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H.R.3083

Battered Immigrant Women Protection Act of 1999 (Introduced in the House)

SEC. 11. ACCESS TO LEGAL REPRESENTATION AND SERVICES FOR BATTERED IMMIGRANTS.

(a) CONSTRUCTION- Section 502 of the Departments of Commerce, Justice, and State, the Judiciary and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 1998 (Public Law 105-119; 111 Stat. 2511) is amended by adding at the end the following:

`(c) CONSTRUCTION- This section shall not be construed to prohibit a recipient from--

`(1) using funds derived from a source other than the Legal Services Corporation to provide related legal assistance (as that term is defined in subsection (b)(2)) to any alien who has been battered or subjected to extreme cruelty by a person with whom the alien has a relationship covered by the domestic violence laws of the State in which the alien resides or in which an incidence of violence occurred;

`(2) using Legal Services Corporation funds to provide related legal assistance to any alien who has been battered or subjected to extreme cruelty who qualifies for classification under clause (iii), (iv), (v), or (vi) of section 204(a)(1)(A) of the Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1154(a)(1)(A)), clause (ii), (iii), or (iv) of section 204(a)(1)(B) of such Act (8 U.S.C. 1154(a)(1)(B)), or subsection (b)(2) of section 240A of such Act (8 U.S.C. 1229b) or section 244(a)(3) of the Immigration and Nationality Act (as in effect before the title III-A effective date in section 309 of the Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act of 1996 (8 U.S.C. 1101 note).'.

(b) LAW ENFORCEMENT AND PROSECUTION GRANTS-

(1) Section 2001(b)(5) of the Omnibus Crime Control and Safe Streets Act of 1968 (42 U.S.C. 3796bb(b)(5)) is amended--

(A) by striking `to racial, cultural, ethnic, and language minorities' and inserting `to underserved populations'; and

(B) by inserting `providing immigration assistance to victims of domestic violence,' after `protection orders are granted,'.

(2) Section 2002 of such Act (42 U.S.C. 3796gg) is amended--

(A) in subsection (h)(1), by inserting before the period the following: `, the demographics of underserved populations in the State and details about the percentage of funding that went to serve which underserved populations, the programs that received such funding, and the involvement of programs serving underserved populations in the development of the State plan under subsection (c)(2)';

(B) in subsection (d)(1)(D), by striking `age, marital status, disability, race, ethnicity and language background' and inserting `marital status and characteristics of any underserved populations';

(i) by striking `and' at the end of paragraph (2),

(ii) by striking the period at the end of paragraph (3) and inserting `; and', and

(iii) by adding at the end the following:

`(4) in the case of a State, Indian tribal government, or unit of local governments applying as subgrantee for a grant under this section, a certification that its laws or official policies comply with each of the provisions of section 2101(c).

The requirements of paragraph (4) do not apply to a nonprofit, nongovernmental entity that is applying for grants under this section.'; and

(D) by adding at the end the following new subsection:

`(i) REPORT ON SERVICES FOR UNDERSERVED POPULATIONS- The Violence Against Women Grants Office in the Department of Justice shall submit to Congress, not later than 1 year after the date of the enactment of this subsection, a report that contains the following information:

`(1) The quantity and percentage of funding awarded to serve underserved populations by each State under each of the following:

`(A) Grants to combat violent crimes against women under section 2001.

`(B) Grants to encourage arrest under section 2101.

`(C) Rural domestic violence and child abuse enforcement assistance grants under section 40295(a)(2) of the Violent Crime Control and Law Enforcement Act of 1994 (Public Law 103-322, 42 U.S.C. 13971(a)(2)).

`(D) Civil legal assistance grants under title I of the Department of Justice Appropriations Act, 1999.

`(E) Campus domestic violence grants under section 826 of the Higher Education Amendment Act of 1998 (Public Law 105-244; 20 U.S.C. 1152).

`(2) The percentage of each underserved population in the demographic make up of each State compared to the amount of funding aimed at addressing the needs of that underserved population.

`(3) The extent to which grants to provide services to underserved populations are awarded to programs with experience and history working with underserved populations of battered women or sexual assault victims, to programs that have bilingual or bicultural staff, and to collaborations between domestic violence or sexual assault programs and programs experienced in serving particular underserved populations and to other grantees.

`(4) The extent to which nonprofit, nongovernmental victim service organizations with experience serving various underserved populations of battered women and sexual assault or stalking victims were consulted in the development of the State plan under section 2001(c)(2), the application under section section 2102(a)(4), or the community cooperation referred to in section 40295(a)(3) of the Violent Crime Control and Law Enforcement Act of 1994 (Public Law 103-322, 42 U.S.C. 13971(a)(3)).'.

(3) Section 2003(7) of such Act (42 U.S.C. 3796gg-2(7)) is amended to read as follows:

`(7) the term `underserved populations' includes populations underserved because of race, ethnicity, age, disability, sexual orientation, religion, alienage status, geographic location (including rural isolation), language barriers, and any other populations determined to be underserved in the State planning process; and'.

