A Salvadoran woman in Houston called 911 to report being a victim of domestic violence. Legal records reviewed by the Houston Chronicle indicate that police then called ICE.
In a separate instance, a woman who claims she was assaulted by her boyfriend is now in a detention center in Louisiana after he called the police to accuse her of assault and then contacted Immigration and Customs Enforcement and told them she didn’t have legal immigration status, the woman’s mother alleged to Noticias Telemundo.
The women’s stories are not unique, activists and experts told Noticias Telemundo, explaining that in some cases abusers use immigration status to control or abuse their victims — who come from all socioeconomic backgrounds. Experts say victims are more fearful now amid the Trump administration’s immigration crackdown and recent immigration raids.
Isabel Martínez, manager of a social services program focused on helping victims of gender-based violence, said women fear that “not only will nothing happen to the abuser, but now I will have to be deported, or be detained, or get into trouble if I call the police.”
If you or someone you know is experiencing domestic violence, you can call the National Domestic Violence Hotline at 1-800-799-7233 or text START to 8788.
