The Violence Against Women Act & Immigration Fraud
Shortchanging True Victims & Trampling Civil Rights

Immigration marriage fraud has long been a problem. In 1986, Congress passed the Immigration Marriage Fraud Amendments (IMFA) to protect American citizens from marriage fraud and to protect the integrity of the US immigration system. But eight years later the Violence Against Women Act (VAWA) was enacted, a law that undermines the provisions of IMFA. Title VIII of VAWA addresses the needs of battered immigrants. The plight of abused immigrants should concern us all. But most people are unaware how Title VIII of VAWA is being used to allow and encourage immigration fraud.

The immigration provisions of VAWA allow a battered spouse to remain in the U.S. without the assistance of the citizen spouse. VAWA makes it more likely that false claims of abuse will be made. IMFA requires a two-year conditional status for foreign spouses before they become eligible for permanent residency. If the couple divorces within two years, the foreign spouse must depart the country. But VAWA enables foreign spouses to bypass the two-year marriage requirement by merely claiming to be a victim of abuse.

VAWA Facilitates Immigration Fraud
* Allows an immigrant to self-petition for a green card based on claims of domestic violence, without providing any hard proof of abuse
* Provides free legal services to immigrants who merely claim abuse
* Eliminates traditional standards of proof
* Requires only one-sided proof of abuse, such as a personal statement by the immigrant, or an Ex Parte Restraining Order which requires no evidence to receive
* Bans all evidence by the alleged abuser, even if it shows fraud or illegal behavior
* Labels a US citizen merely accused of abuse is classified as a "prohibited source"
* Assures the immigrant spouse that the citizen spouse cannot challenge the abuse claims
* Overrides deportation hearings when an immigrant claims to be a victim of spousal abuse
* Allows unlawful or illegal aliens, often with criminal backgrounds, to qualify for the self-petitioning process
* Removes any responsibility from the self-petitioner for bringing false claims of abuse
* Centralizes a decision-making body for all self-petitions to the Vermont Service Center, staffed with VAWA trained personnel acting under VAWA instructions
* VAWA provides NO safeguards to prevent or even deter an immigrant spouse from lying about spousal abuse

American Women Are Being Abused By VAWA
The Violence Against Women Act was originally passed in 1994 as national legislation to provide services to battered and abused women. Now, American women are having VAWA used against them by their immigrant spouses. VAWA has opened the door for a woman's immigrant spouse to bypass the immigration laws of the U.S. and all immigration fraud safeguards applicable to other immigrants by merely claiming to be a victim of abuse. Was this really the intention that was envisioned when the immigration provisions were added to VAWA?

Impact of False Claims
* Scarce social services resources are being diverted away from the true victims of domestic abuse
* These claims impose demands on limited law enforcement and criminal justice resources
* Widespread false allegations of abuse inevitably cast doubt on the validity of real victims' claims
* Current provisions allow an illegal immigrant to become legal by claiming abuse
* Immigrants who falsely claim abuse have more rights and protections than law-abiding citizens!
* Honest American citizens have been subjected to jail time because of an allegation of abuse
* Honest American citizens are having their parental rights taken away based on an allegation of abuse
* Honest American citizens are losing jobs because of complications caused by allegations of abuse
* Honest Americans are being subjected to unfounded allegations of abuse that have led to emotional and financial ruin
* According to a report by SAVE, VAWA funded immigration fraud costs US taxpayers $170 million per year(1)
* The lack of resistance in obtaining a green card via VAWA based self-petitions creates opportunities for criminals and terrorists and puts Americans at risk(2)
The Need For Reform
The most fundamental principle of the American criminal justice system is the right to due process. A recently-released report reveals our nation's domestic violence laws are shredding the fundamental civil liberties of American citizens.(3) Each year, 2 million Americans have their fundamental civil rights violated by domestic violence laws. As the Washington Civil Rights Council puts it, domestic violence laws now represent the "Biggest civil rights roll-back since Jim Crow era."(4) Under VAWA immigration provisions, an American citizen accused of partner abuse has no legal standing to refute the claims of the immigrant spouse with the U.S. government. Even though a citizen may be found innocent of spousal abuse in state court, the U.S. government considers him/her a spousal abuser.

Safeguards need to be added so true abuse victims are protected without taking away the rights of an alleged abuser. Due process includes providing every American citizen the opportunity to refute a false allegation of spousal abuse, wherever that claim may be made. It is clear that the current system is flawed and needs significant reforms. Immigration provisions within VAWA are compromising the integrity of the U.S. immigration system. Voice of American Immigration Fraud Victims has a plan for the changes that must be included in the next re-authorization of the Violence Against Women Act. We are not advocating a repeal of VAWA, nor are we looking to take away an immigrant's ability to file a self-petition when confronted with an abusive relationship. We simply want to restore due process. We want to remove the incentive to make false allegations of abuse. We want to close the immigration loophole that VAWA has opened. We want to improve the integrity of the US immigration system. We want to help make our country safer from the threat of terrorism.

For information regarding our proposed changes, please contact us:

Voice of American Immigration Fraud Victims
P.O. Box 1404
Rockville, MD 20849
www.immigrationfraudvictims.com
info@immigrationfraudvictims.us

(1) SAVE. VAWA-Funded Immigration Fraud Costs American Taxpayers $170 Million a Year. Rockville, MD 2010.
http://www.saveservices.org/downloads/VAWA-Funded-Immigration-Fraud
(2) Center For Immigration Studies. Hello, I Love You, Won't You Tell Me Your Name: Inside the Green Card Marriage Phenomenon.
http://cis.org/marriagefraud
(3) SAVE. Assaulting our rights: How domestic violence laws curtail our fundamental freedoms. Rockville, MD 2010.
http://www.saveservices.org/downloads/SAVE-Assault-Civil-Rights
(4) Mankey M. Biggest civil rights roll-back since Jim Crow era. Seattle Herald Net. October 13, 2009