(4) Section 2004(b)(3) of such Act (42 U.S.C. 3796gg-3(b)(3)) is amended by striking all that follows `relationship of victim to the offender' and inserting `and the membership of persons served in any underserved populations; and'.

(1) Section 2101 of the Omnibus Crime Control and Safe Streets Act of 1968 (42 U.S.C. 3796hh) is amended--

(A) in subsection (b)(5), by inserting before the period the following: `, including strengthening legal advocacy for domestic violence victims in immigration cases';

(B) in subsection (c)--

(i) by striking `and' at the end of paragraph (3);

(ii) by striking the period at the end of paragraph (4) and inserting a semicolon; and

(iii) by adding at the end the following new paragraphs:

`(5) certify that their laws, policies, and practices require issuance of protection orders that are jurisdictionally sound and that all protection orders are issued after a finding, after an admission by the abuser, or based on the facts in the victim's petition that are uncontested by the abuser; and

`(6) certify that their laws, policies, and practices--

`(A) keep locational information and services provided to victims of domestic violence confidential and comply with all State and Federal laws and rules of professional practice regarding confidentiality;

`(B) guarantee that information is not released to any person without the express permission of the abuse victim, except when such information is required for a legitimate law enforcement purpose unrelated to the victim's abuser; and

`(C) assure that locational information about a victim or the services obtained by a victim are not considered a matter of public record.'; and

`(d) ADDITIONAL PROVISIONS- (1) The requirements of subsection (c) do not apply to nonprofit, nongovernmental entities applying for grants under this section.

`(2) All grantees and subgrantees of grants in effect on the date of the enactment of this subsection or submitting new applications for funding after such date that are States, Indian tribal governments, or units of local government shall submit a certification by the chief executive officer of the State, tribal government, or local government entity that the conditions of subsections (c)(5) and (c)(6) are met (or will be met) not later than the date on which the next session of the State or Indian tribal legislature ends, but in no case later than 2 years after such date of enactment.

`(3) Failure by a grantee to comply with the certifications contained in paragraphs (1) thorough (6) of subsection (c) may result in suspension or revocation of funding. Once a grantee

or subgrantee has been notified that its funding will be revoked, they shall be granted 6 months to bring their laws, policies, or practices into compliance before the revocation takes effect. Any funds that are not distributed to grantees or are removed from grantees under this paragraph shall be distributed to other eligible entities within the State. For grants under section 2002, the funds are to be redistributed first to entities within the same formula category and then, if there are no eligible entities within the same formula category, to other eligible entities without regard to the formula.'.

(2) Section 2103 of such Act (42 U.S.C. 3796hh-2) is amended by adding at the end the following: `Each report shall include information about the demographics of underserved populations in the State and details about the percentage of funding that went to serve which underserved populations, the programs that received such funding, and the involvement of programs serving underserved populations in the community participation described in section 2102(a)(4).'.

(d) RURAL DOMESTIC VIOLENCE AND CHILD ABUSE ENFORCEMENT GRANTS- Section 40295 of the Violent Crime Control and Law Enforcement Act of 1994 (Public Law 103-322, 108 Stat. 1953, 42 U.S.C. 13971(aa)(2)) is amended--

(1) by amending subsection (a)(2) to read as follows:

`(2) to provide treatment, counseling, and legal assistance to victims of domestic violence and child abuse, including assistance to victims in immigration matters; and'; and

(2) by adding at the end the following new subsections:

`(d) APPLICATION REQUIREMENTS- States, Indian tribal governments, and units of local government applying for grants under this section must certify that their laws, policies, and practices comply with each of the provisions of section 2101(c) of the Omnibus Crime Control and Safe Streets Act of 1968 (42 U.S.C. 3796hh(c)).

`(e) GRANTEE REPORTING- Upon completion of the grant period under this part, a State or Indian tribal grantee shall file a performance report with the Attorney General. The report shall explain the activities carried out and shall evaluate the effectiveness of projects developed with the funds provided under the grant. The report shall include information about the demographics of underserved populations in the State and details about the percentage of funding that went to serve which underserved populations, the programs that received such funding, and the involvement of programs serving underserved populations in the community cooperation in subsection (a)(3).',

(e) FAMILY VIOLENCE PREVENTION AND SERVICES ACT-

(1) Section 303(a)(2)(C) of the Family Violence Prevention and Services Act (42 U.S.C. 10402(c)(2)(C)) is amended by striking `populations underserved because of ethnic, racial, cultural, language diversity or geographic isolation' and inserting `populations underserved because of race, ethnicity, age, disability, sexual orientation, religion, alienage status, geographic location (including rural isolation), language barriers, and any other populations determined to be underserved'.

(2) Section 311(a)(4) of such Act (42 U.S.C. 10410(a)(4)) is amended by striking `underserved racial, ethnic or language-minority populations' and inserting `underserved populations as the term is used in section 303(a)(2)(C)'.

