Forced marriage is happening in immigrant families and communities from around the world who are settled in the United States or who have recently arrived, according to the Tahirih Justice Centre
NEW YORK (Thomson Reuters Foundation) – As the United States Congress debates how to overhaul its immigration laws, justice campaigners say it is vital to raise awareness of the links between immigration policy and the growing but still little-known problem of forced marriage inside America’s borders.
Forced marriage is not a problem that is restricted to the developing world as is sometimes assumed and as immigration increases, more women and men could be forced into marriage on U.S. soil or forcibly removed from the country to be married elsewhere, campaigners say.
“Many people think forced marriages only happen or affect individuals in other countries, not here,” said Heather Heiman, Forced Marriage Initiative project manager and senior public policy attorney at the Tahirih Justice Centre, a non-profit legal defence organisation in suburban Virginia.
“It’s happening in immigrant families and communities coming from dozens of countries around the world, both long-settled and newly arrived,” she told Thomson Reuters Foundation.
In 2011, Tahirih conducted what is believed to be the first national survey of forced marriage in the U.S. and identified at least 3,000 known and suspected cases of forced marriage among women from 56 countries and diverse faiths in the previous two years. Many experts believe the actual number is much higher but many cases go unreported.
“Forced marriage and immigration are intertwined in many ways, creating complications and challenges when trying to help someone facing or fleeing a forced marriage,” said Heiman.
“Individuals at risk, people trying to help and parents who are potential perpetrators all need to be aware of what sorts of immigration considerations – and consequences – can be triggered in a forced marriage situation,” she said.
Here are 10 facts you may not know about forced marriage in the U.S. and its connections to immigration issues:
1. What is the difference between a forced marriage and an arranged marriage?
A forced marriage takes place without the full and free consent of one or both parties, according to Tahirih. Lack of consent can be because an individual is below the legal age to marry, has some other incapacity or disability or is subject to force, fraud or coercion.
In an arranged marriage, traditional in many immigrant communities, families may take the lead, but the ultimate choice to marry remains with the individual.
2. Why do some immigrant families force children into marriages?
Reasons vary but may include upholding family or cultural tradition; retaining ties to the home country; the desire to assist an extended family member immigrate; and financial considerations where money is exchanged for the marriage or the visa sponsorship. Women are most likely to be victims of forced marriage, but it can also happen to men.
3. Having U.S. citizenship means victims can potentially access help from the U.S. government if they are taken abroad to be engaged or married against their will.
The U.S. government can take steps to protect and assist U.S. citizens in foreign countries who are facing or fleeing forced marriage, such as issuing a new passport if the family has confiscated the original document and helping the victim return to the United States. The government does not have the same authority to assist non-citizens, even long-time U.S. residents and there may be limits to how much help it can provide to people with dual citizenship.
4. U.S. citizenship can also increase an individual’s risk of being forced into marriage.
Only U.S. citizens can sponsor fiancé(e) visas and access an expedited process for bringing their spouses to the United States. As a result, the pressure to get married can dramatically increase once an individual becomes a citizen and is eligible to apply for these visas. Legal permanent residents can sponsor a visa for a spouse but not a fiancé(e) and this is subject to a waiting period.
5. Citizenship or immigration status can affect the kind of risks an individual faces, the solutions available and the actions they might be willing to take if faced with a forced marriage.
U.S. citizens may be taken abroad by their families without notice for “surprise weddings” in the ancestral country. Sometimes they are held in isolation by families if they resist the marriage or they can find themselves in remote regions with limited or no access to U.S. consular services.
Individuals on temporary visas, such as student visas, or whose legal status is dependent on their parents face different challenges. In order to remain in the U.S. and avoid being sent to a different country to face a forced marriage, these individuals may need to seek permanent, independent legal status, such as asylum, under humanitarian provisions of U.S. immigration law.
In both cases, individuals may be reluctant to seek help, fearing that contacting authorities may result in the prosecution or deportation of some of their family members.
6. Reluctant sponsors should be wary of signing visa petitions. Once visa forms are filed, it’s difficult to stop the process and a sponsor who tries to do so may be at risk.
An individual may be forced to sponsor a fiancé(e) or spouse by threats or physical abuse or may be unaware that the family has forged and filed the documents without the individual’s consent. Either way, when a sponsor or victim attempts to stop the process, a confirmation letter will be sent to the victim's home. If the family is intercepting the victim’s mail, they may retaliate. If parents are forcing a marriage for immigration benefits, they could be prosecuted for conspiracy to commit marriage fraud and deported or imprisoned if convicted. These are some of the reasons victims may not ask for help.
7. There is no official minimum age to sponsor, or be sponsored, for a spouse or fiancé(e) visa, but those sponsoring a foreign spouse must be at least 18 to sign an affidavit pledging to financially support the spouse.
U.S. immigration officials examine the validity of the marriage and look at age of consent laws as well as laws governing marriage in the state where the visa sponsor resides.
8. There is no federal law criminalising forced marriage in the U.S. but forced marriage can involve criminal activities including domestic violence, child abuse, assault and battery, kidnapping, hostage taking or unlawful criminal restraint.
Convictions for such crimes under existing laws can lead to imprisonment for citizens and almost certain deportation from and permanent bar to returning to the U.S. for non-citizens. Victims may be able to use this threat as a deterrent.
9. It can be very difficult for those without legal U.S. status to get asylum based on the threat of forced marriage.
Although the U.S. officially recognises forced marriage as a fundamental human rights violation, foreign nationals seeking asylum or “safe haven” in the U.S. on that basis must provide significant evidence that they are in danger, including proof that their own government cannot protect them and they cannot safely relocate elsewhere.
10. There are other humanitarian provisions of U.S. immigration law that might help immigrants without legal status to remain in the U.S. when facing or fleeing a forced marriage.
These include provisions under the Violence Against Women Act (VAWA) and the Trafficking Victims Protection Act, where a victim is effectively enslaved in the marriage for labour or sexual purposes. However, these protections impose a variety of different requirements that some victims may find difficult to meet, including reporting and testifying against family members.
Source: Tahirih Justice Centre
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