VIII. Overview of Immigrant Protections & Relief

VIII. Introduction and Overview of Immigrant Protections & Relief

A. Documents

• DHS Infographic: Protections for Immigrant Victims (January 12, 2017) [pdf] 1 Page - “This Infographic produced by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security offers an overview of crime victim based legal protections for adult and child immigrant victims. It covers immigration relief for victims who suffer victimization in the U.S. and/or abroad.  The forms of relief covered are: VAWA self-petition, U visa, T visa, Continued Presence, Special Immigrant Juvenile Status (SIJS) and Asylum.”
• Family Court Bench Card on Immigration Rights of Battered Spouses, Children and Immigrant Crime Victims (October 11, 2013) 11 pages - “Battered spouses and children have several forms of immigration relief available to them. Under the Violence Against Women Act (VAWA), spouses and children of U.S. citizens and lawful permanent residents who have been battered or subjected to extreme cruelty may be eligible for self-petitioning and for cancellation of a removal orders under VAWA. U-visas are available to spouses that are victims of domestic violence, sexual assault, human trafficking, stalking and/or other crimes under VAWA. In addition, under the Immigration Act of 1990, a battered spouse waiver allows an immigrant spouse who has been battered or suffered extreme cruelty to attain lawful permanent residency without having to meet the requirement of waiting two years and having to file a joint petition with an abusive spouse.”
• Comparison Chart of U visa, T Visa, Violence Against Women Act (VAWA) Self-Petition, Special Immigrant Juvenile Status (SIJS), and Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) (July 10, 2015) 15 pages
• Comparison Chart of Violence Against Women Act (VAWA) Self-Petitioning, U visa, and Special Immigrant Juvenile Status (SIJS)  (July 10, 2015) 11 pages
• Family Court Bench Card on VAWA Confidentiality (October 11, 2013) 5 pages - “This Bench Card provides an overview of federal immigration VAWA confidentiality laws for state family, civil and criminal court judges.”
• VAWA Confidentiality: Statutes, Legislative History, and Implementing Policy (updated 4/4/2018) 25 pages - “This publication examines the Violence Against Women Act’s (“VAWA”), VAWA confidentiality protections under U.S. immigration laws contained in the statute at 8 U.S.C. § 1367 and 8 U.S.C. 1229(e). This memo first provides the full text of each of these provisions and goes on to address each of the three major protections that VAWA confidentiality provides. Next, for each protection this memo quotes the statute, provides legislative history, and quotes relevant portions of the congressionally mandated implementation policies issued by the Department of Homeland Security (“DHS”), Immigration and Customs Enforcement, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services and DHS’ predecessor agency the Immigration and Naturalization Service.”
• DHS Enforcement Priorities, Courthouse Enforcement and Sensitive Location Policies and Memoranda Information for State Court Judges (April 24, 2013; Updated March 31, 2018) [Bench card pdf] 8 Pages - “The purpose of this bench card is to inform state court judges about which immigrant litigants, parents and children appearing in proceedings do and do not fall within current immigration enforcement priorities set by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS). This information will help courts access the veracity of claims made in court about the effect that the immigration status of a litigant, party, or victim may or may not have on the case before the court.”
• Civil Immigration Enforcement Actions Inside Courthouses (January 10, 2018) 4 pages - “This Directive sets forth U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) policy regarding civil immigration enforcement actions inside federal, state, and local courthouses.”

B. Video:

• Immigrant Relief [4:54] – Provides an overview of the forms of immigration relief, specifically VAWA Confidentiality

• Access to Legal Immigration Status [4:33] – Discusses forms of immigration relief, specifically introduction to VAWA Self-Petitions and U-Visas.

• Intersection of Federal Immigration Law and State Court Obligations [7:46] – Provides an introduction to state court rolls and obligations, background, protections and remedies for immigrant crime victims; VAWA self-petitions, U Visas, and SIJS.

C. Webinar:

• Webinar 6, August 21, 2018: Impact of DHS Enforcement Priorities on Courts: VAWA Confidentiality and Custody - This webinar addresses the statutory limitations VAWA confidentiality places on immigration enforcement at courthouses with regard to immigrant DV victims participating in civil and family cases and being witnesses in criminal cases, and includes how Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) 2018 Courthouse Enforcement Policy and ICE immigration enforcement priorities impact state court cases involving immigrant DV victims.

DV-Immigration Resources Sections/Pages:

Back to DV-Immigration Resources Overview

II. New Mexico Specific Resources - This section/page provides New Mexico specific Guides and a video clip from the in-person conference discussing New Mexico Diversity.

III. Access to Justice/Procedural Fairness - This section/page provides resources pertaining to access to justice and procedural fairness.

IV. Cultural responsiveness - This section/page provides resources pertaining to Cultural responsiveness.

V. Language Access - This section/page provides resources pertaining to language access.

VI. DV-Immigration Dynamics: Abuse, Power & Control - This section/page provides resources pertaining to the dynamic intersection of DV-Immigration cases including information regarding abuse, power & control.

VII. Immigration Status & Myths - This section/page provides resources pertaining to Immigration status & myths regarding jurisdiction and custody.

VIII. Overview of Immigrant Protections & Relief -  This section/page provides resources pertaining to immigration protections, relief, and remedies

IX. Public Benefits - This section/page provides resources pertaining to public benefits available to immigrant DV victims.

X. State Court Actions: U-Visas & T-Visas - This section/page focuses on two types of immigrant protection and relief: U-Visa & T-Visas certification.

XI. State Court Actions: Special Immigrant Juvenile Status - This section/page focuses on Special Immigrant Juvenile Status (SIJS).

XII.  Civil Protection Orders - This section/page provides information on drafting jurisdictionally sound Protection orders.

XIII. Additional Information: Websites & Documents - This section/page provides links to DV-Immigration websites and additional documents.

This project was supported by Justice for Families Grant No. 2015-FJ-AX-0013 awarded by the Office on Violence Against Women, US Department of Justice. The opinions, findings, conclusions, and recommendations expressed in this program are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of the Department of Justice, Office on Violence Against Women.