United States V. Luciana Moreno-Lopez; (June 7 2010) United States District Court, Eastern District of Chattanooga. The National Network to End Violence Against Immigrant Women, among others, and represented by Dean Hill Rivkin, filed an amicus brief in a case in which undocumented workers had been victims of extortion, when the workers complained to EEOC and the Department of Labor the employer retaliated by triggering the employees detention by the Department of Homeland Security. The workers filed and received U-visas as victims of extortion despite this fact, the U.S. attorney brought charges against the workers for document fraud. This amicus brief, filed in the employees’ criminal case, described the history and purpose of the U-visa as humanitarian relief and a tool for law enforcement.

Topics addressed in this Amicus Brief:

• U Visa Status is Limited to Those Whom DHS Has Determined That Designated Agencies Have Found to be Victims of Certain Enumerated Crimes; Who Suffer Substantial Mental or Physical Abuse; and Who Are or Have Been Helpful or Are Willing to be Helpful in Their Investigation…………..13
• The U Visa as a Tool for Law Enforcement………….16
• Violence Against Women Act of 2000, TVPA of 2000 and the TVPRA of 2008 Provide Specific Protection from Prosecution for Victims and Should Have Been Applied in This Case……………….19
• The Government’s Harsh Treatment of the Victims and Lenient Treatment of the Perpetrators Contravene Statutory Language, Congressional Purpose, and the Department of Justice’s Law Enforcement Policy……………………23
• Judicial Discretion Requires Leniency in Sentencing in the Absence of Proper Prosecutorial Discretion in This Case…………….26
• Prosecutorial Discretion Should Have Dictated No Prosecution in the Interest of Justice….27