New office seeks to aid victims of crimes by immigrants

Washington • President Donald Trump is opening an office for victims of crimes committed by immigrants, although studies show immigrants are less likely to commit crimes than native-born citizens.

Homeland Security Secretary John Kelly on Wednesday opened the office dubbed the Victims of Immigrant Crime Engagement, VOICE. He said it will be used to keep victims informed of the immigration proceedings of suspects. The office will be staffed by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) employees.

Kelly focused his remarks on immigrant criminals in the U.S. illegally, saying they never should have been in the United States and able to commit crimes. But the ICE officials will also aid victims of crimes attributed to immigrants in the United States legally.

Brent Wilkes, CEO of the League of United Latin American Citizens, said the office appears to be little more than an extension of Trump's rhetoric against immigrants.

"It's pretty clear to me that the goal here is to do the kind of thing he did on the campaign trail," Wilkes said. He added the office is unnecessary because ICE has long had the authority to keep crime victims informed.

In his remarks, Kelly said victims of immigrant crimes have historically been ignored by the federal government and left without answers about a suspect's immigration proceedings. He said the VOICE name is fitting because the government is giving "for the first time a voice of their own to these victims."

The same executive order that called for creating VOICE also directed Homeland Security to overhaul its privacy policy to ensure immigrants in the U.S. illegally are not afforded the same privacy protections as U.S. citizens.