Lawyers Manual - Unified Court System

Representing Immigrant Victims of Domestic Violence 311
constituency that domestic violence is not only socially unacceptable and illegal
in the United States, but also at odds with their own cultural and religious
traditions. 3 This two-pronged approach has garnered the support of community
leaders who recognize the real threat of arrest and deportation resulting from
domestic violence charges, but who may feel ambivalent about “Americanizing.”
Consequently, an immigrant domestic violence victim seeking assistance can turn
to a variety of organizations in the metropolitan New York area where
caseworkers share her ethnic background, speak her language, and understand
her cultural concerns. 4 To offset this support, however, a batterer may move her
to a neighborhood where no one shares her cultural background.
Additionally, despite ethnic-specific support groups, religious authorities
within that community may serve as countervailing forces. While some religious
leaders have been laudable for criticizing domestic violence, others reject the
American “rush” to divorce, urging instead that victims respect their religious
vows. Immigrant women commonly report being counseled by a spiritual leader
to remain in a marriage despite evidence of severe physical abuse, and of being
chastised for failing to accept their husbands’ authority.
Concern for the Children
The presence of children, while a complicating factor in the victim’s decision
to seek help, gains particular urgency when she is an immigrant. If the abuser is
a US citizen (“USC”) or lawful permanent resident (“LPR”) and she is
undocumented, he may tell her that only someone who is “legal” could win a
custody battle. Alternatively, he may threaten to “turn her in” to the immigration
authorities and have her deported, while the children, who may be US citizens,
remain behind with him. In other cases, if the husband also holds foreign
citizenship, he may kidnap the children to his country of birth, abandoning his
battered wife and preventing her from ever seeing them again. 5 Should the victim
possess sufficient resources for travel to the abuser’s home country to reclaim the
children, custody laws may favor the father nevertheless. 6
Unfamiliarity with US Law
Protections extended to battered women in New York are relatively recent
enactments, and federal remedies for immigrant women are less than two
decades old. 7 These developments may be unknown to women emigrating from
countries that explicitly or tacitly condone domestic abuse. In some countries
legislation criminalizing spousal abuse is rarely, if ever, enforced because of
prevailing social norms or corrupt law enforcement. The abuser himself may be