Illegal US alien - deportation???

[concernedforfriend]

I posted a couple of months ago about a friend who is married to an illegal US alien. The concern then was what her repercussions would be for knowingly harboring him. From what I learned, and passed on to her, was there were no repercussions to her. What she is faced with now is he is increasingly becoming more hostile to her. If she reports him to the police for violence, they will find out he is illegal, but then what? I don't suppose he'd be on the next plane back to the US as the investigation into him being in Canada will probably take some time. She is concerned for her safety in the meantime. As far as her safety goes, I'm sure she'll just have to deal with it like any other person in the same situation (restraining orders, etc.) Any idea how long it takes, once a person is found to be illegally residing in Canada for the deportation process to happen?

 

[on-hold]

This isn't an immigration matter any more -- your friend needs to stop trying to finesse the situation and go to the police. They will tell her what combination of arrest, restraining order, deportation, is in order.

 

[SenoritaBella]

If she is concerned about her safety, that's a sign to get out of that relationship before it costs her life. If he is deported, he will be returning home to the US not a war torn country and she could probably enforce child support payments from here.

 

[Boetie]

This isn't an immigration matter any more -- your friend needs to stop trying to finesse the situation and go to the police. They will tell her what combination of arrest, restraining order, deportation, is in order.

This is the best advice you could give your friend. Although the immigration issue is a complication and probably a factor in the hostility and potential violence (he may blame her for the status and that it is her fault and not his that he is illegal), it is now a matter of domestic violence and the fact he might be facing deportation is no longer a part of it. It may not actually be a factor at all. If he is actually charged, he would not be deported until the whole thing had worked its way through the judicial system.

I know a couple with a similar situation. One partner is Canadian and the other American who came on a six month visa about 13 years ago. At some point many years ago, immigration went looking for her at a former address so I assume there was a removal order that became a deportation order. In this case, she is trapped in an abusive relationship but any action would likely trigger her removal and separation from her Canadian child if the partner refused to allow the child to follow her.

I always assumed this kind of situation involved people from third world countries where women had limited rights but it seems women from many countries and cultures are also vulnerable.

 

[SenoritaBella]

That`s one of the misconceptions about domestic violence. It can happen to anyone(male and female) and across socio-economic backgrounds because it is all about power and control for the abuser and less about what rights a victim has or hasn`t.

Some famous victims of domestic violence are Laci Peterson(Caucasian woman from California), Reverend Juanita Bynum(an African-American preacher from Atlanta I believe), etc.

Domestic violence is one of the most under-reported crimes, second only to rape if memory serves me well. The difference is in some countries, when reported there is a good chance for the perpetrator to be caught and punished while in others, they is no legal recourse or worse, the victim is blamed for it.

I always assumed this kind of situation involved people from third world countries where women had limited rights but it seems women from many countries and cultures are also vulnerable.