Resources for Survivors and Advocates

This section contains general resources and other useful information translated in several languages to assist immigrant survivors with their rights in this country. It also contains resources for immigration attorneys, practitioners, advocates, community organizers, and anyone working with immigrant survivors at risk of removal.

Resources for Survivors

1-800- 799-7233; Online Chat; Linea de Ayuda en Español (24/7 Language Line Access)

This new resource from Sunshine Behavioral Health discusses emerging solutions to domestic violence. This resource also discusses teen dating violence and ways people are reaching out to teenagers to prevent domestic violence through education. It also includes a list of free hotlines and organizations for domestic violence victims to reach out to, if needed as well as a shelter locator.

This is a great tool developed by Break the Cycle. It's an interactive feature that assists youth and young adults in customizing a safety plan online.

Esta es una gran herramienta desarrollada por Break the Cycle. Es una función interactiva que ayuda a jóvenes y adultos jóvenes a personalizar un plan de seguridad en línea.

Womenslaw is an online resource on laws and service providers that assist survivors of domestic violence. They also run an email hotline where survivors may ask questions.

Womenslaw es un recurso en línea sobre leyes y proveedores de servicios que ayudan a los sobrevivientes de la violencia doméstica. También tienen una línea directa de correo electrónico donde los sobrevivientes pueden hacer preguntas.

Immigration Advocacy Network maintains a national directory of immigration service providers.

Immi is a resource created by Immigration Advocacy Network and Pro Bono Net which features a free online screening tool, legal information, and referrals to nonprofit legal service organizations.

How to Identify and Intervene in Teen Dating Violence discusses the important role school counselors and other staff play, the signs to look for, and tips on how to intervene, navigate a sensitive conversation with a student, and establish trust.

This link includes resources for individuals to find information about seeking professional help, finding housing, legal assistance, and free or low cost resources.

Sexual assault can take many forms, but one thing always remains the same, sexual assault is not the victims fault. Check this link for additional resources. 

Sexual assault and harassment happen in American workplaces at an astounding rate. Check this link for additional resources.

The GLSC is a private, non-profit corporation that provides legal assistance to victims of domestic violence and sexual assault, low-income individuals, and people with disabilities.

This resource list includes basic information about immigration, rights and access to services, U visas, VAWA, trafficking, safety planning, and general practice resources.

Immigration Benefits for Survivors

This website provides basic information of the legal immigration options and your rights in this country.

In 2015, DHS created a resource guide with an overview of some survivors-based forms of immigration relief.

Check out this online resource center for useful information to provide to your community. Resources are also available in other languages.

This site provides information on how to verify if an attorney or BIA-accredited representative is eligible to represent you before USCIS.

Este sitio proporciona información sobre cómo verificar si un abogado o representante acreditado por BIA es elegible para representarlo ante el USCIS. Lea aquí para información sobre quién puede representarlo con su caso.

Know Your Rights

Immigrant Legal Resource Center has several community resources regarding immigration rights and protections.

ILRC Red Cards contain basic rights and protections under US Constitution.

Know Your Rights and What Families Should Do Now is a brief advisory about the rights everyone has in the U.S.

This packet will help everyone create a Family Preparedness Plan, regardless of immigration status.

Este paquete le ayudará a crear un plan de preparación familiar, independientemente de su estatus migratorio.

Step Forward/Hacia Delante is a resource for women immigrants developed by We Belong Together, Immigration Advocates Network and the National Domestic Worker Alliance, National Asian Pacific American Women’s Forum and Probono.net with advocacy tools, legal directory, and know your rights materials.

Hacia Delante es un recurso para mujeres inmigrantes desarrollado por We Belong Together, Immigration Advocates Network y National Domestic Worker Alliance, Foro Nacional Asiático de Mujeres del Pacífico Americano y Probono.net con herramientas de promoción, directorio legal y materiales para conocer sus derechos.

Appleseed deportation manual is a comprehensive resource designed for immigrants and service providers to develop plans related to financial and family issues in the event of deportation, arrest and other family emergencies. ASISTA and Asian Pacific Institute on Gender-Based Violence (API-GBV) are proud to author the chapter on Domestic Violence issues.

Catholic Legal Immigration Network Inc. has extensive KYR materials available including comprehensive guides, one-pagers, and powerpoint presentations. Know Your Rights: A Guide to Know Your Rights When Interacting with Law Enforcement.

Available in English Spanish

Amharic Chinese and in other languages.

CLINIC Know Your Rights Quick Guides: Available in English, Español/Spanish, Amharic and Chinese.

Immigrant Access to Public Benefits

Pew map showing public benefits to immigrant in the States.

