Collaborating with Law Enforcement: Building Bridges to Help Immigrant Survivors of Violence
Teresa* was in an abusive relationship with Enrique. One night, soon after she gave birth to their first child, Enrique hit Teresa in the face. Teresa ran out of their apartment and called 911. When the police arrived, she told them what happened and that she was afraid of Enrique. Then one of the police officers asked Teresa for her passport. Although the ongoing abuse and recent assault qualified Teresa to press charges and should not have been affected by her immigration status, the officer said that since she was not bleeding or severely hurt and because she was an undocumented immigrant, there was nothing they could do for her. The police also improperly told her that if she pressed charges, she would be deported and her daughter would be taken from her and kept in the United States, despite the fact that she was actually eligible for legal protections due to the violence she faced.
On another night soon thereafter, Enrique punched Teresa multiple times in the face, grabbed her by the hair, pushed her to the floor, and kicked her in the back. Teresa’s face became so swollen that she could not open her eyes. After this brutal assault, Teresa did not call the police because of what they told her the last time she called.
Teresa’s story exemplifies why forging strong relationships with law enforcement is critical for Tahirih’s work with immigrant victims of crime. If law enforcement is not informed of the available legal remedies available for immigrant women—such as the U visa that protects immigrant victims of crime who cooperate with law enforcement—immigrant women may be incorrectly told that they would be deported if they report the abuse or that there is nothing they can do to legalize their status. Law enforcement also seeks to cultivate better relationships with immigrant communities in order to accomplish community policing objectives. Seeking to address these objectives, along with clarifying misconceptions about the U visa, one of Tahirih’s staff attorneys, Natalie Nanasi, co-wrote an article on the benefits of the U visa to the law enforcement community with Detective Stacey Ivie of the Alexandria, Virginia Police Department. Last month, the article (The U Visa: An Effective Resource for Law Enforcement) was published in the Federal Bureau of Investigation Bulletin.
Following the publication of this article, Ms. Nanasi conducted a training on the U visa with Detective Ivie to 70 law enforcement officers and students in Manassas, VA. This training, along with the many others Tahirih provides to local law enforcement, works to ensure that first responders are informed of the rights of battered immigrants. Tahirih is also developing a pocket card for law enforcement to distribute to immigrant victims explaining their rights and immigration options. These pocket cards will allow law enforcement officers to discretely hand victims information without inquiring into their immigration status. Finally, Tahirih was recently awarded a Virginia Services, Training, Officers, Prosecution (V-STOP) Recovery Act grant from the Department of Criminal Justice Services to build on the important work Ms. Nanasi started under her previous Equal Justice Works fellowship project of representing immigrant survivors seeking U visas. Under the V-STOP Recovery Act grant, Ms. Nanasi will target trainings to law enforcement in the Northern Virginia, Richmond, and Tidewater areas.
In Teresa’s case, she finally called the police again after another vicious attack by Enrique and is eligible for a U visa. But many women may be too fearful to make such a call, especially if they aren’t informed of their rights the first time they reach out to the police. By building on partnerships with law enforcement and conducting targeted outreach and training, Tahirih strives to prevent stories like Teresa’s first encounter with an officer from repeating itself.
*Name has been changed to protect privacy.
