October 23, 2006

Battered Immigrants Face Difficult Choices

By CYNTHIA DAVIS
Lake County Record Bee

Domestic violence doesn't know cultural or racial boundaries. It affects men and women of every nationality, age, religion and social class.

It is an issue that always has complications, some very unique.

That's especially true for women who have immigrated to the United States. For them, seeking safety and help in a time when immigration is a pressing national issue is a very difficult choice.

Imagine not only facing language or cultural barriers, but also being forced to make an impossible choice between continued abuse or deportation.

Especially at risk are immigrant populations and immigrant victims of domestic violence and their children, who may not call the police for help out of fear of deportation.

With heightened concerns regarding immigration, local law enforcement agencies around the state have been called upon to assist state and federal agencies in enforcement activities.

Such was the case during the Lake County Fair, in early September. During that event, the Clearlake Police Department worked in conjunction with Oakland Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). Clearlake Police Chief Bob Chalk said his department worked with ICE in order to provide "a safer environment for people at the fair and for the proactive enforcement in addressing problems before they occurred."

Some national civil rights groups, however, say that local cooperation with agencies such as ICE sends a wrong message and may prevent domestic violence victims from seeking help.

"When local police stand side-by-side with federal immigration officials, it sends the wrong message," explained Philip Hwang, a staff attorney for the Lawyers' Committee for Civil Rights.

"Word spreads in immigrant communities that calling 911 may get you deported, and crime victims are deterred from calling the police," Hwang said. "None of us is safer when crimes go unreported. That is why organizations, such as the National Coalition Against Domestic Violence and National Organization for Women, are opposed to deputizing local police to act as immigration agents."

Fear of the authorities is commonly used by abusers, said Hwang. "In many domestic violence situations the abuser will threaten the victim that they will have them deported if they ever call the police. It's been a real problem in terms of reaching out to domestic violence victims -- they are afraid for their safety and their children's safety."

The National Network to End Violence Against Immigrant Women recognizes the challenges facing immigrant women as they struggle for safety in this country.

The program educates women about their rights and develops their leadership so that they can become involved in changing policies that affect them.

The network says that battered immigrant women and children often face special problems when they try to escape abuse.

"The isolation that battered immigrants already experience is turned to cruel advantage by their abusers, who feed them misinformation about the legal system and their rights," said the Network in a letter to members of Congress.

The letter continued: "If they call the police these victims fear that they, or their children, will be turned over to the Department of Homeland Security and deported. Many also fear that they will lose custody of their children to their abusive husband if they are deported. Even for women whose immigration status is stable, threats can be an effective means for abusers to exert their control."

The network states that as police become immigrations law enforcers or work in conjunction with them this will not only undermine the justice system's ability to prosecute crimes against immigrants, but law enforcement resources may be turned away from fighting crime generally in communities. "Inquiries into the immigration status of victims and witnesses significantly erodes immigrant community cooperation with the police and can only result in less safe communities for us all."

Amanda Baran, a member of the Women's Program of Legal Momentum out of Washington, D.C., said, "Instead of empowering victims to escape abuse, policies such as these do exactly the opposite, driving victims further underground, keeping them and their children trapped in life-threatening situations."

Contact Cynthia Davis at cdavis@record-bee.com.