Thread: Immigrant women stay trapped in unsafe situations

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Immigrant women stay trapped in unsafe situations
Posted by the Asbury Park Press on 10/4/06
Two men suddenly burst through the door. A woman is grabbed by the hair, thrown down and assaulted. Tiny fingers shake and clench to the living room curtain in fear. A 4-year-old girl stands hiding behind the drapes and watches in horror while her mother is attacked.

Where would such an atrocity occur? The rebellion in Darfur? The genocide in Rwanda? No, right here in our back yard, to an illegal immigrant in Lakewood.

Why wasn't the attack reported on the front page of our local newspaper? Were the perpetrators caught? Like so many of the attacks that occur to illegal immigrants in our society today, it was never reported to the police. How did I learn of the event? It was told to me by the victim's aunt in the waiting room of a clinic. To my astonishment, this immigrant is not alone.

Many immigrant women, whether legal or illegal, have found themselves in unsafe situations. So many that in 1994 Congress enacted special protection for immigrants. The Violence Against Women Act attempted to protect immigrants abused by their U.S. citizen sponsors or others.

As the years have passed, the number of immigrant women entering this country has increased. Some have come into this country willingly, others unwillingly. Regardless of how they entered, social opinion is not in their favor. Struggling with English, many have not been afforded the dignity and compassion many of us take for granted in this country.

Some illegal immigrants did not want to come here in the first place. These women had to follow their husbands. Too often, they have found themselves in a position of being alone in a new country with an abusive husband but no familial support. It has been reported that they stay in abusive relationships to avoid losing their children if they are deported or lose their residency.

With the constant fear of deportation hanging over their heads, it is difficult for immigrants to report domestic abuse or any crime to the appropriate authorities. If shelters, clinics and churches do not inform victims they will not be deported, many will not seek the help they so desperately need. Many voices, whether legal or illegal, fall silent.

Unfortunately throughout the current immigration debate, little attention has been paid to immigrant women who are battered. There has been so much discussion about civil rights, whether illegal immigrants should be granted minimum wage, should illegal immigrants be allowed to stay, or shall they be deported, etc. I fear human rights are slipping between the cracks.

Even more alarming, I've noticed a social divide in many of the conversations concerning immigration. Illegal immigrants are referred to as "them" and "us" tends to be defined as native-born U.S. citizens. Legal immigrants fall into one of these two categories, depending on how the speaker categorizes them. If we look back at the genocides of the last century (Nazi Germany and Rwanda), they began with those types of generalizations that spur segregation and hatred. These reflect a dehumanized view of a group of people.

Some charities and nonprofit organizations choose not to aid illegal immigrants. Others refuse to promote their programs for fear they may lose support or funding. I applaud the Diocese of Trenton and St. Joseph's Parish of Dover Township for approaching the immigration issues head on Oct. 1 and taking up a collection for those in need.

Whether injured by domestic violence, hate crimes or crimes of opportunity, immigrant women are entitled to basic human rights. As citizens of one of the most progressive states in this nation, it is our responsibility to make sure all people are protected against physical violence, sexual assault and forced labor regardless of religion, age, race, ethnic origin and citizenship. We must not refrain from giving to nonprofit organizations that help all immigrants.

Illegal immigration is no longer an occasional occurrence. It has become a social phenomenon. These women are here and some are suffering. So, do we turn our back on them just because they do not have the right paperwork? Or do we unite in solidarity to end practices that harm all people?

Mary Jo Egbert

DOVER TOWNSHIP

How did I learn of the event? It was told to me by the victim's aunt in the waiting room of a clinic. To my astonishment, this immigrant is not alone.

Well then I'll not be able to not believe the aunt.

Many immigrant women, whether legal or illegal, have found themselves in unsafe situations.

Like so many of the attacks that occur to illegal immigrants in our society today, it was never reported to the police.

Really?
I guess some aunts told you and then appeared before Congress?

Mary jo, scr*w them! They shouldn't be here in the first place! Illegals are illegals..they shouln't sneak in here and complain about maltreatment.

We have laws, whoever did that to her should be dealt with, so do illegal aliens.