Immigrant Abuse Victims End Up in ICE Detention Without Charges as Partners Weaponize Deportation Threats

With protections for immigrant victims rolled back, advocates say survivors are staying with their abusers rather than risk being detained. (Credit: Screenshot: American Civil Liberties Union)

Immigrant women who say they were abused by their partners are being detained by US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) after police were called to their homes, in many cases without ever being charged with a crime.

The pattern was documented this week in separate investigations by the nonprofit newsrooms ProPublica and The Marshall Project, which reviewed police reports, court filings, and habeas corpus petitions across several states. Attorneys and advocates said abusers are increasingly using the threat of deportation as leverage, knowing a single call to 911 can end with the victim in a cell.