Speech #1040203625

During one particularly bad incident of abuse. a neighbor became aware of what was going on and gave Guadalupe a shelter number. She moved to the shelter. Since neither Guadalupe nor her children have INS documentation. they were ineligible for public assistance and Guadalupe could not work because she doesnt have a green card. They were totally economically dependent on Jose. She moved back In with him out of economic necessity and the abuse continued to escalate. Jose earned $2.000 a month. and yet his children suffer from malnutrition since he doesnt give Guadalupe any money to buy food. Jose repeatedly threatens to have Guadalupe and the children deported. If Guadalupe had been eligible to receive some assistance right away. it might have been possible for her to start a new. safe. and secure life for herself and her children. This amendment would give Guadalupe and other women in similar. desperate circuntances. a chance at breaking free from abusive relationships and starting a safer life. The second amendment accepted by the managers would protect battered women. also In the circumstance of needing some assistance. from being deported for being a "public charge." that is to say. for temporarily relying on public assistance to escape the violence. In order to be granted suspension of deportation under the Violence Against Women Act. battered women must overcome two tests: First. she must prove that she is eligible for suspension of deportation under the Violence Against Women Act. To do so she must prove: That she has been battered or the subject of extreme cruelty in the United States by a U.S. citizen or lawful permanent resident spouse. That she has a valid marriage. That she is of good moral character. and That her deportation would cause extreme hardship. Second. once she has proven this. the judge could still exercise judicial discretion and deport her regardless of her VAWA eligibility because she relied on public benefits in an effort to escape her abuse. Under this bill. any legal immigrant who receives any meanstested Federal or State assistance for an aggregate of 12 months during her first 5 years in the United States Is deportable as a public charge. For these purposes. meanstested Federal or State assistance programs include things like. if she got a Pell grant. in order to further her education and make It possible to get a better job to provide for herself and her children. A battered woman could also be deported for being a "public charge" if she enrolled a child in Head Start or any similar meanstested program. This standard has the effect of punishing people who are availing themselves of programs that are there to help make them selfsufficient. Realistically. battered women often need to rely on public assistance to escape their violent surroundings. My second amendment. like the House bill. would allow battered women to be eligible for the same discreet set of government assistance programs that require means testing. those that I listed in conjunction with my last amendment. for 4 years without being considered a public charge. A 4year time period was selected because research has shown that half of women on public assistance are off of assistance within 4 years. This amendment would provide an exception to the provision in the Senate bill that would make such a woman deportable. Keep in mind that the decision to leave an abusive relationship is not an easy one. When a woman leaves she knows that two things will happen immediatelyshe. and if she is a mother. her children. will become homeless and they will likey lose all of their economic resource.