Lawyers Manual - Unified Court System

312 Lori Cohen
a current or former police officer, a member of the military, or a prominent
business figure with close ties to law enforcement. In the most extreme cases, a
woman who turns to the authorities for help in turn may be raped and tortured
as a trouble maker who “asked for it.” 8
As a result, immigrant women in the United States rarely view the law as an
ally in their quest for protection. An abuser may capitalize on this by threatening
to have the victim arrested should she call the police. Unfortunately, too many
abusers have made good on their threats, as domestic violence victims have
found themselves arrested and placed into removal proceedings when seeking to
escape an abusive relationship. 9
Even when a call to the police results in the abuser’s arrest, the victim may
be unwilling to press charges against him. If the abuser is also an immigrant, a
conviction of a crime of domestic violence, stalking, child abuse, or violation of
a protection order may render him deportable. 10 The deportation of the abuser,
while sparing the victim from further physical abuse, may result in her family
losing its sole source of income. If the batterer has prevented his victim from
obtaining employment authorization, she may find the challenge of financially
supporting herself and her children insurmountable. A victim may weigh the
prospects of becoming homeless against suffering physical abuse and remain in
the abusive relationship, unaware of the legal remedies and public benefits
available to her.
Even if the victim understands her rights, the possibility of her abuser’s
removal from the United States carries significant risks. Should the abuser have
friends in the United States, they may retaliate against the victim for “causing”
his deportation. Moreover, a victim is only protected from her abuser while she
is in the United States — American safeguards vanish at the border. When
victim and batterer are from the same country of origin, his deportation may
also jeopardize the safety of the victim’s relatives living abroad.
Preliminary Notes on Representing Immigrant Domestic
Violence Victims
Establishing the Attorney-Client Relationship
As with American-born victims of domestic violence, immigrant victims have
suffered a profound betrayal of trust. The attorney must be vigilant against
stereotyping based upon the client’s country of origin, style of dress, religion,