She Works Hard For the Money
Issue #27
Human rights attorney liberates immigrant domestic-violence victims from their abusers
By Kristina Francisco
Published: March 1st, 2006 | 12:00am
SHERIZAAN MINWALLA
LOCATION: Chicago
OCCUPATION: Staff attorney at the Midwest Immigrant & Human Rights Center (MIHRC)
JOB DESCRIPTION: At MIHRC, an agency that provides legal assistance to low-income immigrants, refugees, and asylum seekers, Minwalla represents those who are victims of domestic violence and sexual assault. Abusers frequently control their victims by threatening to report them to immigration authorities. Through the Violence Against Women Act, immigrant domestic-violence victims can become lawful permanent residents without the cooperation of an abusive spouse or parent.
HOW SHE GOT STARTED: “I told my parents right after high school that I wanted to be a lawyer,” Minwalla remembers. “My mother told me years later that at the time she couldn’t imagine how I would go to law school with such terrible grades.” Before becoming an attorney (and subsequently suffering massive debt), Minwalla worked for a battered women’s shelter and Planned Parenthood, and she currently volunteers for a rape crisis hotline.
ALL IN A DAY’S WORK: “My approach is to never turn away an individual who qualifies for legal assistance. However, that means that I have a very heavy caseload,” Minwalla says. “I love being able to talk with a victim of abuse for the first time, listening to her story, and telling her that she has options and that she doesn’t have to listen to the threats of her abuser anymore. Obviously seeing my clients’ immigration status resolved is extremely rewarding. It is very empowering to help someone who is being abused to see a different and better future for herself.”
THE HARD PART: “Too much work and low pay,” Minwalla says. “Our society does not value helping indigent people very much.”
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