Take Action: Tell Congress to Support VAWA 2019!

March 28, 2019: Every five years, Congress has an opportunity to reaffirm its commitment to ending sexual violence, domestic violence, dating violence, and stalking by reauthorizing and improving the Violence Against Women Act (VAWA) based on emerging issues and needs voiced by survivors and the field.

VAWA protections have helped tens of thousands of immigrant survivors over two decades escape violence, protect their children, and move on with their lives. The Alliance for Immigrant Survivors (AIS) calls on Congress to pass a strong, bipartisan VAWA reauthorization that invests in increased evidence-informed prevention, enhances survivors’ access to safety and justice, and maintains critical protections for vulnerable communities.

Earlier this month, U.S. Reps. Karen Bass (CA-37) and Brian Fitzpatrick (PA-1) introduced H.R. 1585, the bipartisan Violence Against Women Reauthorization Act of 2019, which continues to provide vital protections for survivors while adding modest but essential enhancements, including:

  • Expanding grant program activities, such as legal services, to address the barriers that survivors, including those who are immigrants, face in accessing VAWA-funded programs

  • Addressing survivors’ economic needs so that they don’t have to choose between staying in an abusive relationship or becoming homeless

  • Increasing funding for sexual assault prevention programs which have experienced soaring demand in the wake of the #MeToo movement

  • Ensuring non-Native sexual predators who prey on Native women can be held accountable

Now is your chance to speak up!
Contact your Members of Congress and tell them to vote yes on VAWA 2019!


On March 13, the House Judiciary Committee approved VAWA 2019 while blocking several harmful amendments that would have excluded certain survivors in our communities and weakened the bill. The bill now moves on to the full House which is expected to vote next week.

AIS coordinates the Immigration Subcommittee of the National Task to End Sexual & Domestic Violence (NTF). Here are some resources we and our partners have developed to help you make your calls to Congress and spread the word:

After you’ve made your call, if you work for or know of an organization that may be interested in adding their name to this Letter of Support for H.R. 1585, please fill out the form or forward to your friends!

We will not accept a bill that moves us backwards. Instead, we will encourage Congress to continue making improvements. Together, we can create the strongest and most inclusive VAWA ever. Our communities are counting on us.