Jeanne Smoot, Director of Public Policy, received the 2008 Agent of Change Award from the Virginia Sexual and Domestic Violence Action Alliance.

The BIA’s decision in the Matter of A-T reveals a poor understanding of FGM and its consequences, as well as a flawed interpretation of refugee law, and poses a direct threat to the ability of Tahirih’s clients and others who have suffered FGM to receive protection in the United States.

Federal protections are intended to encourage non-citizen survivors of violent crimes to come forward and get help, but a push for local police to enforce immigration law could unravel the intent of the protections, which have been painstakingly elaborated over 15 years.

The U visa was created to aid law enforcement and protect victims of serious crimes under the Victims of Trafficking and Violence Prevention Act of 2000.

The highest immigration appellate court, the Board of Immigration Appeals (BIA), issued two precedent-setting decisions that advocates fear will limit the ability of a woman to receive refugee status because of female genital cutting.

Open the wallet of the average American woman and you will find at least six forms of identification—a driver’s license, credit and insurance cards, various memberships—each of which has an extensive history behind it establishing her identity and eligibility for certain privileges. The average woman who seeks Tahirih’s help, however, comes to us with little more than her name and her story.

A rising anti-immigrant backlash, fueled by widespread frustration with congressional inaction on comprehensive immigration reform, could lead to increased efforts to promote local enforcement of immigration laws in the 2007 […]