Article By Victoria Law
Federal protections against detention and deportation for sexual abuse survivors have deteriorated under Trump.
In November 2022, a long-time permanent resident of the U.S. was released from FCI Dublin, a California federal women’s prison. A probation officer had visited and approved her to stay at her mother’s home. The woman, who asked to be identified here by the pseudonym “Cristal” due to fear of retaliation, was looking forward to rebuilding relationships with her family, particularly her daughters — ages 12 and 6. “All I wanted was to spend the day with them,” she told Truthout.
She was also relieved to be out of Dublin, a notorious prison dubbed “the rape club” after decades of staff sexual abuse. At Dublin, she had been sexually harassed and verbally abused by an officer, physically assaulted by another, witnessed other officers sexually abusing women, and been subjected to retaliation.
Before her arrest, Cristal had been a long-time permanent resident of the U.S. Her conviction for drugs invalidated her green card, and Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) issued a final removal order based on her felony conviction.
Despite a pending application for a U visa for crime victims who have assisted law enforcement, upon her release from Dublin she was met by an ICE officer holding chains, and transported to the Northwest Detention Center (NWDC), an immigration jail run by private prison corporation GEO Group in Tacoma, Washington.
Cristal’s experience is far from unique. According to records from the Bureau of Prisons, 227 people incarcerated at Dublin between April 1, 2023, and July 1, 2024, had immigration detainers.
A coalition of human rights organizations compiled a list of 35 women who were sexually abused, or provided information to investigators, and, as of 2023, were facing deportation. According to Cristal’s attorney, Susan Beaty, at least 20 survivors of Dublin sexual abuse were detained and then deported after they completed their prison sentences. Another 20 survivors are either in immigrant detention or in the community but facing deportation.
At least 20 survivors of Dublin sexual abuse were detained and then deported after they completed their prison sentences.
Under the Victims of Trafficking and Violence Protection Act, survivors of sexual abuse and other gender-based violence are eligible for a U visa, which provides temporary immigration status and the possibility of permanent residence.
For years, ICE policy had been to exercise discretion in deciding whether to detain or start removal proceedings against people with pending visas for victims of gender violence or who had family members in active military service. But the second Trump administration reversed those protections, leaving Cristal, along with countless others with pending visa applications, to face detention and deportation.
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