SAD AND TRAUMATIC EXPERIENCE OF A BATTERED WIFE...

[jego ryu 0]

A License To Abuse:
The Impact of Conditional Status on Female Immigrants
by Michelle J. Anderson
Maria was born in the Dominican Republic. She married a United States citizen, immigrated to this country, and obtained "conditional" resident immigration status, which enabled her to remain legally in the United States provided that she stay wedded to her spouse. Soon afterward, her husband began to brutalize her physically. "One time I had eight stitches in my head and a gash on the other side of my head, and he broke my ribs.... He would bash my head against the wall while we had sex. He kept threatening to kill me if I told the doctor what happened."⁽¹⁾ Afraid of the risk of deportation, Maria endured her husband's treatment for months. After she finally fled, her spouse demanded that she return to his apartment for her immigration documents. At first, she told him, "No, you're going to hit me." But then she realized that she had to go because she needed the papers. She described the consequences: "He beat me on the head. He sat on my stomach. He put a knife to my throat and raped me. Then he threw me naked on the street."⁽²⁾

Sue,⁽³⁾ a Chinese -national, immigrated and obtained conditional residency after marrying a U.S. citizen. Like Maria, Sue had to remain married to maintain her legal immigration status. Unfortunately, the similarities did not end there. Sue's husband repeatedly beat her. "You do exactly what I say, or I'll call Immigration," her husband warned, kicking her in the neck and face. "You need me." Sue feared she would not live. "Her story is typical of the battered immigrant women we see," explains Beckie Masaki, Executive Director of San Francisco's Asian Women's Shelter. "The batterer uses his citizenship to control and humiliate his wife."^{<A href="http://www.nostatusquo.com/ACLU/anderson/brides/pg1.html#FOOTNOTE%204">(4)} Pat Eng, founder of the New York Asian Women's Center, concurs, "Batterers invariably use[ ] the threat of deportation as a weapon in the abuse of their alien wives."http://' target="_blank">⁽⁵

[CarolynRitesh 0]

That is just disgusting!! Are women (or men for that matter) made aware of their rights when they immigrate? Even if there are cases where some women use the system to do immigration fraud by claiming abuse when there is none, there should be something that makes the law very clear for all immigrants.

[jego ryu 0]

WHO YOU GONA BLAME WITH THIS.....