Read this memo to Chief Bob Day as a PDF:
In June 2023, City Auditor Simone Rede released a report from the Ombudsman that highlighted concerns about the Portland Police Bureau’s handling of applications for U visas, which encourage undocumented victims of crime to cooperate with law enforcement in exchange for the opportunity to apply for legal status in the United States. Before seeking a U visa from federal immigration officials, applicants are required to obtain certification from a law enforcement agency.
Our investigation found that during an 18-month period starting in 2021, the Bureau’s certification rate of U visa applications dropped from nearly 90 percent to below 50 percent. The Bureau went from being a leader among Oregon law enforcement agencies to falling well below the state average. Our comprehensive review of Bureau practices and processes related to U visa certifications uncovered several key areas of concern:
- Instances in which officials misunderstood and misapplied the law when reviewing applications, and misstated facts when drafting denial letters.
- Insufficient policies and training to ensure quality and consistency in the review of certification requests.
- Possible contributing factors, such as high turnover, an inconsistent approach to the use of qualified interpreters, and a potential need for more training on how to deal with victims of domestic violence.
The report included four recommendations that were designed to ensure that the Bureau’s handling of U visa applications aligned with federal and state law and City policies. The recommendations also sought to repair the harmful impact the Bureau’s handling had on dozens of potentially eligible crime victims who were denied certification.
We follow up on our recommendations, if they are not immediately accepted and implemented. To give the Bureau a chance to make progress on implementation, we waited several months after the publication of the report before reaching out to obtain an update.
To assess their status, we checked in with the Bureau and communicated with the lieutenant assigned to review applications and their commander. We also reviewed the applications that we identified as potentially eligible for certification and looked more closely at those that were not yet certified to determine if they should be. We also met with members of the Bureau’s Latino Advisory Council to discuss our report and recommendations.
Our assessment is detailed below.
It is worth noting that the Bureau’s certification rate rebounded in mid-2022 after a personnel change and has been at 83 percent in the 20 months since then. Full implementation of our recommendations will help to make sure that the Bureau’s handling of U visa certification requests is aligned with federal and state law and City policies to make Portland a welcoming place for immigrants.
One recommendation from the Ombudsman’s 2023 report was partly implemented and three are in progress
Recommendation 1: Review and take appropriate action on more than four dozen applications we identified as potentially eligible for certification.
Status: Partly implemented
Prior to issuing our June 2023 report, we provided the Bureau with a list of 53 certification requests that had been initially denied, but that we believed warranted further review. In its formal response to the report, the Bureau said a lieutenant had reviewed the applications and reached out to all the attorneys of record. As a result, three previously declined U visa applications were certified. Earlier this year, we reviewed the remaining 50 applications. Of these, 16 previously declined applications have been certified, according to a spreadsheet the Bureau provided. Of the remaining 34, the Bureau should consider certifying 12 that appear to be eligible.
Recommendation 2: Revise the Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) to include the purpose of the federal program. The written procedures should also include statutory deadlines for processing applications, as well as the requirement that crime victims be given the benefit of the doubt for being helpful.
Status: In progress
The Bureau initially declined to update the SOP. However, earlier this year, the Police Commander overseeing the certification process informed us that the Bureau has committed to re-writing the SOP and expects to complete it by early fall.
Recommendation 3: Consider assigning initial review responsibility to a long-term staffer with a background in victim’s advocacy in order to promote consistency, compliance and a victim-centered approach.
Status: In progress
The Bureau commander overseeing U visa certifications said funding was not available to fully implement the recommendation. However, they have agreed to our suggestion to instead include in the revised SOP a requirement to seek a second opinion from a member of the Oregon Department of Justice Immigrant Crime Victims’ Rights Subcommittee on any applications that the Bureau plans to decline because of issues involving the qualifying crime or the victim’s helpfulness.
Recommendation 4: Provide training that includes information on how victims of domestic violence and sexual assault may respond to trauma, something that is especially important to consider when evaluating whether a crime victim is being sufficiently cooperative. The training should also include a thorough legal explanation of which state and local crimes could fall into the general U visa categories.
Status: In progress
The Bureau conducted a one-day regional training for law enforcement officials in 2023 that covered the topics outlined in our recommendation, according to the police officer who organized the training. The lieutenant currently assigned to review U visa applications took the training. According to the Bureau commander overseeing the certification process, the new SOP, once completed, will make viewing the video a part of the onboarding process for anyone assigned to review U visa applications in future.