National Domestic Violence Helpline: People experiencing domestic violence can get confidential help. thehotline.org Or call 800-799-7233.
The Indian immigrant believed her husband when he told her over the phone that he would kill her if she remained in their Georgia home until he arrived 10 minutes later.
She said her husband and his family, who were also immigrants, abused her throughout their marriage. They beat her with a belt, poured hot water on her body, cut her skin and slammed her head against the wall.
“I tried to escape several times, but they found me and took me home.” The woman, who is in the country without legal permission, spoke on condition of anonymity out of fear that her identity would harm her chances of regularizing her immigration status.
In July 2020, with no time to flee after hearing her husband’s threats, she called 911, knowing it could lead to deportation. Police arrived, she recalled, and found her husband threatening her with a knife in front of their young children. The man was arrested but not charged, she said.
The woman and her children sought assistance from the Tahirih Justice Center.Tahiri Judicial Center) is a non-profit organization providing services nationwide to immigrant survivors of sexual violence. Five years later, he is still going through immigration proceedings.
Immigrants are not only more vulnerable to sexual violence, but also face a variety of physical and mental health problems, according to researchers. According to one survey, they have higher rates of post-traumatic stress disorder, depression, suicide, and anxiety. 2024 study.
“Personally, I know that the anxiety associated with the current political climate is making emergency room visits more expensive and impacting people’s ability to get to work and make a living,” said Nicole E. Warren, a nurse and midwife at the Johns Hopkins University School of Nursing in Baltimore.
Undocumented immigrants also have higher rates of chronic disease and higher death rates from preventable diseases due to limited access to health care and fear of seeking it, according to activists.
“One of our clients was so afraid to leave her home that she did not receive medical care during her pregnancy for fear of contact with ICE,” said Miriam Camero, director of client advocacy and social services at Tahirih.
Food banks have reported that many immigrants who previously sought help have stopped coming to them for fear of deportation.
It has always been difficult for undocumented people to get help when they need it. But the Donald Trump administration’s crackdown on immigration has added to the difficulties. And the situation has also complicated the activities of those who defend their rights.
“We’re working overtime to get everything done,” said Vanessa Wilkins, executive director of Tahirih’s Atlanta office. “Customers can be completely overwhelmed by the safety plans and additional protections they may need, including documentation to ensure their safety.”
The difficult road to a U visa
For domestic violence survivors without legal status, like women from India, going to authorities amid the immigration crisis is even more dangerous, said Maricarmen Garza, senior staff attorney at the American Bar Association’s Domestic and Sexual Violence Committee.American Bar Association Committee on Domestic and Sexual Violence).
“There are no guarantees, especially because of how intertwined immigration enforcement is with law enforcement,” Garza explained.
In more than half of the states, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents work together through formal agreements with state and local law enforcement agencies to identify and deport people who are in the country illegally. According to victims’ advocates, this could hinder their attempts to obtain the certification needed to apply for a “U visa” that would allow them to legally live and work in the United States, along with the possibility of obtaining a green card.
The woman from India remembers police telling her she could get a U visa application certificate if she filed a complaint. She accepted, but remembers the anxiety that doing so meant filing about five abuse reports over two years. “Just writing that gave me a panic attack because it meant experiencing it all again,” he said.
White House Press Secretary Abigail Jackson praised President Donald Trump’s efforts to curb illegal immigration when asked about the challenges faced by immigrant victims of domestic violence. “The President’s successful effort to deport illegal immigrants with criminal records is making all victims safer and ensuring they are no longer harmed by dangerous criminals who no longer have legal status,” Jackson said in a statement.
He added that “unsubstantiated claims” that immigrants were asked to drop charges “should not be taken seriously.”
Immigrant women without legal status can be particularly vulnerable to abuse and exploitation due to language barriers and cultural and social isolation. According to researchers.
2023 report They noted that in some immigrant groups, up to 93% of women have experienced intimate partner violence at some point in their lives, compared with about 41% of U.S.-born women.
As the Trump administration restructures the country’s immigration system, people who have experienced violence and entered the country illegally will face greater obstacles in proving abuse and trauma to immigration authorities, advocates said.
The Refugee and Asylum Health Program at Johns Hopkins University provides free forensic evaluations to immigrant victims to support requests for humanitarian assistance, including U visa applications.
Warren, the program’s associate director of women’s health, said that previously, a written statement of clinical findings was enough to support an applicant’s legal claim.
“Now they are asking us to testify in person,” he said.
application delay
The woman from India applied for a visa after obtaining her police license in 2023. 11.6 million immigration applications pending by June This is the highest number ever recorded by U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS). There are currently 415,000 U visa applications pending, according to the agency.
According to Garza, only about 10,000 of these visas are approved each year, and the process can take seven years or more.
Additionally, the Trump administration reduced the availability of Section 8 housing vouchers, which help low-income people pay rent. From SeptemberPeople who do not have legal permission to reside in the country can no longer receive such assistance, even if they reside with U.S. citizens.
“If Tahiri had not supported me, I would have been out on the streets,” she said, adding that she could only pay half of her rent.
Victim advocates say they are working harder than ever to support their clients, but resources are stretched thin due to federal cuts and increased demand.
The Tahiri Center reported that call volume increased 200% in the four months following President Trump’s inauguration compared to the same period last year.
“Ultimately, there are so many emails and so many people that we can’t respond as quickly as we used to,” said Casey Carter Swegman, the center’s public policy director.
To reach immigrant survivors who are afraid to ask for help, advocates are “going back to basics,” said Joanna Otero-Cruz, president and CEO of Philadelphia-based Women Against Abuse.
“We do community work with hairdressers and other small businesses,” he explained. “They are our eyes and ears.”
In Riverhead, New York, a 38-year-old woman from El Salvador said she had been the victim of domestic violence twice but was too afraid to report it to police.
He said the second assault was committed by a man for whom he cooked and cleaned. The woman, who spoke on condition of anonymity out of shame and fear of deportation, said he sexually assaulted her, took nude photos of her and threatened to post them on social media if she reported them to authorities. Then he started harassing her, she said.
Noemi Sánchez, Long Island regional coordinator for Rural and Migrant Ministries, a nonprofit organization that supports agricultural workers, works closely with women to strengthen their self-esteem and help them understand that “no woman deserves to be mistreated by a man.”
Meanwhile, a survivor from India received a temporary work permit in 2024 and is currently working as a certified nursing assistant. “It helps me survive,” he said.
“I’ve come a long way,” he added. “It wasn’t easy. I had a lot of support. They didn’t leave me alone.”
