THE VIOLENCE AGAINST WOMEN ACT

• Date: 01 July 1999
• DOI: http://doi.org/10.1111/j.174-1617.1999.tb01311.x
• Published date: 01 July 1999
• Author: Maurice Goldman

THE VIOLENCE AGAINST WOMEN ACT

Meeting Its Goals in Protecting

Battered Immigrant Women?

Maurice Goldman

Domestic abuse allegations have become a serious problem in our sociew.

They

present our

court system with drflcult decisions andpmblems. This becomes an even

more

drficult situation

when the abused is

an

illegal immigrant. Many

of

the abused

are

too frightened

or

intimidated

to

go

to

the authorities for help. This article examines

how

the

US.

government is attempting

to

protect these immigrants.

Many women immigrate to the United States to fulfil1 the American

dream.’ This dream is usually premised on the idea that by immigrating and

marrying a

U.S.

citizen or legal permanent resident, the women will escape the

problems they faced in their countries of origin, These problems range from a

fear of persecution, to economic insecurity, to social and political unrest.

Often times, this American dream is more a figment of the women’s

imaginations than anything else. Many of these women would be better

off

staying in their countries of origin. These women end up victims of vicious

abuse, often times without any idea that they may have recourse in the law?

What begins with a vision of hope becomes a legal nightmare that sometimes

leads the victim back where she began: searching for a way out?

No

one knows this state of affairs better than Isabella, an elderly Colom-

bian woman left traumatized by her experiences: Isabella’s US-citizen hus-

band physically and mentally abused her on almost a daily basis for about two

years. Sometimes he would bruise her; other times, she sustained more seri-

ous injuries, like broken ribs. When she considered going

to

the authorities,

her husband threatened to call the Immigration and Naturalization Service

(INS)

and

tell

them that he would no longer sponsor her.5 Once, Isabella’s

husband told her that he “wasn’t afraid to cut

off

her head, put it on a platter

and show it to the judge.” Not knowing herrights, a frightened Isabella stayed

with this man for more than

2

years.”

Isabella was able to escape her husband’s control and is now seeking legal

relief through

SEPA

Mujer, an advocacy program based in Hempstead, New

York. However, many other women in circumstances like Isabella’s are not

as

FAMILY

AND

CONCILIATION COURTS

REVIEW,

Vol.

37

NO.

3.

July

1999

375-392

8

1999

Sage

Publications.

Inc.

375

376

FAMILY AND CONCILIATION COURTS

REVIEW

fortunate, in part because they do not understand their legal options. They er-

roneously believe that their only choices

are

tolerating the violence or risking

deportation. Most of these women are unaware of a little-known provision in

the

1994

Violence Against Women Act (VAWA) that could provide them

with an escape from their abusers.’

Section

1154

of the VAWA was fashioned to make it easier for undocu-

mented battered women to file residency petitions on their own.

This

allows

them to become legal permanent residents.’ When President Clinton signed

the VAWA into law on September

13, 1994,

many immigrant women were

given protections they dearly needed. Even with

these

new protections, how-

ever, problems have arisen.

Recent immigration legislation has undermined the VAWA. While the

VAWA has advanced the rights of battered immigrant women, the Personal

Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act of

1996

(called the

Welfare Reform Act) and the Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigrant Re-

sponsibility Act of

1996

(IIRIRA)

have erected new barriers for these

women. Both the Welfare Reform Act and

IIRIRA

prevent immigrant

women from collecting any federal aid unless they fall within specific excep-

tions. Because of these statutes, an abused immigrant who leaves her spouse

will be homeless and without economic support.

This article explores the VAWA and examines both the benefits and the

barriers that stem from current immigration laws.

Part

I discusses domestic

violence in general and introduces the dilemma that a battered immigrant

women faces.

Parts

11

and

III

examine the development of the VAWA and ana-

lyze how this law has enhanced the protection

of

battered immigrant women.

Part IV criticizes the VAWA and documents the effects of the IIRIRA and the

Welfare Reform Act on the VAWA.

Part

V provides the reader with some rec-

ommended changes in the law.

Part

VI concludes the paper.

I. THE BATTERED IMMIGRANT’S DILEMMA

A.

DOMESTIC

VIOLENCE

Domestic violence is a social problem that has, in all likelihood, always

been with

us.

The abuse is based on coercive tactics and stems

from

a domi-

nant partner’s need

to

control a submissive partner through sexual, physical,

and psychological means? The statistics documenting domestic violence are

staggering: Federal Bureau of Investigation reports consistently show that

30%

to

40%

of all female homicide victims are killed by boyfriends or family