Ana Bertha Arellano, who runs her own Sacramento restaurant and cleans offices all
night as a janitor, fears a change in policy would destroy the safe life she's been
struggling to build for herself and her children. Without that protection, Arellano
could end deported by the same U.S. officials who agreed to shelter her from abuse
six years ago and legally stay her on a special provisional visa. "I have my own
health insurance. I don't take any aid for anything. I don't want anything else but
a chance to have some stability for my family," said Arellano, 37, one of the
thousands of immigrants, many mothers of U.S.-born children, who could be affected
if the policy shifts. Today, Arellano's fear is approaching panic. With the new policy pending, her green-card request has been put on hold at the Sacramento office of Citizenship and
Immigration Services, a branch of Homeland Security. Although the agency declined to
reveal details, it is considering whether to reject green-card petitions for
immigrant abuse survivors if they entered the United States in the past illegally,
according to Sharon Rummery, San Francisco-based spokeswoman for Citizenship
Services.

Since 1994, more than 30,670 immigrants married to U.S. spouses have been granted Violence Against Women Act visas. Across the country, lawyers and others representing these immigrants are reporting that green-card bids are in limbo, said Ellen Kemp, coordinator of the National Lawyers Guild's Immigration Project in Boston.Beth Hassett, executive director of Women Escaping a Violent Environment, which counsels battered women in Sacramento County, predicted that a hard-line policy will cause immigrant women to remain in violent relationships if coming forward leaves them vulnerable to deportation. She said counselors often hear of abusive husbands threatening immigrant wives by saying they'll turn them over to immigration authorities.

Lyn Kirkconnell, a Catholic Charities legal aid worker in Stockton, said two of her clients' green-card bids are on hold. She has represented women from Asia, the Middle East, Russia, Mexico, Australia and Great Britain. "They can't go back to where they could be easily victimized by their abusers," she said. "We need clarification on this."

SOURCE: Weekly Feminist News/Sacramento Bee