Dissertation
The relationship between the undocumented immigrant battered Latina and U.S. immigration policy: "I feel at peace here, I don't want to leave"
Washington State University
Doctor of Philosophy (PhD), Washington State University
05/2010
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.7273/000006094
Abstract
In the United States currently 10% of all women are immigrants. Within this category are women who reside in the country in an undocumented immigrant status. This illegitimate status places these women in a precarious position of dependence on their spouse or partner. Federal immigration laws facilitate this dependence by mandating the filing of immigration petitions by the documented spouse, a process which allows them to become the immigrant's "sponsor." At this point, the immigrants in question lose complete control over their immigration filing status because the "sponsor" can decide when to file or withdraw a petition. For an immigrant woman who is also being abused, the result becomes a choice between enduring intimate partner violence (IPV) or facing deportation. Thus, the lives of this subset of "hidden" women are placed in jeopardy by the epidemic of IPV that permeates much of our society. Legislative changes in the 1990s pushed public officials to recognize the patriarchal origins of the law and create relief for immigrant battered women. This reprieve was short-lived however and mostly due to the aftermath of September 11, 2001 further changes were made in regards to US immigration enforcement policy and the active employment of local law enforcement in federal immigration law enforcement. This project looks specifically at immigrant battered Latinas and will directly address the following research questions: (1) does the fear of possible deportation negatively influence the undocumented battered Latina's decision to contact the police or other community agencies? (2) does undocumented immigration status place battered Latinas in continuing exposure to further victimization? and (3) what impact, if any, exists on the safety of undocumented battered Latinas when local police agencies participate in federal immigration enforcement. In particular, does the department's immigration enforcement participation influence the decisions made by battered immigrants? Understanding when and why an abused immigrant woman will seek help from law enforcement will educate policy makers on how new immigration enforcement policies can influence the victims of abuse. This study will help legislators, law enforcement officials, and women's advocacy agencies to understand how to keep women and children safe while holding offenders accountable.
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Details
- Title
- The relationship between the undocumented immigrant battered Latina and U.S. immigration policy
- Creators
- Denise L. Mowder
- Contributors
- Faith Lutze (Chair)Otwin Marenin (Committee Member) - Washington State University, Department of Criminal Justice and CriminologyNicholas P Lovrich (Committee Member)
- Awarding Institution
- Washington State University
- Academic Unit
- Department of Criminal Justice and Criminology
- Theses and Dissertations
- Doctor of Philosophy (PhD), Washington State University
- Publisher
- Washington State University
- Number of pages
- 143
- Identifiers
- 99901055022901842
- Language
- English
- Resource Type
- Dissertation