How ICE Is Making It Harder for Immigrants to Escape Domestic Violence

A growing chorus of attorneys, advocates and members of law enforcement are warning that the terror that has taken hold in immigrant communities is causing some people to remain in abusive relationships rather than risk deportation and separation from their families. While undocumented victims have always faced barriers in escaping abuse, experts say Trump administration policies have left them much more vulnerable.

Abusers can exploit people’s immigration fears, and the vulnerability of undocumented women is part of why Congress passed the Violence Against Women Act in 1994. The law allows survivors to apply for permanent residence without the abuser’s involvement. The visas, U visas for victims of domestic violence and other serious crimes, and T visas for victims of human trafficking, require that they cooperate in the arrest and prosecutions of those who harmed them.

Police often embraced the tool, said Zain Lakhani, migrant rights and justice director at the Women’s Refugee Commission. “It enables law enforcement to be able to conduct investigations. It keeps the witnesses around, and it makes it safe for people to report crime.”