Speech #1050169014

Mr. Speaker. in 1994. we passed the Violence Against Women Act (VAWA) with overwhelming support. VAWA contained provisions that were vital to the protection of abused immigrant women and children. We passed this legislation to ensure that abused spouses and children could flee violent homes. gain legal protections from ongoing violence. and cooperate in the criminal prosecution of their abusers. Prior to VAWA the system ensured that abusive U.S. citizens and permanent residents maintained complete control over the immigration status of their spouses. Battered women could not file for lawful permanent residency without the assistance of their abusive spouses. and many abusive spouses maintained this control by refusing to participate in the petitioning process. Having no other options. these abused immigrant women and their children were forced to stay in violent homes enduring abuse and unable to appeal to law enforcement agencies. shelters. or courts for protection. The immigration provisions of VAWA helped to solve these problems by giving battered immigrant women and their children some control over their own immigration status. VAWA created a selfpetitioning procedure for battered immigrants that did not require the cooperation of their abusive spouses. Selfpetitioners could acquire their green cards while remaining in the U.S. where our laws protected them. VAWA also allowed those abused immigrant women who had been placed in deportation proceedings to file for suspension of deportation. regardless of their