Deportation Threatens Justice

From the Daily Journal:
 
By Erin Tinoco

This might sound like a radical assertion to make, but I’m just going to go ahead and make it. I am a misdemeanor domestic violence prosecutor, and I think that misdemeanor domestic violence should not be a deportable offense. While today’s sound-bite society might deem such an opinion fit only to belong to one who is “soft” on domestic violence, I want to boldly assert that it should nevertheless be the position of anyone who truly cares about domestic violence victims and the successful prosecution of their abusers.
Immigration and criminal law intersect in many interesting and sometimes contradictory ways, but for the purposes of this piece I am going to limit my discussion to the particular intersection of immigration and domestic violence. For years now, society has recognized that if a domestic violence victim fears he or she will be deported for coming out of the shadows to report the victimization, he or she will be less likely to make such a report. In recognition of this phenomenon, policies and laws have been changed in an attempt to overcome this reluctance. As a policy, police and prosecutors do not inquire of a domestic violence victim’s immigration status, and through new federal laws, we have actually created pathways to citizenship for victims of domestic violence who come forward and cooperate with law enforcement in the prosecution of their abuser.
The next step is to realize that victims of domestic violence are sometimes equally reluctant to cooperate with the prosecution of their abuser if they know that conviction for such offense will lead to the abuser’s deportation. For those who do not work in the domestic violence field this might seem surprising. After all, if your spouse or significant other was beating you, you might think that you would only be pleased by the fact that he or she would not only be punished by the criminal justice system, but additionally with actual banishment from the country. The reality is that the dynamics of domestic violence are a much more tangled web.
In the real world, a victim might have been married to her husband for 15 years and have four minor children with him. One night, things get out of hand and her husband shoves her to the ground. She calls the police and he gets arrested and charged with misdemeanor domestic violence. If he is a citizen, he would likely receive three years probation, would be subject to a protective order, might receive a short jail sentence, and would be required to attend a year-long domestic violence counseling program. If the victim wanted to reunite with her husband, counseling would be available for her and eventually peaceful contact would be allowed. If the victim did not want to reunite with him, her husband would still be around to work and provide spousal and child support to his family, and would likely be allowed to visit his children.
If the abuser husband is not a citizen, this situation changes quite dramatically. In addition to all of the punishments imposed by the criminal court, he would be deported to his home country. If the victim wanted to reunite with him, she would likely have to relocate to that home country even if she and her children had only ever lived here. If the victim did not want to reunite, she would likely be left with limited to no financial support from her husband, and her children would likely be left without a father in their lives. This is quite the load to bear by anyone’s standards.
In the world of misdemeanor domestic violence prosecution, the vast majority of victims, regardless of any immigration issues, are reluctant to cooperate. They may feel financially or emotionally dependent on their abuser, or feel pressure from other family members to “drop the charges,” or all of the above. These are reasons a prosecutor can usually deal with by explaining to the victim that all we want is for everyone to be safe, and for their abuser to receive counseling. Most will agree with this sort of outcome and will continue to cooperate albeit reluctantly. When you throw the deportation consequence into the mix, all of this bargaining power with victims is lost. Consequently, the prosecution is usually lost, and more importantly, safety for the victim is lost. Not only has the abuser been empowered by the lack of accountability in the present case, but the experience has also likely trained the victim to be all the more reluctant to ever seek police assistance during any potential future domestic violence incident.
It is for these reasons that I once again say: I am a misdemeanor domestic violence prosecutor, and I think that misdemeanor domestic violence should not be a deportable offense. I say it not because I am “soft” on domestic violence, but because to the contrary I work every day to try and end the cycle of violence and to work for increased safety for victims, their children, and the community at large. My one statement might not make a difference, but I figure people deserve to know what really goes on in the trenches of the criminal justice system. So often, it is easy for politicians or policy makers to have an over-simplified “get tough” message. Equally often, this same message implemented does not equate to actual justice on the ground level and in some instances, like the one here, it is actually counterproductive.
Surviving and coming out of an abusive relationship is a difficult task with many obstacles. As a society, we should remove the obstacles that are imposed by our laws.

Erin Tonoco is a deputy city attorney assigned to the Anaheim Family Justice Center. This article expresses her personal opinion and is not meant to represent the opinions of her office.

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