NIWAP Public Benefits Map shows the different types of benefits an immigrant survivor may be eligible for, including TANF, Health Care, Child Care, Driver's License, etc., available here

Immigrant Access to Education

This guide provides key resources and strategies undocumented students can use to to overcome roadblocks that can make attending and affording college more challenging.

Publications/Training Resources

ASISTA's Top Ten List for domestic violence & sexual assault advocates aims to inform advocates about key concepts and barriers impacting immigrant survivors of gender-based violence, while providing resources to help overcome them.

This project was supported by Grant No. 15JOVW-21-GK-02240-MUMU & 15JOVW-23-GK-05161-MUMU awarded by the Office on Violence Against Women, U.S. Department of Justice. The opinions, findings, conclusions, and recommendations expressed in this publication/program/exhibition are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of the Department of Justice, Office on Violence Against Women.

This practice manual was written by Eunice Cho from the National Employment Law Project. The practice manual is free, and available for download.

This is a publication produced by IMUMI, the Institute for Women in Migration, a non-profit organization based in Mexico City that works to represent the voices of women affected by migration in the Mexican context.This resource depicts the various challenges faced by transnational family that often intersect with issues of violence, immigration, child welfare, and child custody. The report is also available in Spanish on their website, www.imumi.org.

The Center for Gender & Refugee Studies (CGRS) is pleased to announce the release of our pro se manual for survivors of domestic violence seeking asylum, withholding of removal and Convention Against Torture protection in the United States – available in English, Spanish, and Haitian Creole. We developed this manual in response to a call from advocates, and in recognition of the countless women who are eligible for asylum but due to lack of information and/or lack of access to legal representation, do not receive the protection they deserve. Our release of all three versions of this pro se manual is particularly timely given the refugee crisis at our border, and the thousands of women and girls fleeing domestic abuse in Central America.

Sonia Parras wrote Breaking the Silence: A Training Manual for Activists, Advocates and Latina Organizers. Produced by the Family Violence Prevention Fund with financial support provided by the Office on Violence Against Women, U.S. Department of Justice.

Sonia Parras escribió Rompiendo el Silencio: Un manual de capacitación para activistas, activistas y organizadores latinos. Producido por Fondo de Prevención de Violencia Familiar con el apoyo financiero de la Oficina de Violencia Hacia la Mujer del Departamento de Justicia de EE. UU.

Este proyecto se hizo con aporte de la concesión No. 2001-WT-BX-K004 otorgada por la Oficina de Violencia Contra la Mujer, Office on Violence Against Women, del Departamento de Justicia de los Estados Unidos.

Las opiniones en este documento son de la Alianza Latina Nacional para Erradicar la Violencia Doméstica y no representan necesariamente la posición o política oficial del Departamento de Justicia de Estados Unidos.

Gail Pendleton wrote this manual for the Family Violence Prevention Fund’s project on developing leadership and improving services for battered immigrants.

General Immigration Resources

This checklist suggests documents that social workers and advocates working with immigrant survivors may wish to help the survivors to gather. They may become useful for pending or future immigration application. Most people will not have all of these, but if your client has them, see if you can help obtain a copy. 

This project was supported by Grant No. 15JOVW-21-GK-02240-MUMU awarded by the Office on Violence Against Women, U.S. Department of Justice. The opinions, findings, conclusions, and recommendations expressed in this publication/program/exhibition are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of the Department of Justice, Office on Violence Against Women.

The United States Citizenship and Immigration Service, the government agency that is in charge of accepting applications for immigration benefits, created a glossary of common immigration terms which is available online. 

El Servicio de Ciudadanía e Inmigración de los Estados Unidos, la agencia gubernamental que está a cargo de aceptar solicitudes de beneficios de inmigración, creó un glosario de términos de inmigración común que está disponible en línea.

This chart was created by ASISTA, Freedom Network, KIND, and Tahirih Justice Center for a side-by-side comparison of different forms of relief, requirements, benefits and procedures.

Esta presentación explica paso a paso como navegar el sitio web para ver el estatus de su caso.

Tools for Working with Immigrant Survivors

ASISTA with support from the Alliance for Immigrant Survivors (AIS) has released an advocacy toolkit to help those who work with survivors engage in advocacy efforts with their members of Congress.

Victim of crime advocate (Expert) declaration guidelines on substantial abuse prepared by Gail Pendleton.

These guidelines outline what kind of information affidavits should include, as well as factors that may prove extreme hardship.

Representation of the different tactics of power and control used against immigrant women.

Representación de las diferentes tácticas de poder y control utilizadas contra mujeres inmigrantes.