Illegal immigration is a huge and growing issue in the United States. The Department of Homeland Security estimated in 2006 that there were 11.6 million illegal immigrants living in the U.S., and most experts agree that this estimate is incredibly low. While it is obvious that immigration reform is needed, very little attention is given to some of the programs put in place to legally obtain a visa. Because of this, Judicial Watch obtained documents from numerous government agencies on some of the lesser known visa classifications.
One of the more controversial types of visas is the S Visa, also referred to as the "Snitch" visa. S visas are given to aliens who possess significant information on criminal and terrorist activities, in other words, people who "snitch" on their associates. The S visa provision was added to the Violent Crime Control and Law Enforcement Act in 1994 in response to the 1993 World Trade Center bombing, and allows aliens who possess "critical information on criminal or terrorist organizations to come into the United States in order to provide information to law enforcement officials." The intended purpose of S visas is to get information from aliens on criminal and terrorist activities, as in many instances they may be the only people who have detailed information.
Originally, S visas were scheduled to expire in 2001, but after the terrorist attacks on September 11, it became a permanent program in October 2001. According to a Congressional report, Attorney General John Ashcroft created a program to "reach out to person who may be eligible for the S visa." Since 1995, almost 900 S visas have been issued. From 2004 to 2008, 625 S visas were processed, but only 345 have been approved. Presently, there is no processing or application fee for S visas. However, not all of those visas are going to informants. According to law, up to 200 criminal informants and 50 terrorist informants may be allowed into the U.S. each year, but their family members are also allowed to apply for an S visa under the program provisions. There is no cap on how many visas may be given to family members. This is interesting and potentially problematic, as updated reports are not given to congress, and the amount of government oversight is unclear. At the moment, it is difficult to see who is receiving them and why, and therefore impossible to tell if the system is being abused.
Another potential problem is that while the S visa is designed to establish temporary residency in the U.S., "if the Attorney General determines that an S nonimmigrant alien supplied the required information and that the information contributed to the success of an investigation or prosecution of a criminal enterprise, the alien may adjust status to permanent residence." While it is only fair to compensate people who provide valuable information on criminal activity, one might wonder whether we really want these people permanently residing in the U.S. As one might imagine, people who possess detailed knowledge of criminal and terrorist activities are not always the most upstanding citizens. The Department of Justice does refuse to waive "Nazi and genocide exclusion grounds" for S visa applicants, but this, their only stipulation, is not overly reassuring. On the other hand, given the lack of public knowledge and any accountability to run the visa programs honorably, it is quite possible that as soon as law enforcement agencies have obtained their information they simply abandon S visa holders, who in many cases have risked their personal safety to cooperate with the U.S.
No one can deny the usefulness of the S visa provision, but there are very obvious problems in the system. The lack of oversight and regular reporting is a huge issue, particularly if participants are eventually granted permanent visas for themselves and their families. There is a reason the S visa is commonly referred to as the "snitch visa," and given that many of the applicants and eventual recipients of the visa are themselves intimately involved in crime and terrorism, this program should be monitored extremely closely. Also, the public has a right to know who is receiving these visas, and for what. Sadly, many other types of visa programs are run with insufficient oversight and care. While a broad immigration reform is certainly needed, correcting flaws in current visa programs is a critical first step in the process.
Documents:
Related Reading:
Congressional Report on S Visas
DHS Illegal Immigrant Population Report
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