Crime Victims Unit
One out of every ten families in our community is of mixed immigration status, meaning that some family members are United States citizens, some are lawful permanent residents, and some are undocumented. Frequently, one spouse is the U.S. citizen or lawful permanent resident, the other spouse and some older children are undocumented and the remaining younger children are U.S. citizens as a result of having been born in the United States. In the context of domestic violence, an abused undocumented spouse’s lack of immigration status is often used as an additional method of control by the abusive U.S. citizen or lawful permanent resident spouse. Because the abused spouse cannot obtain lawful permanent residence without the cooperation of the abusive spouse through the standard family-based immigration system, abused undocumented women are regularly forced to remain in abusive relationships due to fears of being deported and separated from their children, and because they do not have the financial independence required to leave the abusive relationship. In recognition of this, the Violence Against Women Act was passed in 1994, which allows undocumented abused spouses of U.S. citizens or lawful permanent residents to self-petition for lawful permanent resident status without having to rely on their abusive spouse as required by the regular family-based immigration process. While this law has become a tremendously valuable benefit for undocumented victims of domestic violence married to abusive U.S. citizens and lawful permanent residents, many undocumented victims of domestic violence not married to U.S. citizens or lawful permanent residents were left without any protections or benefits under the law. In 2000, Congress attempted to rectify this by creating two new categories of visas for all other victims of domestic violence and other serious violent crimes (U visas) and for victims of human trafficking (T visas). These two new visas have become instrumental in facilitating the cooperation of victims with law enforcement for the successful prosecution of the perpetrators of the crimes against them. DMRS assists over 300 undocumented victims of domestic violence and other crimes apply for these immigration benefits every year.