Violence Against Women Act of 2000
11/14/2000
Victims of Trafficking and Violence Protection Act of 2000
On October 28, 2000, President Clinton signed into law the Victims of Trafficking and Violence Protection Act (P.L. 106-386). This law, which passed Congress on October 11, 2000, by overwhelming margins, combines the Violence Against Women Act of 2000 and the Trafficking Victims Protection Act of 2000. Included in the legislation protecting victims of domestic violence and trafficking in persons are several provisions related to immigrants, summarized below.
Violence Against Women Act (VAWA). VAWA 2000 reauthorizes the 1994 law which had been about to expire. Prior to 1994, a U.S. citizen or lawful permanent resident maintained virtually complete control over his/her immigrant spouse and children's immigration status. VAWA provided immigrant spouses and children alternative procedures for obtaining visas without the cooperation of the abuser by permitting battered immigrant spouses and children to self-petition for legal permanent residency status.
VAWA 2000 includes some additional protections for immigrant victims of domestic violence. The provisions provide relief to individuals whose marriage is not legitimate because the U.S. citizen spouse was already married. The legislation also protects individuals who divorced their abusers, whose abusers lost citizenship status due to the abuse, and who obtain VAWA relief and later divorce. The law provides that assistance to VAWA beneficiaries will not be considered in public charge determinations.
Trafficking. The Trafficking Victims Protection Act of 2000 seeks to combat trafficking in persons, especially related to slavery, the sex trade, and involuntary servitude. The law strengthens punishment for persons convicted of operating trafficking enterprises within the U.S. and grants trafficking victims expanded access to government benefits. The legislation creates new nonimmigrant visa categories. The "T" visa provides up to 5,000 visas per year for victims of a severe form of trafficking in persons, such as sex trafficking of minors. The "U" visa for "humanitarian/material witnesses" provides up to 10,000 visas for victims who can be helpful to the investigation or prosecution of certain crimes. Individuals receiving these visas may adjust to permanent legal resident status after three years. The law establishes an Office to Monitor and Combat Trafficking and an Interagency Task Force to Monitor and Combat Trafficking within the Department of State.
Aimee's Law. Also included in this legislation was a last-minute addition, which NCSL opposed, called Aimee's Law (H.R. 894). This imposes mandates on the states to increase criminal sentences for certain types of violent crime. For more information, please see the NCSL testimony at http://www.ncsl.org/statefed/mlawstat.htm.
Legislative History. H.R. 1284 (VAWA 2000) was introduced by Representative Connie Morella (R-MD) on March 24, 1999 and passed the House overwhelmingly on September 26, 2000 by a 415-3 vote. In the Senate, S.2787 was introduced by Senator Biden on June 26, 2000, included the additional protections for immigrant women. H.R. 3244 was introduced by Representative Christopher H. Smith (R-NJ) on November 6, 1999 and passed October 6, 2000 by a 371-1 vote. The bill passed the Senate with a 95-0 vote on October 11, 2000. VAWA was incorporated into H.R. 3244 on October 5, 2000.
Please also see the NCSL Legisbrief on Immigrant Women and Domestic Violence at http://www.ncsl.org/legis/LBRIEFS/legis838.htm.
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