Speech #1050171278

Mr. President. the Violence Against Women Act of 1994 included vital provisions to protect abused immigrant womenso they wouldnt have to choose to stay in an abusive marriage or be deported from America This has helped a relatively small number of battered womena few thousand each yearbut it was important that weon a bipartisan basistook this moral step. Since 1994. we have found other ways in which we in effect force women to remain in abusive marriages and rely on their abusive husbands for their immigration status. This amendment restores the protections of the original Violence Against Women Act in four key ways: By ensuring that battered women are included in the narrow immigration provision already included in this bill. By preventing the roughly 1500 women per year who complete the full process of proving that they are in fact battered from being deported solely because of some arbitrary limits. By allowing the Immigration and Naturalization Service to permit a battered woman to remain in the U.S. even though she has left the country for a brief periodprovided that she has an understandable reason (such as in the case of a woman who was literally taken to Mexico against her will). And by requiring the Immigration and Naturalization Service to give a battered woman an opportunity to prove that she was battered and eligible for Violence Against Women Act relief before deporting her under an order issued without her notice. This is an important amendmenteven though it will affect a modest number of battered women. I am pleased that this amendment is cosponsored by Senators ABRAHAM.