Protect the Safety and Privacy of Survivors of Gender-Based Violence

October 2020

On September 11, 2020,  the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) announced a proposed rule that poses significant privacy, confidentiality and safety implications for survivors, including immigrant survivors, of domestic and sexual violence, human trafficking, stalking, and other gender-based abuses.

VOICE YOUR OPPOSITION TODAY! The DHS rule is currently a proposal and not yet in effect, and the public has until 11:59 pm EDT on October 13 to submit comments. Join with AIS to lift your voice and  reveal the harmful impact this proposed rule will have on survivors of gender-based violence.

Thank you for supporting immigrant survivors!

WHAT WOULD THE RULE DO?

The changes in the proposed rule would, among other things:

  • Drastically increase the types of biometric information collected from those who interact with DHS, even U.S. Citizens, who are filing or associated with an immigration benefit, request, or enforcement, to include iris images, palm and voice prints, and DNA

  • Require biometrics information from VAWA Self-Petitioners and T visa holders applying for their green card as evidence of good moral character, who are currently not required to provide such information;

  • Broaden the ways in which DHS could use biometrics information, including for

    • Identity enrollment, verification, and management in the immigration lifecycle, and

    • Production of secure identity documents; and

  • Eliminate the presumption of good moral character for those under 14 years old who are seeking status as VAWA Self-Petitioners and T visa adjustment.

The collection of such extensive sensitive and identifying information stored in an online database that would be accessible by a wide range of people increases the risk of danger to survivors, especially in light of the frequency of personal data being compromised. Many survivors who flee from abusive or exploitative relationships may change certain information for their protection. However, biometrics information cannot be changed. Abusers and perpetrators of violence would then have an avenue to identify and track down survivors, placing their and their children’s lives at risk.

HOW TO SUBMIT YOUR COMMENT & COMMENT TEMPLATES

Alliance for Immigrant Survivors (AIS) and our partners have developed sample comment templates for you to use to draft your unique comment in opposition to the proposal. The administration is required by law to review and respond to every unique public comment they receive about the proposed regulation, so we strongly encourage you to personalize and modify the template to speak to your own experiences and perspective, as well as those of the survivors you work with.

  1. Download sample comment templates or visit click-to-comment sites:

    • Alliance for Immigrant Survivors Comment Template (We are grateful for the

      contributions of ASISTA, Asian Pacific Institute on Gender-based Violence (API-GBV), Tahirih Justice Center, the Coalition to Abolish Slavery and Trafficking (CAST) and Freedom Network USA to this comment)

    • CLINIC Click-to-Comment Template

    • Amnesty, NIPNLG, Open Society Justice Initiative Comment Template

  2. Edit comments as you wish to personalize them and make them unique to your organization’s mission and work. Some commenting tips:

    • The administration requires that all comments be submitted in English.

    • Ideally, your comments explain how this rule change will harm immigrant survivors, which could include you, your family, your clients, or your community.

    • If you do not want to include any personal information, a friend or representative can submit a comment for you.

  3. Submit your comments at this link by clicking on the blue “comment” button and uploading a pdf, which is what we strongly recommend to avoid loss of formatting,  particularly to preserve links to supporting materials that can be important to build a strong case against the rule.

  4. Contact us at info@immigrantsurvivors.org if you have any questions or problems.

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION AND RESOURCES

ORGANIZATIONAL COMMENTS