SENATE BILL 177

57th legislature - STATE OF NEW MEXICO - first session, 2025

INTRODUCED BY

Antoinette Sedillo Lopez

 

 

 

 

 

AN ACT

RELATING TO VICTIMS OF CRIME; ENACTING THE U VISA CERTIFICATION ACT; DEFINING TERMS; PROVIDING FOR ELIGIBILITY FOR U VISA CERTIFICATION; PROVIDING FOR PROCEDURES FOR U VISA CERTIFICATION REQUESTS, APPROVALS, DENIALS AND APPEALS; PROVIDING FOR NOTICE REQUIREMENTS, RECORDKEEPING AND REPORTING; GIVING THE DISTRICT COURT JURISDICTION TO MAKE FINDINGS OF FACT AND CONCLUSIONS OF LAW AND TO GRANT RELIEF IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE U VISA CERTIFICATION ACT.

 

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF NEW MEXICO:

     SECTION 1. A new section of Chapter 31 NMSA 1978 is enacted to read:

     "[NEW MATERIAL] SHORT TITLE.--This act may be cited as the "U Visa Certification Act"."

     SECTION 2. A new section of Chapter 31 NMSA 1978 is enacted to read:

     "[NEW MATERIAL] DEFINITIONS.--As used in the U Visa Certification Act:

          A. "certification form" means a form approved by the United States department of homeland security to certify that a person petitioning for a U visa is a victim of a qualifying crime and includes United States citizenship and immigration services form I-918 supplement B;

          B. "certifying agency" means:

                (1) a state or local law enforcement agency;

                (2) a district attorney's office;

                (3) a district court, children's court, family court, metropolitan court, magistrate court or municipal court;

                (4) an agency of the state with jurisdiction to detect, investigate or prosecute qualifying criminal activity, including the state department of justice, the children, youth and families department, the workforce solutions department and the health care authority; or

                (5) a tribal or pueblo law enforcement agency whose officers are commissioned as peace officers by the chief of the New Mexico state police or a county sheriff;

          C. "certifying official" means the head of a certifying agency or a person in a supervisory role who has been specifically designated by the head of the certifying agency to issue U visa certifications and includes a judge;

          D. "qualifying criminal activity" means a federal, state, local or tribal criminal offense for which the nature and elements of the offense is substantially similar to an offense and similar activity enumerated in 8 U.S.C. Section 1101(a)(15)(U)(iii) or activity involving: abduction; blackmail; domestic violence; criminal sexual contact; extortion; false imprisonment; felonious assault; female genital mutilation; fraud in foreign labor contracting; hostage taking; incest; involuntary servitude; kidnapping; manslaughter; murder; obstruction of justice; peonage; perjury; prostitution; rape; sexual assault or exploitation; slavery; stalking; torture; trafficking of persons, controlled substances or other contraband; unlawful criminal restraint; witness tampering; or attempt, solicitation or conspiracy to commit a criminal offense or engage in activity involving the conduct enumerated in this subsection;

          E. "U visa" means the federal classification for a person eligible for a visa in accordance with 8 U.S.C. Section 1101(a)(15)(U); and

          F. "victim" means a person directly and proximately harmed as a result of qualifying criminal activity and includes a spouse, a child under age twenty-one, a parent or a sibling under age eighteen of a person who is deceased due to murder or manslaughter or a person directly and proximately harmed as a result of qualifying criminal activity who is incompetent or incapacitated."

     SECTION 3. A new section of Chapter 31 NMSA 1978 is enacted to read:

     "[NEW MATERIAL] ELIGIBILITY FOR U VISA CERTIFICATION.--

          A. A victim or a person on behalf of a victim may request U visa certification from a certifying agency or certifying official. If a victim is subject to removal proceedings pursuant to federal immigration law, the victim may request expedited U visa certification from a district attorney's office or the state department of justice.

          B. A victim is eligible for U visa certification if the victim:

                (1) possesses credible and reliable information about qualifying criminal activity and has assisted or is likely to assist in the detection, investigation or prosecution of that qualifying criminal activity; and

                (2) continues to provide information and assistance if information and assistance are requested.

          C. A request for U visa certification may include more than one victim, depending on the circumstances of the qualifying criminal activity.

          D. A certifying official may deny or withdraw U visa certification only if a victim refuses to provide information or assistance after reasonable requests. The following circumstances shall not be grounds to deny or withdraw U visa certification:

                (1) an investigation has concluded;

                (2) a case has been prosecuted or is otherwise closed;

                (3) the time for commencing a criminal case has expired;

                (4) criminal charges were not filed; or

                (5) the offender of alleged qualifying criminal activity was acquitted or not convicted."

