By Megan Burks
Immigrant Women Would Lose Protections in House VAWA Update
This week, the House Judiciary Committee approved some controversial amendments in its reauthorization of the Violence Against Women Act, including some that scale back protections for battered immigrants.
Currently, VAWA allows undocumented immigrants who are battered by spouses with U.S. citizenship or legal status to go around their abusive partners to file for visas. Typically, it is the legal spouse who must file papers for their undocumented partner. The current process guards victims from retaliation by going through a central immigration office trained in secrecy and domestic violence cases, according to the Huffington Post.
Under the House version of the bill, a woman would have to go to her local immigration office. Officers there would be authorized to interview the accused spouse, eliminating current confidentiality measures.
The bill would also limit the time a victim has to apply for a visa. She would have to file within the statute of limitations for the crime she suffered. There are currently no such time restrictions because language and cultural barriers keep many undocumented immigrants from knowing and exercising their rights immediately.
Even if they are aware of the benefit, battered immigrants might be intimidated from filing under the proposed update. It would require a higher standard of claims—from “preponderance of the evidence” to “clear and convincing.” If the filer were found to have misrepresented herself, she would be denied all future immigration benefits and be referred to the Federal Bureau of Investigations.
House Republicans have said their markup of the act is necessary to limit fraud. However, the Huffington Post reports this kind of fraud is likely limited because undocumented immigrants often prefer to stay under the radar. The website also reports such applications are also more often rejected by immigration authorities.
The House bill has further spurred criticism because it lacks Senate-backed protections for lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) individuals and Native Americans.
The House bill is unlikely to gain traction in the Democratic-controlled Senate.
You can read a former City Heights police officer’s take on the House bill here.
To follow this issue, follow @McEvHill.
City Heights Business Association Fails Voice of San Diego Test
Voice of San Diego reports the City Heights Business Association failed to complete an annual report required by its contract with the city.
The finding was part of an investigation into business improvement districts called “They’re Public Agencies, But Many Try Not to Act Like It.” The agencies are required to follow certain rules because they use tax dollars. The investigation found many failed to comply with public records requests.
Follow Voice of San Diego reporter Sandy Coronilla @SandraCoronilla.
City Repaves Street, Only to Rip It Up Again
Voice of San Diego also shared a letter from City Heights resident Steven Youel, who said the city repaved his street then tore it up less than a week later to work on the underground water lines.
“This is an unreal waste of city road funds, destroying the new asphalt after only six days,” he wrote. “I would have been fine with the repaving to wait until after the major work was done on 54th Street.”
Follow Voice of San Diego’s community contributors @fixsd.
Neighbors of Neglected Foreclosures Want City to Fine Banks
KPBS and the San Diego Reader report community advocates are urging city officials to fine banks that let foreclosed properties fall into disrepair.
The Center on Policy Initiatives and the Alliance of Californians for Community Empowerment recently completed a survey that suggests most San Diegans support a fine of $1,000 a day for banks that don’t maintain homes they’ve seized in foreclosures.
Foreclosed homes can be eyesores, but they can also become magnets for crime and affect property values for neighboring homeowners. A 2011 CPI study found that City Heights and southeast San Diego have been the hardest hit by foreclosures.
The City Council’s Land Use and Housing Committee has scheduled a hearing on the proposed fine July 11.
Follow KPBS’s Erik Anderson @KPBSErik.
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