Promotora helps victims of domestic violence

Intermountain Catholic

+ Enlarge

Maribel Real receives the Peace on Earth Courage Award from Alissa Black of the Salt Lake Area Domestic Violence Council. IC photo courtesy of Holy Cross Ministries

SALT LAKE CITY — Maribel Real is helping women and children who have suffered from domestic violence put their lives back together and move forward. Real is the promotora director for Holy Cross Ministries. Real received the Peace on Earth Courage Award from the Salt Lake Domestic Violence Coalition Oct. 25.

"Through Maribel’s assistance with the U-Visa program, there is a light at the end of the tunnel," said Holy Cross Sister Suzanne Brennan, director of Holy Cross Ministries. "Maribel takes affidavits, files many forms, and listens with compassion and empathy, which gives support and confidence to these victims. Their response to her is always ‘Gracias, you have given me hope and the chance to make a good life for my children and me.’"

Holy Cross Ministries has been serving undocumented women in domestic abuse situations since 2003. The U-Visa program falls under the regulations issued by the Federal Government for the Violence Against Women Act (VAWA).

Real said even though Congress passed the U-Visa law in the year 2000, the Federal Government did not publish regulations for this program until Sept. 17, 2007, and they did not go into effect until Oct. 17.

"We have 500 open cases, and to help these women before the regulations were in place, Holy Cross Ministries pulled these cases together and filed them to get interim relief for these women," said Real. "Because they were granted interim relief, they were granted work authorization and could legally work in this country until the process could be completed. But as of Oct. 17, regulations were published. Now all 500 of these cases that have interim relief have to be filed under the new regulations, and that is what we are in the process of doing."

Real said the U-Visa law helps undocumented victims of violent crimes come forward so they do not have the fear of deportation or fear of the perpetrator. When many of these women give their declaration, they tell you after they fled their perpetrator several times, they always had to return because they were afraid of being deported and were afraid of losing their children or not being able to feed their children.

The U-Visa program allows victims to get away from perpetrators and work legally in this country. It is a significant opportunity for these women to reclaim their rights and dignity. After three years of having the U-Visa, they can start a process for lawful permanent residence. They can continue and eventually seek citizenship.

Through the U-Visa program, women are able to find better paying jobs, and jobs that offer health insurance for themselves and their children.

Real will have had 180 days to file the 500 cases under the new regulations, or from Oct. 17, 2007 to April 14, 2008.

"We have some cases that were initially approved many years ago," said Real. "If these 500 cases are filed and approved during the 180 days, the older cases will be able to count that first approval date as if they had a U-Visa. It will be retroactive, and they will be able to adjust their status that much sooner. So it is important for us to get these cases in on time."

Real said they receive phone calls every day from more victims, and the new cases are being deferred until January. Real and Holy Cross Ministries have been in contact with victim advocates, domestic violence shelters, the Rape Crisis Center, and police departments to let them know of their situation with the U-Visa project. Holy Cross Ministries is not closing their doors to new clients, they are just putting them off to get the 500 cases filed.

"People have been understanding," said Real. "A month can be a long time to wait, but they know they will be served. One of the things that has held us back is we are having to file them by hand right now. The company that is developing the software does not have it ready yet.

"We are filing by hand those cases that take priority," said Real. "They are the cases in which an undocumented victim files. This automatically qualifies the victim’s children if they are under 21 years of age and unmarried for the U-Visa program. We actually have three cases in which the children will be 21 by mid-December. If their cases are not filed on time, the child will age-out, and not be included in the U-Visa program, and be subject to deportation."

Real said there are also cases in which a victim is a child of other crimes, such as rape, homicide, man-slaughter, kidnapping, other sexual assaults, or trafficking. In situations where a child is a victim of a homicide, the parents or siblings qualify if the children are under the age of 18 and undocumented. They qualify as long as they have cooperated with law enforcement agents or the prosecuting attorneys during the investigation.

Some of these victims either live in substandard conditions, or have nowhere to live, Real said. Many of the victims are referred from domestic violence shelters. They are homeless as a result of fleeing with only the clothes on their backs. A lot of the victims already living in apartments are doubling up with other families making the situation quite difficult. When they flee and go with other families, it is likely the perpetrator knows where they are hiding.

"Even though they will receive their U-Visa, many of them will continue to live in hiding from these perpetrators," said Real. "Some live in other states in fear for their lives. They almost all have protective orders against their perpetrators, but they remain living in fear. Many times, but not always, the perpetrator will have been deported. But the perpetrators can always find a way back and often wants to seek revenge. If this happens, they can contact us, and we will contact the police. Then the perpetrator will serve time in jail or be deported.

Real said this is a long and tedious process, but something that is vitally important and needs to be done to improve the quality of so many lives.