Recent policy proposals call for increased entanglement between immigration enforcement and state and local police, which undermines existing protections for domestic violence and sexual assault survivors. This will reduce the likelihood of immigrant victims or witnesses reporting crimes and create unprecedented fear for immigrant families and communities. The reports presented in this document illustrate these problems.
Related Resources
Upcoming Webinar! Trafficking: Trauma and Trauma-Informed Advocacy at Points of Contact
Join us for an upcoming webinar on Jan 22, 2020! The very definition of trafficking describing actions-means-purposes locates potential sources of trauma and a range of other emotions that can affect survivors. This webinar takes into account what trafficked survivors have taught us and what we have learnt about types of trauma, how past experiences of help-seeking can influence current attempts, and the importance of trauma-informed care. This webinar analyzes these contexts and offers considerations and recommendations for advocacy at points of contact that include raids, arrest, release from custody, investigation, shelter, and health and mental health systems.
UPDATED Advisory: Are Victim Services Programs Liable for Criminal “Harboring” When they Work with Immigrant Survivors of Crime? 2019
This Advisory answers common questions about providing shelter and other program services to undocumented victims, describes the law and federal policy, and proposes best practices for programs
Advisory Revised Aug 2019: How Will ‘Public Charge’ Proposed Policy Changes Impact Immigrant Survivors of Domestic Violence and Sexual Assault?
The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) released a final rule, published in the Federal Register on August 14, 2019, which significantly changes longstanding policy about the meaning and application of the “public charge” inadmissibility provisions of immigration law. According to DHS, this is to ensure that non-citizens “who are admitted to the United States, seek extension of stay or change of status, or apply for adjustment of status will be self-sufficient, i.e., will rely on their financial resources, as well as the financial resources of the family, sponsors, and private organizations.”
Advisory: How Do Recent HUD Proposed Rules About Verification of Immigration Status Impact Survivors of Domestic & Sexual Assault?
The Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) proposed regulations that change longstanding policy relating to immigration status verification requirements and disallowing those ineligible for federal housing assistance (i.e., members of “mixed-status” households) from residing in HUD’s public and specified assisted housing programs. This advisory describes impacts of the proposed rule on immigrant survivors of violence
May 2019 Advocate & Legal Services Findings: Immigrant Survivors Fear Reporting Violence
In May 2019, a coalition of national organizations gathered feedback from nearly six hundred advocates and attorneys from across the United States, learning that many immigrant victims of domestic and sexual violence are now too afraid to call the police or go to court to get help. The advocates report that survivors have an increased fear of deportation, retaliation by their abusers, and separation from their children.
FAQs: Immigration Enforcement and Victim Services Programs, 2017
These FAQs address common questions about responding to immigration enforcement activities at victim services programs.
November 2017