JUSTICE AND SAFETY FOR IMMIGRANT SURVIVORS
JUSTICE AND SAFETY FOR IMMIGRANT SURVIVORS
Congress just passed the harmful reconciliation package which ramps up extreme funding levels for immigration enforcement, establishes new financial penalties on humanitarian immigration protections, and cuts off critical safety net programs for asylees, refugees, as well as survivors of domestic violence and human trafficking.
By pouring billions of dollars to immigration detention – including the detention of families – and imposing unprecedented fees on women, children, and families seeking humanitarian protection, while cutting off access to health care for survivors, Congress has inflicted deep and lasting harm – choosing an agenda of cruelty over an agenda of safety and justice and for all.
See statements by leadership at the AIS Co-Chair organizations.
On June 18, 2025, AIS released the results of a nationwide survey of advocates and attorneys assessing how changes to federal immigration policies are impacting the help seeking behaviors of immigrant survivors, including their willingness to engage with law enforcement when they are a victim of a crime. What we heard was clear and alarming: immigrant survivors are more afraid than ever to seek help from the police or the courts.
One of the stark findings reveals that 76 percent of advocates reported that immigrant survivors have concerns about contacting the police to report domestic violence and sexual assault. “Most of the immigrant survivors that I currently work with are fearful to leave their homes, drive, or be in public spaces as these are all ways that they could be picked up by ICE,” said one advocate in the survey.
This administration’s call for increased militarization of law enforcement and retribution against cities and states with sanctuary policies comes on the heels of increased threats to services and protections for survivors of domestic and gender-based violence, putting immigrant survivors and their families at risk of falling through the cracks.
Immigrant survivors know that this is not what safety looks like. Safety means being protected from harm and is rooted in ensuring survivors have the support they need.
Safety is not accomplished by attacking sanctuary jurisdictions that choose to build community trust with local law enforcement or by ramping up increasingly aggressive and militarized policing methods.
Safety means access for all, because when one survivor fears asking for help, all communities become less safe.
We are rooted in survivor centered and survivor led principles of advocacy. In this moment, that means trusting Jennifer Vasquez Sura, wife of Kilmar Ábrego Garcia, to make the best decisions for herself and her family and to follow her lead.
She has made her position clear. She wants her husband home.
The administration has weaponized a decision made by Jennifer Vasquez Sura to seek a temporary protection order in 2021 in order to justify her husband’s illegal kidnapping and indefinite incarceration. Nothing in Kilmar Ábrego Garcia’s history gives the government permission or an excuse to violate his right to due process or legitimize his illegal removal from the U.S.
Let us be clear: Our movement does not advocate for the erosion of due process or the mass expulsion of immigrants as a solution to violence against women in this country. This is not what makes communities safer.
ALERT: VAWA, U and T visa programs have NOT been cancelled or terminated! These bipartisan protections were created by Congress and the Administration cannot unilaterally take them away. While there is news that ICE has changed its guidance on enforcement actions related to potential or actual beneficiaries of victim-based benefits, we want to be VERY clear that the VAWA, U and T visa programs have NOT been cancelled or terminated. Please consult with a trusted immigration attorney in your area with any questions. You can find a qualified immigration attorney at the National Immigration Legal Services Directory. AIS will put out more information on this guidance soon.
ALERTA: ¡Los programas de visa VAWA, U y T NO han sido cancelados ni eliminados! Estas protecciones bipartidistas fueron creadas por el Congreso y la Administración no puede eliminarlas unilateralmente. Aunque hay noticias de que ICE ha cambiado su orientación sobre las acciones de cumplimiento relacionadas con posibles o actuales beneficiarios de programas de ayuda a víctimas, queremos dejar MUY claro que los programas de visa VAWA, U y T NO han sido cancelados ni eliminados. Consulte con un abogado de inmigración de confianza en su área si tiene preguntas. Puede encontrar un abogado calificado en el National Immigration Legal Services Directory. AIS publicará más información sobre esta nueva orientación pronto.