Unique Challenges Facing Immigrant Women Highlight Urgent Need for Tahirih’s Holistic Services
Tahirih is well known for its immigration assistance of women and girls fleeing violence. However, as we found that our clients’ lack of immigration status affects all aspects of their lives, we expanded our programs to provide family law and case management services to meet their holistic needs. Our clients are not familiar with the American court and justice systems. They aren’t aware of all their rights and can be swayed to believe misconceptions or blatant lies about our laws or their rights. Their vulnerability can have serious effects on their families and their futures.
Sandra,* for example, is a 36-year-old college-educated wife and mother. She came to the United States and married her husband, Jinan, in 2000. At that time, Jinan told her he was a US citizen and that she would be eligible to become a citizen if they married. She quickly learned that he was not a citizen, but here initially on an employment visa. Jinan never pursued legal immigration status for Sandra as he promised. Instead, for nine years she endured physical and emotional abuse at his hands. During that time they had a child, and Sandra wanted to leave to protect her child as well as herself. While she was afraid of the physical harm he would cause if she left, she was more afraid of his other threats and lies. Jinan repeatedly threatened to take their child from her and call immigration authorities to have her deported. He would tell her that even if she wasn’t deported, the judge would not give her custody because she was here illegally. He even convinced her that if she filed for divorce he would ask the judge to enter an order barring her from any future marriages and that the judge would enter such a ruling.
During our initial intake with Sandra, we learned that she feared losing her child – a fear shared by many of our clients. Sandra came to us because she believed that the only way to truly protect her child was to obtain legal immigration status. At the same time, Sandra began working with our family law program to obtain custody of her son.
Sandra is not alone. Many clients report similar threats from spouses. The fears go beyond what our clients are told by their abuser. Many clients’ fears are based on what they’ve seen or heard from other immigrants’ experiences. Another client, Maria, insisted on remaining in the home with her abusive spouse until she received work authorization. Unable to work and with nowhere else to turn, Maria knew her only option for leaving would be to go to a shelter. Maria feared that if she fled to a shelter she would lose custody of her child simply because she was residing in a shelter. Maria knew a woman from her church that went through a similar experience and was convinced the same would happen to her. Upon further inquiry, we learned that Maria’s acquaintance from church didn’t speak English, while her husband did, and wasn’t represented at the custody hearing, while her husband was. Maria worked with Tahirih’s social services program to develop a safety plan while she remained in the home with her abusive spouse. Maria also worked with Tahirih’s family law program to seek advice on filing for divorce and custody. Despite reassurances from our family law attorney that she would not lose custody of her son if she relocated to a shelter, Maria refused to move. Tahirih helped Maria obtain work authorization, and she is now saving money to move to an apartment with her son.
Sandra’s and Maria’s stories represent just a small portion of the unique and complex challenges facing immigrant women and girls fleeing violence. Tahirih’s family law and social services programs help our clients meet a vast range of obstacles, as we simultaneously work on their immigration cases to fully protect them from violence. In addition, Tahirih engages in significant outreach to both immigrant community organizations and local government agencies to raise awareness of the needs and rights of immigrant women and girls fleeing violence. Finally, we work with several local organizations and pro bono attorneys to help our clients with other legal needs such as criminal, housing, employment and international abduction cases.
*Names have been changed to protect privacy. Photo by Sergio Pessolano.
