Immigrants often silent on family violence

Fernando Quintero, Rocky Mountain News

Saturday, September 2, 2006

Behind a locked front door with iron bars, in the safety of an upstairs room at a Denver domestic violence shelter, a half circle of women, mostly illegal immigrants, shared stories of desperation and terror.

Dalma recalled the day her husband came home from work, slapped her in the face and choked her in front of her 3-year-old daughter.

"He would go off for no apparent reason. He hit me because he didn't want our daughter sleeping in our bed, but I wanted her close to me," said Dalma, who would not give her last name because she is afraid federal authorities would find and deport her.

"I tried to call the police, but then he began choking me," she said while holding back tears.

Dalma, a native of Mexico, said she didn't try calling police again because her husband, a legal resident, threatened to call immigration officials. She also didn't think they would believe her, because her husband "had a convincing way of manipulating people and turning things around.

"I was afraid I would lose my daughter. I didn't want to be separated from her," she said.

Bertha Garza, a bilingual program manager at Safehouse shelter, said she is alarmed by the growing number of women who have come to her - and not police - for help.

"Is there underreporting of domestic violence? Absolutely," said Garza, who has been a counselor for nine years. "A lot of women that we're seeing are undocumented. In most instances, the husband or the boyfriend threatens them by telling them that if they call police, they will be taken away by immigration authorities. It's using immigration as emotional blackmail."

Dalma eventually found help through a social worker, who referred her to Safehouse. She filed for divorce and obtained a restraining order against her husband. But because she failed to report him to police, she does not qualify for a special visa for immigrant victims of domestic violence.

"As an undocumented woman, all the doors are closed to her," said Katie Garcia, a former counselor at Safehouse who ran the special sessions for immigrant women who are victims of domestic violence.

"Immigrant women often have little choice but to stay in abusive situations because often their husband or boyfriend is the sole provider, and they cannot qualify for financial assistance because of their immigration status," she said. "They don't qualify for TANF (welfare) or food stamps or housing. They're stuck."

Garza said many illegal immigrants don't know that recently passed Senate Bill 90, which requires law enforcement to report arrests of suspected illegal immigrants to federal authorities, exempts domestic violence cases.

More important, women immigrants often are unaware that they must report their abusers to police to qualify for a visa available to immigrant victims of physical or mental abuse who agree to assist authorities in investigating crimes.

The Victims of Trafficking and Violence Protection Act of 2000 allows eligible immigrants to live and work in the United States.

"One doesn't know the laws. There's so much insecurity. No one knows what is happening from one moment to the next," said Claudia, who also asked to use only her first name.

She, too, failed to qualify for legal status because she did not report the man she said raped and beat her.

"I can only hope that more women in our situations become informed about their options," she said.

The Latina Safehouse Initiative, a local effort to establish "culturally sensitive" services and a separate facility for victims of domestic abuse, will help more women like Dalma and Claudia.

Garcia said the initiative, which has received support from the Mexican consulate in Denver and church organizations, is still in the planning stages.

Where to call

• Victims of domestic violence can call the Safehouse Denver crisis line: 303-318-9989. Services are available for Spanish speakers.

quinterof@RockyMountainNews.com or 303-954-5250