By Anjana Sreedhar

After the terribly tragic events that took place in Boston, the country has pulled together to mourn our losses and move on. The new immigration bill is still in process of being reviewed and debated on Capitol Hill, but one thing that hasn’t really been discussed is the state of undocumented women, particularly victims of sexual abuse and rape. Regardless of where you stand on the issue of immigration, the truth is that the sooner rape victims receive help; the better they are at handling trauma. The Violence Against Women Act signed by President Obama earlier this year covers undocumented women who are victims of domestic violence. What does this mean for the new immigration bill?

While the major components of the bill thus far include a massive guest worker program and the cutting back on diversity visa initiatives, what some may not realize is that there may be certain issues important to undocumented women that aren’t being dealt with. Here they are:

1. Women’s Health: 

The National Latina Institute for Reproductive Health commends the work of the “Gang of Eight” in bringing change to the immigration system, but also brings to light what the bill doesn’t do. For example, it doesn’t allow for immediate health care access to undocumented women who are suffering from grave conditions. Under the bill at present, immigrant women would have to wait for 13 to 15 years for affordable health care options. This can make things complicated for women suffering from cancer and other deadly diseases. Jessica Gonzalez-Rojas, executive director of the Institute, suggests that this can be the difference between life and death for these women.

2. Rape/Sexual Assault:
In VAWA, victims of domestic violence will be issued a U visa, given to the victims of crimes. While the Violence Against Women Act covers undocumented victims of domestic violence, there is no mention of it in the new immigration bill. Perhaps this is because it might be redundant, but it would be important to have some mention of it in the new bill.

This video was produced by the human rights group Breakthrough, and was prominently featured on Feministing in October. It is about the kinds of choices that undocumented women who face rape have had to deal with pre-VAWA.

Immigration is a tough question, and as a legal immigrant, I continue to grapple with the morality and legality of providing benefits for illegal immigrants. One thing is for certain, however: regardless of immigration status, no one should feel vulnerable and terrorized within our borders

Anjana is a rising sophomore in New York University’s College of Arts and Sciences, planning to study International Relations and Gender and Sexuality Studies. She has been deeply interested in how the different axes of identity affect access to resources, especially in an international context.

Cross-posted with permission from PolicyMic. 

This post is a part of the YWCA USA’s What Women Want blog carnival about immigration reform. Read all of the posts and join the National Day of Action on June 6.