Juana Villegas and her attorney, Elliott Ozment, held a press conference on Monday to announce that federal officials have issued Villegas a visa after a two-year wait. Credit: Bobby Allyn/WPLN
The Nashville woman who was arrested while nine-months-pregnant during a routine traffic stop then shackled to a hospital bed after giving birth has been granted a temporary visa. It closes the last chapter of a messy legal dispute that began in 2008.
After Juana Villegas received a settlement, following legal push back from Metro officials, and the city ended its participation in the controversial immigration program known as 287(g), one issue remained: Villegas’ legal status.
She had been in line to get a U-Visa. Two years ago, a federal judge recommended that she qualify for one. It’s a special type of temporary visa for crime victims in the U.S.
But federal immigration officials lost Villegas’ file, her attorney, Elliott Ozment said, so it had to be resubmitted. Then, federal officials said they reached the maximum amount of U-Visas they could give out. Federal officials give out 10,000 U-Visas annually, a limit criticized by immigration advocates.
Nonetheless, it finally came through, and Ozment said it helps the city move beyond the events around her arrest and detention six years ago.
“A U-visa is a life-changing event. It totally changes the potential a person has in this country,” he said.
It’s good for four years and puts her on the path to becoming a permanent resident.
Through an interpreter, Villegas was pithy with one-word replies when asked by reporters how the visa makes her feel. She was also asked how it’s changed her life. “A lot,” she said, briefly tearing up
She’s now a fast-food manager and raising three kids in South Nashville.
Villegas’ case drew national attention to Nashville’s 287(g) program. Now repealed, the divisive program let local police enforce federal immigration law. The city now keeps immigration status checks up to federal agents.
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