CHC ON VAWA REAUTHORIZATION
Washington D.C.: Today, CHC Chairman Charles A. Gonzalez (TX-20) and members of the CHC released the following statements urging their House colleagues to oppose the Cantor/Adams bill, which would repeal protections for battered immigrant women.
The Cantor/Adams bill marks the first time that a major VAWA bill was drafted without input from the service providers, law enforcement agencies and prosecutors on the front lines. The result of this hasty, partisan process is a bill that misunderstands immigration law and almost seems designed to delay or deny protection to many vulnerable victims. The Cantor/Adams bill would create an even more dangerous environment for immigrant women, by allowing abusers to use status as a mode of manipulation, denying victims the ability to apply for a green card and by harshly punishing victims who may make paperwork errors due to language difficulty.
The House Judiciary Committee considered the Cantor/Adams bill in a markup hearing this afternoon.
CHC Chairman Charles A. Gonzalez (TX-20): “Since VAWA’s first enactment in 1994, it has received wide bipartisan support. It is very disappointing to see how reauthorizing the Violence Against Women Act has taken a political turn and that legislators insist on dehumanizing immigrants. It is vital that we recognize the dignity of all people and that we protect the rights of all women who become victims of domestic violence, sexual assault, stalking, human trafficking and rape.
“Immigration provisions in VAWA are not new, but they must be strengthen and maintained to help as many victims as possible. A fourth of all Latinas in the United States will experience Intimate Partner Violence (IPV) but they are only half as likely to report such abuse to authorities. We must continue our responsibility to facilitate their access to services by removing barriers.”
Rep. José E. Serrano (NY-16): “The rights of women should not be curtailed based on their immigration status. No woman, no matter what her status, should live in fear and not be able to contact authorities for help. We should encourage all women who are being abused to step forward with the confidence that they will be protected. The Republican bill fails this basic test by removing important protections for immigrant women and should be opposed.”
Rep. Ed Pastor (AZ-4): "I am concerned that the Cantor/Adams bill would put power back into the hands of abusers who batter women and use their lack of immigration status to instill more fear into their lives. The bill waters down protections for victims, putting more women at risk. We cannot support this measure and need to work towards bipartisan legislation that truly protects women from abuse."
Rep. Luis V. Gutierrez (IL-04): “This is yet another example of Republicans trying to solve problems we don't have by creating problems we don't want to have. Why can't Republicans offer bills to reauthorize programs that work without adding anti-woman or anti-immigrant provisions that will make it work less well? We need to reauthorize VAWA without re-victimizing the survivors of abuse and discouraging others from seeking help in the first place.”
Rep. Raúl M. Grijalva (AZ-07): “Ending violence against women shouldn’t be controversial. Whether they live in tribal or urban areas, whether they are U.S. citizens or not, whether they speak English or another language, all women deserve the chance to live free of violence. This was true the last time we passed the Violence Against Women Act and it’s true today. There is a national consensus that our society will not tolerate violence against women. I ask my Republican colleagues to explain whether they’ll join the rest of the country in protecting all women equally or continue to pretend that some violence doesn’t deserve to be prosecuted.”
Rep. Linda T. Sánchez (CA-39): “Having seen the human face of domestic abuse at women’s shelters in my district, I know that our nation’s women deserve a law with strong protections for victims of domestic violence. These protections are for all women, regardless of immigration status. We should be doing all that we can to prevent victims from further danger, not creating more hurdles for them and making it easier for their abusers to escape prosecution. I urge my Republican colleagues to accept the sensible, bipartisan Violence Against Women Act passed by the Senate.”
Rep. Pedro Pierluisi (Puerto Rico): “I must say, it is difficult to avoid the conclusion that my colleagues on the other side of the aisle are so blinded by their anti-immigrant animus that they are willing to abandon what I know to be a genuine commitment on their part to aiding victims of serious crimes and to giving law enforcement the tools they need to investigate and prosecute those crimes. I hope they will reconsider their position.”