Serving Survivors Who May be At Risk of Immigration Enforcement Actions

By Admin

|

July 11, 2019

ASISTA condemns the Administration’s plans for mass raids, now slated to start this Sunday. These mass immigration enforcement actions create  immense fear in communities nationwide. For immigrant survivors of violence, these raids exacerbate the trauma and fear they already endure because of the abuse they have experienced.

Advocates can help address this fear by providing critical know your rights information and sharing ways survivors can prepare themselves in the event they are confronted by ICE. Below is a list of actions practitioners working with immigrant survivors of domestic violence, sexual assault and human trafficking can take now to help survivors who are at risk of an immigration enforcement action.

Know Who is At Risk: The most recent enforcement action had targeted families and those with old deportation orders. Recent reports also indicate there may be “collateral arrests”.

Share Know Your Rights Materials: Many advocacy groups have prepared materials to help immigrants know their rights in the event of an immigration enforcement action, these include:

Triage Individual Cases: If already working with survivors, advocates and attorneys should screen their cases for individuals with final orders of removal. Once identified, attorneys should consider drafting precautionary filings for these survivors, such as stays of removal and motions to reopen (for examples in the VAWA context click here). This preparation will help ensure that, if your clients are picked up in an enforcement action, you are ready to file the paperwork necessary to stop their swift removals and argue for their release from detention.

Connect to Resources: American Immigration Council has great practice resources on challenging Notices to Appear, Motions to Reopen EOIR-Issued Removal Orders, Reinstatement of Removal and others.

ASISTA is available to provide our membership individual case assistance for their work serving immigrant survivors. Please click here to learn more about ASISTA membership and email us at questions@asistahelp.org for help strategizing for survivors who may be at risk, including those who may not be eligible for VAWA motions to reopen.

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.