NASHVILLE, Sept. 2 (UPI) -- A woman who won $200,000 in damages for being shackled during labor after her arrest in Tennessee is seeking a type of visa given to crime victims.
A lawyer for Juana Villegas said testimony during her civil lawsuit suggested that she was a victim of crimes by sheriff's deputies, The Nashville Tennessean reported. Elliott Ozment submitted a motion asking U.S. District Judge William Haynes Jr., who presided over the civil case, to grant Villegas a U visa.
The U visa program was created by Congress in 2000 to allow illegal immigrants who are victims of crimes to remain in the country for four years. The justification is that they would not come forward if they feared deportation.
Villegas, a Nashville resident, was stopped on a traffic violation in 2008 and held on an immigration detainer. She gave birth in custody.
Haynes ruled earlier this year that Davidson County sheriff's deputies violated her civil rights and a jury last month awarded her $200,000.
Ozment said a U visa has been granted in at least one civil case.
The sheriff's office is appealing.
"This is yet another attempt by Elliott Ozment to get his name in the news media," spokeswoman Karla Weikal said. "It is utterly ridiculous that he would seek a criminal investigation be opened."
