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Socorro Serves Immigrant Women
Immigrant women in abusive relationships with a U.S. citizen or Lawful Permanent Resident spouse face numerous hurtles which usually leave them trapped in the relationship. The women may not be able to end the relationship because of language barriers, social isolation, lack of financial resources to provide for even the most basic of human needs such as food, lack of knowledge of the penalties and protections of the U.S. legal system, and their precarious immigration status.
In the United States, under the Immigration and Nationality Act, a U.S. citizen or Lawful Permanent Resident can, but is not required to, apply for their spouse to obtain the legal immigration status to which they are qualified through the marriage. Furthermore, should a U.S. citizen or permanent resident choose to apply for their spouse, they can, at any time prior to the issuance of the permanent resident visa, revoke their petition.
This legal arrangement can become a tool for abuse by giving the U.S. citizen or permanent resident the power to keep their spouse in a state of perpetual fear of deportation. It very often keeps immigrant women in abusive, violent relationships. Many women fear seeking help from shelters or fear leaving the abusive relationship because the abusive spouse has threatened them with deportation, which could include a permanent separation from her children. Instead, the women remain in the abusive situation, living in fear for their lives.
Legal representation significantly improves an immigrant women's ability to obtain effective legal remedies. Socorro's goal is to increase access to legal representation for immigrant women and children in both rural and urban areas of Colorado.
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