ASISTA releases Practice Alert on Abortion Rights for Immigrant Survivors: The Impact of Dobbs on Representation of Immigrant Survivors Seeking Reproductive Healthcare (Jan. 2023)

By Ahlam Moussa

|

January 12, 2023

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: January 12, 2023

Contacts:

Kirsten Rambo, kirsten@asistahelp.org

Cristina Velez, cristina@asistahelp.org

ASISTA has released a practice alert for immigration and gender-based violence advocates and attorneys, regarding the impact of abortion restrictions on immigration status after the overturning of Roe v. Wade. Given the increase in abortion restrictions and threats of criminalization that have followed the U.S. Supreme Court’s ruling in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization, practitioners across the U.S. are concerned about the best way to serve immigrant clients as they seek reproductive healthcare, including abortion.

A highly practical resource, the alert explains how, against a backdrop of emboldened reproductive abuse and coercion, survivors must now also navigate increasingly severe abortion restrictions and their potential effects in the immigration and criminal legal systems. This practice alert provides guidance and resources to legal advocates working with survivors of violence (such as domestic abuse, sexual assault, and human trafficking) at the intersection of immigration and abortion rights. The document also reflects the invaluable input of ASISTA’s partners at If/When/How: Lawyering for Reproductive Justice. 

“At a time when basic reproductive healthcare has become politicized and weaponized, issues of restricted access to abortion–and the efforts to criminalize those who provide it–are of grave concern,” notes ASISTA’s Executive Director, Kirsten Rambo. “The effects of decreased access and potential criminalization can be devastating, particularly for immigrant survivors of violence on their path to citizenship. We at ASISTA are glad to provide this resource to help attorneys and advocates nationwide as they serve immigrants who, already traumatized by violence, are also faced with a complex, fraught, and often hostile landscape as they seek reproductive care.”

This practice alert follow’s ASISTA’s earlier comments on the Dobbs decision. To read the practice alert, click here.

Established in 2008, ASISTA is a national leader in the movement for safety and justice for immigrant survivors of gender-based violence. ASISTA’s founders helped write the immigration provisions of the federal Violence Against Women Act (VAWA) and Victims of Trafficking and Violence Prevention Act (TVPA), affording legal status to hundreds of thousands of survivors and their children since 1994. With over 600 members nationwide, ASISTA’s work is focused on 1) providing expert case consultation, training, and resources to attorneys and advocates navigating the complex immigration system on behalf of survivors of gender-based violence, including intervening in specific cases as needed; 2) pushing for federal, state and local policies that ensure safety and justice for immigrant survivors; and 3) coordinating lawsuits to prevent the government from unfairly deporting survivors of violence. To learn more about ASISTA’s work, click here.

Recent Posts

ASISTA Practice Pointer: Hot Tips for Contacting USCIS About Pending Survivor-Based Cases (Updated March 24, 2026)

By Maria Lazzarino • April 28, 2026
This Practice Pointer synthesizes current recommendations for using USCIS customer service options for survivor-based relief applications. It also discusses how to supplement pending survivor-based petitions via mail, with the hotlines as a backup paper trail. As noted throughout, the information is accurate up to the publication date, but should always be cross-checked with information on USCIS’s website and Policy Manual for the most up-to-date government provisos. This project was supported by Grant No. 15JOVW-23-GK-05161-MUMU awarded by the Office on Violence Against Women, U.S. Department of Justice. The opinions, findings, conclusions, and recommendations expressed in this publication/program/exhibition are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of the Department of Justice, Office on Violence Against Women.

ASISTA POLICY ALERT: Policy Manual Updates to 8 USC § 1367 Confidentiality Protections (Feb. 3, 2026)

By Maria Lazzarino • April 28, 2026
On December 22, 2025, the United States Citizenship and Immigration Service (USCIS) released an update to its Policy Manual relating to confidentiality protections located at 8 USC § 1367 (“1367 protections”). This Policy Alert will review the changes introduced by the policy update and provide initial guidance to practitioners filing cases affected by them. ASISTA will provide further guidance through training and written resources as warranted, and members are encouraged to request technical assistance for any individual case questions.

Hotline Contact for U Receipt Notices Starting with IOE (April 2026)

By Maria Lazzarino • April 24, 2026
ASISTA is aware that the USCIS “Contact Us” page does not include information about which hotline address should be contacted for U cases with receipt numbers that start with IOE. After reaching out to USCIS, until the Contact Us page is updated to reflect their “final determination,” practitioners inquiring about U cases with receipt numbers starting with IOE should reach out to the VSC 918/914 hotline. See this Practice Alert for more information.

ASISTA Practice Alert: USCIS Extreme Vetting Policies and Their Implication for Immigrant Survivors (Dec. 12, 2025)

By Maria Lazzarino • December 12, 2025
This Practice Alert summarizes USCIS’s new extreme vetting policies, including broad adjudication holds, re-review of previously approved cases, and heightened discretionary scrutiny, and explains their serious implications for immigrant survivors seeking safety and stability. It also provides practical guidance for practitioners on preparing clients for the impact of these measures and on developing case strategies and potential legal challenges.

ASISTA Practice Alert: Impact of HR-1 on Trafficking Survivors (Oct. 1, 2025)

By Maria Lazzarino • December 12, 2025
On July 4, 2025, President Trump signed HR-1, the “One Big Beautiful Bill Act” (OBBBA), which significantly impacts immigrant survivors of human trafficking. The law imposes new filing fees for immigration benefits, motions, and appeals before USCIS and EOIR, establishes additional financial penalties for certain immigration violations, and eliminates eligibility for a range of federal public benefits for many immigrants who were previously considered “qualified,” including trafficking survivors. This Practice Alert reviews these fee and penalty changes, explains the new restrictions on public benefits, and outlines the impact on trafficking survivors seeking T visas and other forms of humanitarian relief, offering guidance for practitioners on how to mitigate the law’s potential harms.