     SECTION 4. A new section of Chapter 31 NMSA 1978 is enacted to read:

     "[NEW MATERIAL] PROCEDURES FOR U VISA CERTIFICATION.--

          A. A certifying official shall process a request for U visa certification within thirty days from receipt of the request; provided that a request to a district attorney's office or the state department of justice for expedited U visa certification shall be processed within fourteen days.

          B. If a certifying official determines that a victim is eligible for U visa certification, the certifying official shall fully complete and sign the certification form and send the completed and signed form with an unredacted copy of the police or incident report, criminal complaint or affidavit to the victim or a person who made the request on behalf of the victim by certified mail and free of charge.

          C. If a certifying official determines that a victim is not eligible for U visa certification and denies the request, the certifying official shall provide the victim with a written explanation for the denial, notice of the certifying agency's internal appeal process and the certifying official's contact information. Upon denying a victim's request for U visa certification, a certifying official shall compile all documentation relevant to the request, including records and other documentation relating to the underlying qualifying criminal activity, so it is readily accessible if the victim requests an internal appeal, if such documentation is requested by the state department of justice or if the victim files a petition in the district court in accordance with Section 6 of the U Visa Certification Act.

          D. A certifying agency shall establish an internal appeal process for denials of requests for U visa certification that provides, at minimum, for a written final decision within thirty days from the date a victim receives the written denial and for the final decision to be made by the head of the certifying agency; provided that, if the head of the certifying agency made the initial decision, the head of the agency shall appoint a person in a supervisory role within the agency to review the appeal and make the final decision.

          E. If a certifying agency upholds a denial after an internal appeal, a victim may seek review from the state department of justice. Upon receiving a request for review, the state department of justice shall notify the certifying official who denied the victim's request, and that certifying official shall provide the state department of justice with the compiled documentation relevant to the victim's request within seven days. The final decision of the state department of justice shall be made within fourteen days from receipt of the documentation from the certifying official who denied the victim's request. If the state department of justice upholds the denial, the department shall provide the victim with certified copies of the documentation that the department received from the certifying official who initially denied the victim's request.

          F. If a victim's request for U visa certification was originally made to and denied by the state department of justice, the victim may file a petition in the district court in accordance with Section 6 of the U Visa Certification Act."

     SECTION 5. A new section of Chapter 31 NMSA 1978 is enacted to read:

     "[NEW MATERIAL] NOTICE--RECORDKEEPING--REPORTING.--A certifying agency shall:

          A. publish the agency's procedures for U visa certification on the agency's website and shall include the name of and contact information for the agency's certifying official;

          B. create a record of:

                (1) the number of requests for U visa certification received in a calender year;

                (2) the dates on which the certifying entity received each request for U visa certification;

                (3) the number of requests for U visa certification that were approved and completed;

                (4) the number of requests for U visa certification that were denied; and

                (5) the number of completed U visa certifications that were subsequently withdrawn; and

          C. at the request of the state department of justice or the legislature, provide a report on the agency's implementation of the U Visa Certification Act."

     SECTION 6. A new section of Chapter 31 NMSA 1978 is enacted to read:

     "[NEW MATERIAL] PRIVATE ENFORCEMENT--PETITION IN THE DISTRICT COURT.--

          A. The district court in the county where a victim resides or the first judicial district court has jurisdiction to make findings of fact and conclusions of law pursuant to the U Visa Certification Act.

          B. A victim may file a petition in the district court for relief under the U Visa Certification Act and in accordance with supreme court rule if:

                (1) the victim's request for U visa certification was denied by a certifying official and the victim exhausted the internal appeal and state department of justice review processes; or

                (2) the victim's request for U visa certification was initially made to and denied by the state department of justice.

          C. Upon review of a petition, the district court shall make findings of fact and conclusions of law to determine whether:

                (1) the petitioner is a victim;

                (2) the petitioner is a victim of qualifying criminal activity; and

                (3) the victim is eligible for U visa certification as provided in Subsection B of Section 3 of the U Visa Certification Act.

          D. If the district court determines that the petitioner is a victim, is a victim of qualifying criminal activity and is eligible for U visa certification, the court shall complete and sign the certification form for the victim and may award reasonable costs and attorney fees and other equitable relief that the court deems just and proper."

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