Immigration Enforcement and Victim Services Programs FAQs - Promising Futures

In light of heightened fear within immigrant communities, the following FAQs are intended to address confidentiality and due process protections afforded to victim advocacy organizations and victims themselves. A recent report, 2017 Advocate and Legal Service Survey Regarding Immigrant Survivors, in collaboration with several national organizations, revealed an increase in immigration related questions from survivors to their victim advocates and attorneys and uncertainty about pursuing assistance from the legal system. Federal law and Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and Customs and Border Patrol (CBP) policies provide programs with several avenues for protecting the confidentiality of survivors. Advocates can reference these confidentiality protections when describing the confidentiality protections that their programs will adhere to if confronted with immigration enforcement. These Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) address common questions about responding to immigration enforcement activities at victim services programs.