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.

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.

The article below was originally published before any U visas had been approved for Tahirih clients. Before now, victims of crime had only been granted Interim Relief or Deferred Action, which required yearly renewals and left victims without permanent legal status.

Melody* was brutally beaten by her brother-in-law, who also attempted to rape her. She escaped by jumping through a window and was found by a neighbor who helped her call the police. Melody was immediately hospitalized. She pressed charges against her brother-in-law and he was found guilty of attempted rape and malicious wounding. He was sentenced to ten years in prison.

Kristina and Melody—and many other women and girls in the United States who are victims of crimes like domestic violence, rape, incest, and sexual assault—are eligible for a specific type of immigration relief, called the U visa, available to victims of violent crimes.

Tahirih was the first organization in the Washington, DC metropolitan area to apply for U visa interim relief.

The U visa was created as part of the Victims of Trafficking and Violence Prevention Act of 2000. Congress created the U visa as a mechanism to aid law enforcement, by providing a path to legal status for non-citizen victims of crime who assist law enforcement in investigating or prosecuting the perpetrator of the crime.

Although the U visa was created by Congress in 2000, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) was required to issue implementing regulations before a U visa could be approved and issued. These regulations were not issued until September 17, 2007, after nearly seven years of waiting, lobbying, and advocacy. Prior to the release of regulations, victims of crime like Kristina and Melody, who cooperated with law enforcement in the investigation and prosecution of their perpetrators, could only be granted Interim Relief, or Deferred Action, a status which required yearly renewals and left victims without permanent legal status.

Since the inception of the U visa, Tahirih has pioneered its use and was, in fact, the first organization in the Washington, DC metropolitan area to apply for U visa interim relief. To further its work in protecting this underserved and uniquely vulnerable population of victims, Tahirih, with support from the prestigious Equal Justice Works Fellowship program and Arnold & Porter LLP, brought on a two-year fellow in 2007—Natalie Nanasi—to serve as a staff attorney and conduct targeted advocacy and outreach.

Natalie represents clients that are eligible for U visa protections and works with other organizations and advocates to ensure that the U visa is appropriately utilized and implemented. She currently represents over 50 U visa clients—women and girls who are victims of crimes such as domestic violence, sexual assault, statutory rape, attempted murder, and child sex abuse. She also conducts outreach to various members of the community to provide information and education about the benefits of the U visa.

Outreach Efforts
As part of the Equal Justice Works Fellowship, Tahirih has conducted numerous trainings in the community to educate victims and professionals working with immigrant victims of crime on the protections available. The following are some of the people we have reached out to through this effort:

• Participants in a domestic violence support group in Woodbridge, Virginia (September 20, 2007)
• A coalition of victim/witness advocates and other social services providers from the Virginia Counties of Prince Edward, Mecklenberg, Charlotte, Halifax, and Lunenburg (February 15, 2008)
• Members of a community advocacy organization – including law enforcement, victim/witness advocates, shelter employees, and medical personnel – in Winchester, Virginia (February 19, 2008)
• Law enforcement officers with the Northern Virginia Gang Taskforce (April 2, 2008)
• Volunteer attorneys, as part of the DC Bar Pro Bono Program (February 8, 2008 and February 13, 2009)

Natalie’s project also includes a public policy component. Although Tahirih applauded the release of the U visa regulations and was heartened by many of its provisions that provide necessary protections to immigrant victims of crime, the rules do contain several troubling provisions as well. Chief among them is the limitation placed on who is permitted to attest to a victim’s helpfulness; only the head of a law enforcement agency or an individual “specifically designated” by the head of that agency may sign the certification form. This restriction places a substantial burden on victims, as they are required to navigate the bureaucracies of police departments and prosecutors’ offices to ensure that the agencies designate a certifier.

In November 2007, Tahirih, with the help of pro bono attorneys at Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld LLP, submitted comments to address the “designated certifier” issue, as well as other areas of concern in the new regulations. Over a year after the issuance of the U visa regulations, DHS issued the U visa adjustment regulations, which govern the process by which U visa holders apply for permanent residency status. In February 2009 Tahirih submitted comments to DHS on both the U visa and the U visa adjustment regulations, in which we addressed areas of continued concern and recommended necessary changes.

*Names changed to protect privacy.

Abuse rates in marriages between US citizens and foreign-born women may be as much as three times higher than in general US population.

Or consider the problem “Meredith” faced when she couldn’t get into a federal courtroom for her own hearing because she didn’t have identification other than the notice requiring her to appear.

The Tahirih Justice Center seeks to change the landscape for immigrant women and girls by conducting outreach and training for other charitable organizations, pro bono attorneys, and law enforcement agencies, among others. This public education scope of Tahirih’s mission is part of our holistic model of protecting immigrant women and girls from violence, complemented by direct services and public policy advocacy.

Immigrant women and girls face cultural obstacles that magnify the difficulty of fleeing violence. These include factors such as language barriers, cultural stigmas on reporting abuse, or not having work authorization to be able to support themselves. They often face the isolation of not having a support network of friends or family, are usually unaware of their rights, and may be threatened by their abuser with arrest or deportation if they speak out.

Moreover, immigrant women and girls are more vulnerable to violence in the first place, as studies show that abuse rates in marriages between US citizens and foreign-born women may be as much as three times higher than in the general US population.¹

Tahirih’s trainings have been a vital step toward ensuring that professionals that work on issues of gender-based violence and immigration are aware of the unique challenges faced by immigrant women and girls, as well as the rights and legal remedies available to them. In the last year, Tahirih has offered cultural sensitivity training for:

• Fort Meyer US Army Base
• Virginia Attorney General’s Office
• Virginia Department of Criminal Justice Services
• Winchester Council Against Domestic Violence and Sexual Abuse

Continuing to build upon these successful partnerships, in August Tahirih will offer a cultural competency training in Williamsburg, VA, organized by the York County Violence Against Women Task Force.

The values that guide Tahirih’s work are cooperative rather than competitive. In this spirit, Tahirih actively engages in sharing its resources and organizational knowledge so that more women and girls may feel safe seeking help in order to realize the protection available to them.

¹Giselle Aguilar Hass, Nawal Ammar, and Leslye Orloff, “Battered Immigrants and U.S. Citizen Spouses,” Legal Momentum. April 24, 2006, (March 9, 2008): 2, 5.