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Deportation Threat Keeps Many Battered Women Silent by Diana Washington Valdez Nearly a third of cases of the El Paso advocacy organizations that work with immigrants involve some form of abuse, said Aaron Hernandez, community relations manager for the Center Against Family Violence. "We don't ask the immigration status of clients, but it's estimated that 30 percent of clients of agencies that work with immigrants have issues of domestic violence," Hernandez said. He said that the center provided shelter for 935 abused adults and children during the 2004 fiscal year, which began Sept. 1, 2003, and ended Aug. 31, 2004. Ruth and five other women, who asked that their full names not be used, described feelings of being powerless, of humiliation and of fear at the hands of partners and spouses who were U.S. citizens or legal U.S. residents. Ruth and the others were undocumented immigrants because their visas had expired or because their partners had not submitted the paperwork required to legalize their status.
"He beat me, he screamed at me, and called me a mojada (wetback)," said Ruth, a woman who was frightened into silence once more after a sheriff's deputy showed up with Border Patrol agents. "My (common-law) spouse told me that immigration would deport me and that the police would take me away. When the police showed up one time with la migra (immigration), I told them through my tears that everything was fine, that my husband had only scolded me. I denied the abuse because I was afraid of being separated from my children." El Paso Sheriff's Capt. Ralph Mitchell said it's not common for deputies to rely on Border Patrol agents for backup when they respond to family disturbance calls. He also said it is not policy to ask suspected abuse victims for their citizenship status. The sheriff's office received 1,003 family disturbance calls last year, and 400 became investigations. Magali, 44, who also did not want her last name used, said she found refuge and hope through the Center Against Family Violence, one of several organizations that assists abused family members with shelter or referrals. Abused women and their children can see a therapist and receive information about social services. "Women like me need to be aware that this kind of help exists," said Magali, who married a naturalized U.S. citizen from a country other than Mexico. She found the strength to seek help after deciding she needed to spare her daughter the home's abusive environment. "My husband kept me isolated from everyone and everything. I didn't even have the right to watch what I wanted on television and had no access to information," Magali said. "The only reason we had a phone was so he could keep tabs on me constantly. He controlled my every movement, even within the house, and he always threatened to have me deported. When I married him, I left behind a career and a life of financial independence. He seemed like a good man at first, but he changed shortly after the marriage." One of the worst cases of immigrant abuse by a U.S. spouse involved a U.S. immigration inspector who met his wife at one of the El Paso international bridges, said Ouisa Davis, executive director of the Diocesan Migrant and Refugee Services. "The abuse began on the wedding night. Because he was an immigration officer, he had all her information about where she lived and how to find her relatives," said Davis, whose office assists undocumented immigrant abuse victims in a variety of ways. "He had a gun during one of the incidents. She had crossed the border as a visitor, and at one point, he began retaliating against her family -- people who had (legal) visas -- by putting them in deportation proceedings. She finally got away from him when she went to the police. But they refused to prosecute him, and he kept his job. He transferred out of the area." Another case, Davis recalled, involved a suspected U.S. drug dealer who kidnapped a 15-year-old girl from Ojinaga, across the border from Presidio, Texas, where he lived. "She ran away back to her family, but he knew where to find her and brought her back. He kept her locked up in his mother's house and raped and beat her." Davis said the man was prosecuted and received a lengthy prison sentence. Under a 1994 law, the Violence Against Women Act, U.S. immigration authorities can process a petition for legal residency without the knowledge or cooperation of abusive spouses. In fact, spouses may have no idea their wives have filed a petition, and some women elect to wait it out with the spouses until their paperwork goes through the process, which can take from one to four years. While the process is pending, the women may work in the United States and cannot be deported. Hernandez and Davis said culture and generational family violence also serve to keep women trapped in abusive relationships. Susan, another undocumented immigrant who sought help, said other Mexican relatives told her "this is your cross to bear" and "he is the father of your children." Susan said, "My mother said she had put up with more than I had for the sake of me and my siblings." Another woman, Blanca, said her partner kept putting off her immigration paperwork, which he used to control her. "I loved him very much, but I finally left him. I wasn't going to wait around for him to kill me," she said. Maria, another abuse victim, said she told a pastor about her situation, and he helped encourage her to leave. "The pastor told me that I didn't have to put up with it, and that this was a free country," she said. "Today, I see a light of hope. It is possible for me to have a new life." Socorro Cordova, spokeswoman for the Mexican consulate's office in El Paso, said the consulate also assists families in the region who are trying to escape abusive relationships. "We see these kinds of cases each year, and we treat them with great sensitivity," she said. "We can provide families with resource information, and if necessary, contact authorities to protect them against further violence." It's difficult to tell how many people in the El Paso region are undocumented immigrants. About five years ago, U.S. officials and nongovernmental organizations estimated that as many as 15,000 residents were undocumented. Washington Bureau reporter Sergio Bustos contributed to this story.; Diana Washington Valdez may be reached at dvaldez@elpasotimes.com 546-6140. |
