Protect Immigrant Victims and Witnesses to Crimes

Progressive leaders can ally with both law enforcement and victims' rights groups by promoting policies that protect immigrant victims of crime when they contact the police, and by encouraging community policing efforts in immigrant communities.  

Even as some states and local communities have promoted local law enforcement to enforce federal immigration laws, other states and communities have instead encouraged victims and witnesses of crime, particularly those suffering from domestic violence, to come forward without fear of police inquiry into their immigration status.

• In 2008, the Virginia legislature introduced two bills, SB 441 and HB 307, prohibiting law enforcement officers from inquiring into the immigration status of any person who reports being a victim or witness of a crime.
• Rhode Island's proposed HB 7967 offered similar protections for immigrant victims and witnesses, but also prohibits local law enforcement from entering into any agreements to enforce federal immigration laws. SB 2237 would add a requirement that officers maintain confidentiality if an immigrant's status is known, and requires training and cooperation with community organizations to implement the law.
• California and Hawaii both proposed bills focusing on protecting immigrant victims of domestic violence.  California AJR 42 urges the U.S. Congress not to change the current policy allowing immigrant victims to pursue permanent resident status.  Hawaii HB 2140 requires the state Department of Human Services to establish a pilot program to assist undocumented immigrant victims.
• New Jersey's Attorney General Anne Milgram issued an August 22, 2007 directive to law enforcement officers, prohibiting officers from inquiring about or investigating the immigration status of any victim, witness, or person requesting assistance from the police. The directive also prohibits racial profiling.

See also:      

• Letter to Congress from the National Network to End Violence Against Immigrant Women. Describing the impact that REAL ID will have on battered women
• National Immigration Project, Noncitizen Survivors of Domestic Violence, including Local Police Enforcement of Immigration Laws and Its Effects on Victims of Domestic Violence
• Violence Against Women Network, Somewhere to Turn: Making Domestic Violence Services Accessible to Battered Immigrant Women, A 'How To' Manual For Battered Women's Advocates and Service Providers
• Electronic Privacy Information Center, REAL ID and Domestic Violence