Background: H.R. 2671, the Clear Law Enforcement for Criminal Alien Removal (CLEAR) Act

November 21, 2003

On July 9, 2003, Representatives Charlie Norwood (R-Ga.), Melissa Hart (R-Pa.) and Allen Boyd (D-Fla.) introduced H.R. 2671, the Clear Law Enforcement for Criminal Alien Removal Act of 2003. The bill, which has 111 co-sponsors in the House of Representatives, would require state and local police agencies to take on the role of immigration agents, enforcing complex federal immigration laws.

Sen. Jeff Sessions (R-Ala.), is expected to introduce the Senate counterpart in the near future.

Advocates for immigrant survivors of domestic violence, sexual assault, trafficking and other crimes committed against immigrant victims in the U.S. have come out in opposition to the bill. More than 100 organizations, including the National Coalition Against Domestic Violence, have informed Congress that the CLEAR Act would endanger already vulnerable immigrant populations, particularly immigrant victims of domestic violence, rape and sexual assault, and their children. Such an act would raise fears of deportation for many women, and as a result, would create a situation in which immigrant women would face greater barriers in reporting domestic violence. Immigrant women who are victims of violence are particularly vulnerable, as are their children. Congress should be searching for ways to help immigrant women and their children rather than stripping them of protections they need.

To overcome the barriers that immigrant victims face, Congress passed the Violence Against Women Act of 2000 and the Trafficking Victims and Violence Prevention Act of 2000 (VAWA 2000). Together, the acts offer relief and life-saving public benefits to immigrant women who are victims of domestic violence, sexual assault and/or trafficking, including specific immigration protections for undocumented victims. VAWA 2000's self-petitioning provision allows victims abused by a spouse who is a citizen or lawful permanent resident to obtain legal immigration status. In addition, VAWA 2000's U and T Visa provisions offer protection for immigrant victims of domestic violence, sexual assault and trafficking who have suffered substantial physical or emotional injury and who cooperate with law enforcement in the investigation and prosecution of the crime. Ultimately, the provisions of VAWA 2000 sought to encourage immigrant victims to report crimes and access victim protections without fear of deportation.

The CLEAR Act would threaten much of the headway that VAWA 2000 made for immigrant victims of domestic violence. By deputizing local police to enforce federal immigration laws, many immigrant victims of domestic violence will be silenced due to fear of deportation. Battered immigrant women and their children face many barriers when trying to escape abuse, including language difficulties and cultural differences that the abuser can use to misinform victims of their legal rights. By allowing police officers to turn immigrants over to the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), many victims will fear deportation, or the loss of their children.

The threat against immigrant victims of domestic violence has already been demonstrated through the increased number of abusers reporting their victims to DHS to avoid criminal prosecution or in retaliation for the victim contacting law enforcement. And even for those women who do have stable immigration status, the threat of deportation can be an effective means for the abuser to exert control.

The CLEAR Act has the possibility of harming thousands of victims of domestic violence, sexual assault and other crimes. If the bill becomes law, local law enforcement untrained in the intricacies of immigration law could easily become tools of the continuing perpetration of crimes against immigrant victims. Inquiries into the immigration status of victims and witnesses could prove lethal for an immigrant victim of domestic violence and her children, forcing her back into a world of silence and a place where she is not protected.

For more details about this legislation, contact Anna Pohl or Amanda Baran at the Immigrant Women's Project at NOWLDEF's Washington D.C. office, (202) 326-0040.

This information has been adapted in part from updates provided by the National Immigration Forum. For more information, contact Lynn Tramonte at ltramonte@immigrationforum.org or 202-383-5993.

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