Former Postville Agriprocessors workers receive new visas

This from the Cedar Rapids gazetteonline:

POSTVILLE (AP) — Twenty former workers at the Agriprocessors Inc. plant in Postville have received visas under a law that protects crime victims.

The first wave of women and children arrested last year at the plant have been granted U-visas by U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, allowing them to legally live and work in the country for four years. They can apply for green cards in the third year.

Sonia Parras-Konrad, a Des Moines attorney who led the effort, said the visas are a big step toward vindicating the immigrants and giving them justice.

“A government entity has found, indeed, that these women and children have been subjected to extreme emotional or physical harm by Agriprocessors,” Parras-Konrad said. “These people have been exploited, have been assaulted, have been humiliated, have been verbally and emotionally abused by this employer.”

To be eligible for the visas, the former workers must meet several requirements, including assisting authorities in any pertinent investigations.