Gender Violence Survivors Seeking Asylum Need Our Protection

Hon. Judy H. Kluger

Last week, President Trump addressed the nation to warn of “a growing humanitarian and security crisis at our southern border.” His administration’s rhetoric and immigration policies are endangering the lives of survivors of gender violence. Read our statement.

On Tuesday night, President Trump used his address to the nation to argue for a border wall that he says will make our nation safer. Sanctuary for Families believes that the President’s statement failed to address the deep-rooted issues in our immigration system and instead, focused on policies that would further harm and endanger refugees and other vulnerable immigrants, including survivors of gender-based violence.

At Sanctuary, we work with gender violence survivors, 70% of whom are immigrants. Many are seeking asylum due to extreme intimate partner violence, female genital mutilation (FGM), and/or death threats they experienced in their home countries. Some have been tricked or forced into the U.S. by traffickers. Some come directly to New York. Others have been detained at the U.S.-Mexico border, itself dangerous and re-traumatizing, and eventually, make it to New York where organizations like Sanctuary can help.

For those currently stuck on the Mexican side of the border, however, the consequences can be deadly. Due to the Administration’s new metering system, thousands of adults and children, most of whom are seeking asylum, will have to wait weeks, even months, before making their plea for protection in the U.S. Sleeping on streets or in over-crowded migrant shelters, their desperation and fear only increase, and they become more vulnerable to the kind of violence they fled in the first place.

To be clear, seeking asylum at any of our borders is not illegal. Turning asylum seekers away, however, is a cruel violation of international law. We need policies that protect survivors of gender violence seeking refuge within our borders and provide clear pathways to legal status, not ones that scapegoat immigrant communities and use their lives as political tools. To these ends, Sanctuary is taking action.

Every day, Sanctuary provides free high-quality legal representation to ensure that immigrant gender violence survivors receive the committed advocacy they need to present their best case for immigration status. Here in New York, we advocate for State legislation to better protect our immigrant communities and deepen our partnerships with fellow immigration agencies. Across the country, we partner with advocates to push for a functional immigration system and rational border policy.

For over 30 years, Sanctuary has served survivors of gender violence regardless of immigration status. As we enter the New Year, we reaffirm our long-held commitment to our immigrant communities both here in New York and across the border. Thank you for standing with us.

Warmly,

Hon. Judy H. Kluger
Executive Director, Sanctuary for Families

 

Will you help us break the cycle of domestic violence?

Hon. Judy H. Kluger

October is Domestic Violence Awareness Month. Get involved and help us break the cycle of violence!

October is Domestic Violence Awareness Month (DVAM) and this year, we’re asking you to join our effort in breaking the intergenerational cycle of domestic violence.

Across the U.S. an estimated 15.5 million children are living in families where domestic violence was perpetrated in the last year. As witnesses and survivors of domestic violence themselves, many children bear acute trauma well into adulthood thus putting them at grave risk of repeating patterns of violence themselves both as abusers and as victims.

Over the course of the month of October, we’ll share over social media four ways you can help break the cycle of violence. If you aren’t already, follow us on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter for updates on our campaign.

In the meantime, here are a few ways you can take action:

Attend an event – show your solidarity and support survivors.

Volunteer with us – share your skills with survivors.

Donate to Sanctuary – support our lifesaving services.

Share on Facebook, Instagram & Twitter – raise awareness about domestic violence.

Wear purple on October 19th – Purple is the color of DVAM. Use it as a way to talk to others about why ending domestic violence is important to you.

Domestic violence is not just a women’s issue, it’s a human rights issue and in order to break the cycle of violence, we ALL must step up and speak out. I hope you will join us.

We stand with DREAMers and all immigrant survivors

Hon. Judy H. Kluger

Our statement on the Trump administration’s decision to rescind the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program.

On behalf of all of us at Sanctuary for Families, I am writing to express my profound disappointment at the Trump administration’s decision to terminate the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program (DACA).

Since its implementation in 2012, DACA has provided close to 800,000 young people who were brought to the U.S. as children with work authorization and temporary protection from deportation. The Trump administration’s decision to terminate the program in six months’ time and gamble the futures of these talented and ambitious young people is cruel, senseless, and strikes at the core of our values as an agency.

Over the last five years, Sanctuary’s Immigration Intervention Project (IIP) has assisted 127 clients with DACA status. 60 of these clients have received more permanent forms of immigration relief, but 67 remain in limbo. Our clients are both the children of gender violence survivors and young survivors themselves. Their families fled to the U.S. to escape pervasive poverty and gender-based violence. All are true survivors, showing great courage and resilience in the face of abuse, systemic discrimination, and injustice.

Watch our Q&A with IIP Deputy Director Carmen Maria Rey to learn more about what revoking DACA would mean for our clients >

Today, Sanctuary for Families reaffirms its commitment to immigrant survivors and families. In anticipation of DACA’s expiration this March, our immigration attorneys will be working double-time, prioritizing the cases of those dependent on DACA and looking for alternative forms of relief. Our agency will be working with community organizations and city and state officials to protect undocumented survivors and families in New York, but we know that will not be enough.

You can help. I hope that you will join me in contacting your representatives on both national and state levels and encouraging them to protect these vulnerable young people.

In solidarity,

Hon. Judy H. Kluger
Executive Director, Sanctuary for Families