Immigrant survivors of domestic violence in the U.S. are increasingly facing barriers to safety and justice as legal protections weaken and abusers exploit immigration status.
Immigrant survivors of domestic violence in the United States are confronting escalating barriers to safety and justice. Abusers are increasingly manipulating both legal and immigration systems, filing false police reports, and alerting Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) to their partner’s undocumented status. This weaponization of immigration status serves as a tool of control, creating a climate of fear that discourages survivors from seeking help.
At an August 12 briefing hosted by American Community Media, advocates and survivors highlighted a troubling trend: immigrant women escaping domestic violence are encountering fewer protections and more obstacles as federal policies shift. The current environment has left many survivors feeling vulnerable and isolated.
Those who seek legal protection often find themselves facing punitive measures rather than support. U visas, designed for victims of violent crime, and self-petitions under the Violence Against Women Act (VAWA), which allow immigrant survivors to apply for status independently of their abuser, are now subject to longer wait times and stricter scrutiny. Additionally, gender-based asylum protections, once a crucial lifeline for women fleeing violence, have been rolled back by federal courts.
Organizations that provide domestic violence support and receive federal funding are also grappling with new restrictions that limit the services they can offer, particularly concerning gender identity and reproductive healthcare.
Carmen McDonald, Executive Director of the Survivor Justice Center in Los Angeles, noted that fear within immigrant communities has intensified following recent ICE raids. “The impact is that it keeps people away from the help they need,” she explained. Reports of discrimination and hate crimes in LA County dropped by a third after the raids—not due to a decrease in incidents, but because survivors stopped reporting them altogether.
McDonald described how survivors are canceling restraining orders and skipping medical appointments out of fear of detention. “Imagine you’re ready to face your abuser in court,” she said. “But instead of thinking about safety and justice, you wonder if ICE will be waiting at the courthouse doors. The silence is not safety—it’s danger. When survivors are silenced, abusers go free. When immigrants are too afraid to call the police, everyone is less safe. This is not just a humanitarian crisis—it’s a public safety crisis.”
Trust in the system is eroding among survivors, according to Morgan Weibel, Director of Legal Services at the Tahirih Justice Center, a national nonprofit that serves immigrant survivors of gender-based violence. “Government policies that entangle local law enforcement with federal immigration actions mean survivors are less likely to come forward,” she stated.
Weibel explained that while VAWA and U visas were established to protect survivors, recent policy changes have raised the stakes significantly. “The administration has introduced extreme vetting, added mandatory interviews, and rescinded exemptions. Even approved applicants can now face detention and deportation. Denials trigger automatic removal proceedings. The stakes are much, much higher. Some survivors are simply not willing to take those risks.”
The weakening of asylum protections has compounded these challenges. Weibel referenced the SS. M decision, which rolled back decades of recognition of gender-based violence as grounds for asylum. “It’s now next to impossible for unrepresented survivors to win their cases,” she said. “No one believes geography should determine whether a survivor lives or dies. Yet that is exactly the consequence of our current system.” Weibel urged Congress to establish a new asylum ground based on gender, stating, “It’s just common sense.”
Patima Komolamit, Executive Director of the Center for the Pacific Asian Family (CPAF), emphasized the cultural and structural barriers that immigrant survivors face, particularly within Asian and Pacific Islander communities. Many survivors deal with language barriers, lack of work history, and financial dependence, all of which abusers exploit.
<p“Immigration status has become an abuser’s tool, now ensconced in our government,” Komolamit remarked. She highlighted the essential role nonprofits play in bridging cultural gaps, noting, “Our organization provides services in 30 Asian Pacific Islander languages. Government agencies cannot meet these needs—that’s why nonprofits exist.”
However, nonprofits themselves are encountering new challenges. Federal funding through agencies like the Office of Violence Against Women and HUD now comes with restrictions tied to executive orders promoting traditional gender roles and limiting discussions of gender identity. “We need funding that allows us to actually serve survivors in the ways we know how,” Komolamit said. “By uplifting our work and raising awareness, media can help us push back against policies that threaten not just client safety, but sometimes our own.”
A poignant personal account was shared by Juana Padilla, a client of the Survivor Justice Center. Padilla recounted her five-year struggle to escape her abusive husband, an ex-military officer who used his status to intimidate her. “It takes me a while to step out,” she said, describing how she fled the country with her children for six years before returning, only to have her abuser kidnap them.
With support from the Survivor Justice Center, Padilla was able to file a VAWA petition and eventually secure legal residency. This status ensured her daughter, born in Mexico and in need of critical medical care, could receive treatment in the United States. “Any woman, with any nationality, has rights,” Padilla stated. “I was lucky to find this center that gave me the tools and advice. Thank you for supporting people like me.”
Experts at the briefing called for urgent reforms, including the establishment of a new asylum ground based on gender, strengthening confidentiality protections for survivors and attorneys, ensuring federal funding supports culturally specific, multilingual services, and addressing rising costs for asylum seekers, including new $100 filing fees.
Despite the mounting challenges, resources remain available for survivors. The National Domestic Violence Hotline can be reached at 1-800-799-7233, the Survivor Justice Center can be found online at www.survivorjusticecenter.org, the Center for the Pacific Asian Family can be contacted at 1-800-339-3940, and the Tahirih Justice Center is available at www.tahirih.org.
Source: Original article