(3) Section 303(a)(4) of such Act (42 U.S.C. 10402(a)(4)) is amended by inserting after the first sentence the following: `This performance report shall include information about the demographics of underserved populations in the State and details about the percentage of funding that went to serve which underserved populations, the programs that received such funding, and the involvement of programs serving underserved populations in the procedures described in subsection (a)(2)(C).'.

(4) Section 303 of such Act (42 U.S.C. 10402) is further amended by adding at the end the following new subsection:

`(g) The Secretary shall submit to Congress, not later than 1 year after the date of the enactment of this subsection, a report that contains the following information:

`(1) The quantity and percentage of funding awarded to serve underserved populations by each State under programs funded under this Act.

`(2) The percentage of each underserved population in the demographic make up of each State compared to the amount of funding aimed at addressing the needs of that underserved population.

(f) CIVIL LEGAL ASSISTANCE- Title I of the Department of Justice Appropriations Act, 1999 (contained within the Omnibus Consolidated and Emergency Supplemental Appropriations Act of 1999 (Public Law 105-277)) is amended, under the heading of `Office of Justice Programs, State and Local Law Enforcement Assistance', by striking the period at the end and inserting the following: `, of which $206,750,000 shall be available for Grants To Combat Violence Against Women, to States, units of local government, and Indian tribal governments, as authorized by section 1001(a)(18) of said Act, including $23,000,000 which shall be used exclusively for the purpose of strengthening civil legal assistance programs for victims of domestic violence. Civil legal assistance under this heading includes (but is not limited to) legal assistance to victims of domestic violence, stalking or sexual assault in divorce, custody, child support, protection orders, immigration, public benefits, housing, consumer law and any other legal matter that will further the health, safety, and economic well-being of victims of domestic violence, stalking, or sexual assault.'.

(g) CAMPUS DOMESTIC VIOLENCE GRANTS- Section 826 of the Higher Education Amendments of 1998 (Public Law 105-244; 20 U.S.C. 1152) is amended--

(1) in subsection (b)(5), by inserting before the period at the end the following: `, including legal assistance to victims in civil, criminal, administrative, immigration, or disciplinary matters'; and

(2) in subsection (c)(2)(C), by striking `and number of students' and inserting `number of students, and services being offered to various underserved populations (as such term is defined in section 2003(7) of the Omnibus Crime Control and Safe Streets Act of 1968);'.

(h) STATE JUSTICE INSTITUTE GRANTS- Section 206(c) of the State Justice Institute Act of 1984 (42 U.S.C. 10705(c)) is amended--

(1) by redesignating paragraph (15) as paragraph (16); and

(2) by inserting after paragraph (14) the following new paragraph:

`(15) to support studies and investigate and carry out research on issues of battering and extreme cruelty against non-citizens, including the ramifications of the immigration provisions of the Violence Against Women Act of 1994 and subsequent immigration law reforms on the ability of victims to access civil, family, and criminal courts and the immigration consequences of civil, family, and criminal court actions; and'.

SEC. 12. VIOLENCE AGAINST WOMEN ACT TRAINING FOR INS OFFICERS, IMMIGRATION JUDGES, AND CIVIL AND CRIMINAL COURT JUSTICE SYSTEM PERSONNEL.

(a) VIOLENCE AGAINST WOMEN-

(1) MILITARY TRAINING CONCERNING DOMESTIC VIOLENCE- The Omnibus Crime Control and Safe Streets Act of 1968 (42 U.S.C. 3711 et seq.) is amended by inserting after section 2006 (42 U.S.C. 3796gg-5) the following new section:

`SEC. 2007. MILITARY TRAINING CONCERNING DOMESTIC VIOLENCE.

`Each branch of the United States military is required to train its supervisory military officers on domestic violence, the dynamics of domestic violence in military families, the types of protection available for battered immigrant women and children abused by their United States citizen or lawful permanent resident spouse or parent under the Violence Against Women Act of 1994, and the problems of domestic violence in families in which a United States citizen or lawful permanent resident member of the military is married to a non-United States citizen.'.

(2) INS TRAINING- Section 2001 of the Omnibus Crime Control and Safe Streets Act of 1968 (42 U.S.C. 3795gg) is amended--

(A) in subsection (a), by inserting `the Immigration and Naturalization Service and the Executive Office of Immigration Review,' after `Indian tribal governments,';

(B) in subsection (b)(1), by inserting `, immigration and asylum officers, immigration judges,' after `law enforcement officers'; and

(i) by striking `and' at the end of paragraph (6),

(ii) by striking the period at the end of paragraph (7) and inserting `; and', and

(iii) by adding at the end the following new paragraph:

`(8) training justice system personnel on the immigration provisions of the Violence Against Women Act of 1994 and their ramifications for victims of domestic violence appearing in civil and criminal court proceedings and potential immigration consequences for the perpetrators of domestic violence.'.

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