Immigration Violations and VAWA

The House and Senate versions of the Violence Against Women Act (VAWA) of 2005 contain provisions that have raised concern by the American Immigration Lawyers Association. The Senate version contains an amendment offered by Senator Jon Kyl (R-AZ) that authorizes any federal agency to collect DNA samples from anyone who is arrested or any non-U.S. person who is detained under federal authority and add these DNA profiles to the federal (CODIS) DNA database. Under this proposal, people who are detained on possible immigration violations may be foreced to submit their DNA to federal officials, even if no criminal or immigration proceedings are initiated. The House version of VAWA includes an amendment offered by Representative Steven King (R-IA) that would prohibit any person convicted of domestic violence from sponsoring a visa applicant in the future. By punishing the innocent relatives of people convicted of such crimes, the proposal will have the serious negative effect of discouraging domestic violence survivors from reporting their abusers.bh