The House Judiciary Subcommittee on Immigration and Claims held a July 20 hearing to discuss the Battered Immigrant Women Protection Act of 2000 (H.R. 3083). Opening the hearing, Subcommittee Chair Lamar Smith (R-TX) stated, “Domestic abuse is a major and disturbing problem in this country and throughout the world. When the abused is an alien, the problem becomes more complex.”
The 1994 Violence Against Women Act (VAWA) (P.L. 103-322) provided battered immigrant women and children with two forms of relief: self-petitioning and cancellation of removal. Under VAWA, battered immigrant women were allowed to self-petition the Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS) for permanent residency based on abuse by a U.S. citizen or permanent resident spouse. Additionally, under VAWA, the women were permitted to remain in the United States while awaiting their green cards. VAWA also allowed for a cancellation or suspension of deportation proceedings using the alleged abuse as a defense.
Subsequent changes in immigration laws since 1994 have removed several immigrant protections granted under VAWA. The enactment of the Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act of 1996 (P.L. 104-208) sunset the self-petitioning provision. H.R. 3083 would restore the original VAWA self-petitioning provision by allowing battered immigrant women to remain in the United States while awaiting their lawful permanent residence status and allowing them to apply for cancellation or suspension of deportation proceedings. H.R. 3083 also seeks to strengthen and expand upon VAWA. The bill would allow the Attorney General to grant a waiver to women who have been convicted of, or arrested for, a domestic violence offense. According to women’s advocates, many of these cases stem either from actions of self-defense or as a result of dual-arrest policies.
Additionally, under VAWA, women applying for self-petitions were required to be continuously present in the United States. The bill would allow the Attorney General to grant a physical presence waiver in certain humanitarian cases.
H.R. 3083 also aims to improve access to VAWA by removing the U.S. residency requirement, deleting the extreme hardship requirement, allowing children under the age of 21 who are included in their mother’s self-petition to receive their green cards, and allowing victims to self-petition within two years after the divorce or death of the abusers. The bill would expand access to VAWA by allowing victims of elder abuse, spouses married to bigamists, abused sons and daughters over the age of 21, and abused spouses and children living abroad access to VAWA status in immigration proceedings.
The bill also would provide a waiver for good moral character and would improve economic support for battered immigrant women. It would allow battered immigrant women access to legal and shelter services provided for other battered women. Additionally, H.R. 3083 would create grants for training of federal and state civil and criminal judges, INS officers, and military judges on issues affecting battered immigrant women. The bill also would allow victims of certain crimes against women access to nonimmigrant visas.
Providing an overview of the issues battered immigrant women face, Leslye Orloff of the NOW Legal Defense and Education Fund told the subcommittee that immigrant women are particularly vulnerable to abuse and face greater obstacles in escaping that abuse. “Research has found that 34-49.8% of immigrant women experience domestic violence over the course of their lifetimes. Immigrant married women experience higher levels of domestic violence (59.9%) and research has found that over 50% of immigrant women surveyed were still living with their abusers,” she said, adding: “Language, culture, and immigration status often block victims from access to information about legal remedies, and complicate their efforts to obtain the relief needed to end the violence.”
Rep. Jan Schakowsky (D-IL), sponsor of the legislation, testified before the subcommittee in support of the bill. “It seeks to strengthen and expand access to a variety of legal protections for battered immigrants so they may flee violent homes, obtain court protection, cooperate in criminal prosecution of their abusers and take control of their lives without fear of deportation.” Adding that the bill would not “open the floodgates to undocumented or unwanted immigrants,” Rep. Schakowsky said, “This bill will increase the number of VAWA filings and approvals by at most 10 percent. Last year that would have amounted to 190 additional approvals.”
Noting gaps in current law, Barbara Strack of the INS said, “While the current law and regulations have been extremely effective, our experience in implementing VAWA over several years has revealed the existence of gaps in VAWA that we believe are unintended, but that prevent many battered immigrants with approved self-petitions from completing the process by applying for adjustment of status or an immigrant visa.”
Duke Austin, a retired career employee of INS, disagreed with Ms. Strack’s interpretation of current law and the need for additional legislation. “This bill takes the approach that spousal abuse is a no-fault offense and does not require the abuse to be investigated and punished. Instead, it encourages those who are abused to opt out of the abusive relationship by granting them immigration status to which they otherwise may not be entitled. In this process, a vast loophole of potential fraud and abuse is opened for illegal immigrants who seek to obtain legal residence.”
Rep. Smith also expressed concern with the bill, saying, “Most of the benefits created in this bill do not require battered aliens to cooperate with law enforcement officers and enable them to investigate or prosecute the aliens’ abusers. This is contrary to the alleged purpose of the bill.”
The subcommittee also heard from victim advocates about the importance of restoring and improving protections for battered immigrant women. “Having legal status is paramount for battered immigrant women. It is [the] threshold to eliminating the barriers that keep her in fear and in the shadows,” stated Maria Ortiz of the Shelter for Abused Women of Collier County, Florida.
“If battered immigrant women are too fearful to report the abuse, enforcement of the law is hindered. If cooperating with prosecution results in her deportation, she is not likely to assist the state in securing a conviction. If immigration laws effectively discourage intervention, children will continue to suffer the effects of exposure to domestic violence. Passage of H.R. 3083 in its entirety will maximize the ability of battered immigrant women to escape the violence in their homes, enhance prosecution of abusers and reduce the effects of violence on the innocent children in these homes,” stated Bree Buchanan of the Texas Council on Family Violence.
