FALLS CHURCH, Va., March 27 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Yesterday, in an
important legal decision, Judge Clarence Cooper (U.S. District Court for
the Northern District of Georgia) rejected an international marriage
broker's claim that the 2005 International Marriage Broker Regulation Act
(IMBRA) is unconstitutional. IMBRA is a new law designed to provide greater
protection for foreign women who marry men through what are commonly known
as "mail order bride" agencies.
The lawsuit defeated in Monday's decision was brought by a leading
international marriage broker, European Connections ("EC"). EC alleged that
the law's requirement that IMBs provide information to foreign women about
their legal rights and violent histories of their prospective American
husbands violated their constitutional rights. In a detailed 40-page
decision, Judge Cooper found that "The rates of domestic violence against
immigrant women are much higher than those of the U.S. population" and that
"IMBRA is highly likely to reduce domestic abuse -- and may actually save
lives." When considering EC's arguments that IMBRA's implementation would
cost them money, the judge noted that "the Court is confronted with the
classic 'blood-versus-money' analysis, and the safety of foreign women
coming to the United States is clearly the more vital interest."
The lawsuit was a part of the IMB industry's on-going efforts to resist
regulation. The requirements imposed by IMBRA seek to ensure that women who
speak limited English, have no social ties in the U.S., and are unfamiliar
with U.S. laws are given sufficient information to protect themselves.
IMBRA was passed in 2005 with wide bi-partisan support as a part of the
Violence Against Women Act, after over a decade of examination by Congress
of the special vulnerabilities of immigrant women to abuse and recent
attention to concerns about abuse through the IMB industry.
The United States Attorney's Office and the Tahirih Justice Center
defended both cases. The Tahirih Justice Center was represented on pro bono
basis by the law firms of Arnold & Porter and Jones Day.
Please go to
http://www.tahirih.org/ for more information on IMBRA. Call
for an interview with an IMBRA expert or abused "mail order bride."
Through direct legal services and public policy advocacy, the Tahirih
Justice Center works to protect immigrant women and girls seeking justice
in the United States from gender-based violence.
CONTACT: Layli Miller-Muro, Executive Director of the Tahirih Justice
Center, office: +1-703-575-0070 ext. 547; cell: +1-202-246-1844
