An ordinance passed by the Minneapolis City Council Dec. 13 gives protection to undocumented immigrants seeking to report a crime.

If they are willing to cooperate in the investigation, this will grant them time to apply for U nonimmigrant status (a U visa), according to Adriana Cerrillo, a representative of the Minnesota Immigrant Rights Action Committee.

According to the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, U visas are for undocumented immigrants who were victims of a crime and suffered abuse. If they cooperate with law enforcement and meet the requirements stated, they are eligble for a U visa.

According to Cerrillo, the committee requested for the city of Minneapolis to clearly execute the law.

“We asked the city to have that process a little more transparent and to implement the ordinance because we don’t want the police department to act freely on whatever they feel they should be doing,” Cerillo said.

Cerrillo said the committee chose to make change at the city level, because it is here that the biggest impact can be created.

“It has been a political football how our community has been used and played by both parties,” Cerrillo said. “Unfortunately right now, we haven’t built that political model that we need, at the federal level we don’t have much hope.”

Senior Kiyonna Brooks said the diversity of the St. Louis Park community makes this issue increasingly important.

“St. Louis Park is a very diverse school, and I believe probably there’s a possibility that some people’s parents may be possibiliy (undocumented) immigrants,” Brooks said.

“In any given situation if their parents are deported that puts them in a hard situation. We should understand that,” she said.

Junior Morganna Oberdorfer said she appreciates the ordinance and believes it is a just course of action.

“I think it is a really good thing because it’s really unfair that (undocumented) immigrants aren’t given a place to live here especially considering the circumstances,” Oberdorfer said.

According to Cerrillo, Minneapolis’ status as a sanctuary city has not created tangible change.

“It doesn’t mean anything at all, honestly. It doesn’t stop our communities from being deported because the city has the police force, but the county runs the jails. Let’s say a person is detained by the police, they take them to the county jail,” Cerrillo said.

According to Cerrillo, the Minnesota Immigrant Rights Action Committee (MIRAC) aims to create legal change to the process of deportation of undocumented immigrants.

“We don’t have any paid staff — everybody is a volunteer. We try to stop the deportations of undocumented immigrants in the state of Minnesota,” Cerrillo said.