For abuse survivors like Juana Padilla, nonprofit organizations can be a lifeline amid heightened threats of federal enforcement actions which sometimes lead to deportation.
Padilla, a woman who suffered domestic abuse in Southern California, told a recent American Community Media (ACoM) panel that the Survivor Justice Center in Los Angeles helped her get protection for herself and her Mexican-born children. The children are now here legally and getting the treatment they needed, she said.
“I was afraid to even say that I was abused,” Padilla said. “Especially when your husband is ex-military and they put in your head that you have nobody. I would call the police and they would come to my house and see his uniform …. and say everything is fine, and leave.”
People like Padilla in violent domestic situations may fear seeking help under the threat of expanded ICE arrests and detainments, according to panelist Morgan Weibel. As an attorney with the Tahirih Justice Center – a national non-profit that serves immigrants who are victims of gender-based violence – Weibel spoke specifically about visas available to victims of gender-based violence.
Weibel and other panelists said that many victims of domestic violence are frightened that their information could be shared with Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officials and potentially lead to detainment or deportation. They emphasized how important nonprofit organizations with a creed of confidentiality are to protect people in what is a growing public safety crisis.
There are several organizations in Northern California for people in these circumstances such as the Catalyst Domestic Violence Services in Butte County. It offers a 24-hour hotline, safe housing referrals, forensic exams, therapy, advocacy law enforcement protection and other services.
Organizations in Chico include the WellCat Safe Place at Chico State for survivors, or the campus-based immigration resource at the Chico State Dream Center. The Dream Center offers consultations with immigration legal services provider the Coalition for Humane Immigrant Rights (CHIRLA).
Speaking on the ACoM panel, Carmen McDonald – executive director at the Survivor Justice Center – said her clients are terrified to attend court for abuse cases, whether in-person or virtual, and are sometimes difficult to locate as they avoid appointments. She said her center is “completely overwhelmed” with calls from clients who are terrified of ICE and may also be avoiding health care and other necessities out of fear of contact with police. About 70% of the center’s clientele are immigrants living in the Los Angeles area.
“Folks are still afraid, specifically survivors,” McDonald said. “When they see officers in their neighborhoods … they wonder, if I go to court to try to protect myself from abuse, will I be next? Will I be picked up?”
McDonald said that there are legal resources for people to support them confidentially, as advocates can help accompany people to legal aid and work closely with immigration attorneys.
“We know that women who come to the United States seeking safety and protection are brave. They’re powerful and they’re courageous,” Weibel said. “They are saving their lives and also their children’s lives.”
However, she said that survivors are now less likely to trust the system at all.
“The climate of fear for survivors who are witnessing arrests at courthouses and previously safe locations is real,” Weibel said. “As the government creates roadblocks to relief, survivors are questioning whether to pursue the relief that is still owed to them under the laws.”
Weibel referred to the Violence Against Women Act (VAWA), the first federal response creating protections for family members to obtain immigration status without the knowledge of abusers. This act allows an abused spouse or child of a citizen or lawful permanent resident, or an abused parent, to self-petition for lawful status in the United States, receive employment authorization and access public benefits.
Immigration survivors are vulnerable “because their abusers can use the survivor’s immigration status to wield power and control over them or entrap them in violence relationships,” Weibel added.
And as of September, people could be placed into a detention process and be forced to appear before judges to defend themselves, where they could face arrest at the courthouse. Asylum claims must be considered on a case-by-case basis, but the government’s recent decisions require extra time testifying about their cases and more attorney time to prove their need and burden, she said.
Unrepresented survivors face a “next to impossible” situation to win their cases without an attorney, Weibel added. That’s where nonprofit aid centers like the Survivor Justice Center can come in. Although these centers are told not to harbor people who are being sought by immigration enforcement, she said organizations’ confidentiality policies mean that survivor information should not be shared with any agencies including with law enforcement.
Women in the Asian American and Pacific Islander communities also report intimate partner violence, according to Patima Komolamit of the Center for the Pacific Asian Family which provides multi-language and shelter services. Komolamit said a person’s immigration status has for long been used in coercion and control of survivors. Those threats are now more than ever backed by the federal government’s enforcement push, she said.
Komolamit said that federal funding restrictions make it difficult for organizations to do their work, as new federal threats create a sense of trepidation and doubt.
“In order for us to do our work, we need partnership,” Komolamit said.
“We aren’t exclusive to undocumented survivors,” she said, noting they also serve community members who have U.S. citizenship.“We are focused on cultural communities. And the government is not able to provide these services.”
McDonald also said that the newly expanded federal actions seem to perpetuate a time before civil and equal rights were in place. But she said people should know that “the rights remain. There are still legal rights, there are still lawyers. We are here when survivors need us.”
Natalie Hanson is a contributing editor to ChicoSol.