or state agency authorized to detect investigate or prosecute any of the criminal activities listed in the U Visa statute. This certification form is called a Form I-918. While in some jurisdictions the appropriate agencies have been supportive of immigrant victims and have readily signed From I-918 when the immigrant victims have been helpful, other jurisdictions have shown a reluctance to sign these certification forms. In some cities, police and prosecutors readily verify that an undocumented crime victim cooperated; in others, they stonewall. From 2009 through May 2014, law enforcement in New York City verified 1,151 crime victims, according to figures provided by federal immigration authorities in response to public records requests by Reuters. Meanwhile, police and prosecutors verified 4,585 crime victims in Los Angeles, a city with less than half of New York's population. Oakland, California, has less than 5 percent of New York's population, yet law enforcement there verified 2,992 immigrants during the same period - more than twice as many. Sacramento, California, has a slightly higher population than Oakland, but verified just 300 crime victims. The federal data do not include the number of immigrants whose requests for verification are ignored or denied by the police. Nor is it possible to determine how many of those would have ultimately been rejected anyway because the applicant would not qualify under the program. Victims of misdemeanor assault, for instance, do not qualify. SB 674 Page 5 But wide variations in the numbers of certifications among jurisdictions of similar size suggest that thousands of victims of violent crimes who have embraced the offer of a U Visa haven't got one. (Levine and Cooke, Special Report: U.S. visa program for crime victims is hit-or-miss prospect Reuters October 21, 2014) This bill provides that when a victim, or victim's family member, requests a certifying official to certify the Form I-918 there is a rebuttable presumption that the victim is helpful, has been helpful or is likely to be helpful in the investigation if the victim has not refused to provide information and assistance as requested by law enforcement. The bill would also require the form be filled out completely and within 90 days of the request, unless the victim is in removal proceedings in which case the form must be filled out within 14 days. FISCAL EFFECT: Appropriation: No Fiscal Com.:YesLocal: Yes According to the Senate Appropriations Committee analysis: TCVAP benefits: Potentially significant future increase in annual state costs (General Fund) for the Trafficking and Crime Victims Assistance Program (TCVAP), which provides state-funded benefits (including cash assistance, services, child care, and food benefits), to the extent a greater number of victims are able to file formal U Visa applications. Applicants are eligible for TCVAP when a U Visa application has been filed with USCIS, and eligibility continues until and unless a recipient's application for a U Visa has been finally administratively denied. For every 100 new cases, annual costs could range from $0.7 million to $1.6 million (General Fund). Form I-918B certification process: Potential future cost pressure on certifying entities to implement the process, including but not limited to the specified timelines within which to process requests. To the extent the new requirements are determined to place a higher level of service on local agencies than required under federal law, local agency expenditures could qualify as a reimbursable state mandate (General Fund). Annual report: Likely minor costs to state and local agencies acting as certifying entities to compile and submit the annual SB 674 Page 6 report to the Legislature. To the extent local agency expenditures qualify as a reimbursable state mandate, agencies could only claim reimbursement of costs incurred if $1,000 or more (General Fund). State agency certifying entities: Minor impact to the Department of Fair Employment and Housing, the Department of Industrial Relations, and the Department of Justice. SUPPORT: (Verified 5/29/15) ACLU AFSCME California Attorneys for Criminal Justice California Immigrant Policy Center California Partnership to End Domestic Violence The Central American Resource Center The Immigrant Legal Resource Center Los Angeles Center for Law and Justice YWCA of Glendale; OPPOSITION: (Verified 5/29/15) None received ARGUMENTS IN SUPPORT: According to the author: The goal of SB 674, The Immigrant Victims of Crime Equity Act is to ensure the maximum amount of immigrant victims of crime in California have the opportunity to apply for the federal U-Visa when the immigrant was a victim of a qualifying crime and has been helpful or is likely to be helpful in the investigation or prosecution of that crime. SB 674 creates equity in the granting of the certifications of victim helpfulness that are essential to the crime victim's U-Visa application filed with the SB 674 Page 7 USCIS. The Immigrant Victim of Crimes Equity Act requires certifying entities to certify victim helpfulness on the Form I-918 Supplement B certification, upon the request of the victim or victim's family member, when: (1) the victim was a victim of a qualifying criminal activity and (2) has been helpful, is being helpful, or is likely to be helpful to the detection or investigation or prosecution of that qualifying criminal activity. Under the bill, the certifying entity must also process the certification within a time limit and include details about victim helpfulness. Prepared by:Mary Kennedy / PUB. S. / 5/30/15 16:03:12 **** END ****