Free Republic

FORT LAUDERDALE - To the South Florida gay community, Jonathan Bleiweiss was a pioneering, openly gay Broward sheriff's deputy who fought discrimination within that agency earlier in his career. But court documents released Tuesday portray Bleiweiss, 29, as a manipulative sex offender who preyed on illegal immigrants too scared to contact authorities. He would act like a jilted lover when the men would not return his calls or text messages, according to those records, based on victims' accounts. Bleiweiss, arrested Monday, faces 14 charges, among them three counts of sexual battery by a person in authority, four counts of battery...

OMAHA, Nebraska (AP) -- A 13-year-old illegal immigrant who fled to his native Mexico amid a sex scandal with his schoolteacher could be eligible to return to the United States under a new visa the government started granting the week before he disappeared. The visa helps illegal immigrants who are victims of sex crimes. If the boy, who spent most of his life in Lexington, Nebraska, qualifies, he could stay legally in the United States for four years and eventually apply for permanent residency. It also would extend temporary residency to his parents and his unmarried siblings under 18, if...

Better late than never - even when it's seven years late. In 2000, Congress passed a law authorizing visas for illegal immigrant crime victims. Seven years later, federal immigration officials say they're finally ready to start issuing "U-visas" to certain victims who cooperate with law enforcement in the investigation and prosecution of violent crimes. Federal immigration officials attribute the delay to the creation of the Department of Homeland Security and the resulting mass reorganization of government agencies in the wake of the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001. "We realize it took a long amount of time," U.S. Citizenship and...

Special Visas for Illegal Aliens Who Become Crime Victims By Susan Jones CNSNews.com Senior Editor September 06, 2007 (CNSNews.com) - People who come into the United States illegally and then become victims of crime may get special protection from the U.S. government. The U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) on Wednesday announced an interim final rule that grants "temporary immigration benefits" to crime victims who assist government officials in investigating or prosecuting the criminal activity. The goal is to bring crime victims out of the shadows where they tend to hide if they fear deportation. The new rule offers protection...