Lombard attorney helps immigrant victims of domestic violence

After Japanese immigrant Nobuko Kudo survived breast cancer, she felt blessed with a second chance for life.

“I made a commitment to myself that if I could in any way give a chance to somebody else to live their life, I have to do that,” the Lombard resident said.

Now an immigration attorney, Kudo has kept that commitment for the last several years by representing, on a pro bono basis, immigrants who are victims of domestic violence. Her activities led to an invitation last spring to join the board of Life Span, an organization committed to helping victims of domestic violence through Cook County.

Of the 3,500 women and children Life Span served last year, a sizable number were immigrants. Kudo understands the special challenges immigrant victims face, said Kelly Dineen, board president of Life Span.

“She speaks from a place of knowledge, understands the obstacles facing women, and can inform Life Span's programs and policies,” Dineen said.

Vulnerable victims

Kudo said immigrants who are victims of domestic violence often do not have legal status in the United States and do not know where to turn for help.

“Sometimes they cannot speak English,” she said.

Without nearby family or financial support, they are dependent on domestic partners who are often American citizens but decline to help their spouse gain legal status. Instead, the abuser uses the victim's lack of status to gain leverage in the relationship.

Victims have told Kudo they are threatened with, “If you tell anybody about the abuse, I'm going to call immigration and have you deported.”

Victims also may be threatened with the loss of their children, and feel helpless because of a lack knowledge of social services or how the court system works. Abusers may attempt to isolate them from the outside world by removing the telephone and access to the Internet.

Some victims are referred to Kudo after they have gone to a legal clinic for aid. She has applied the Violence Against Women Act to help them establish legal residency.

All the victims Kudo has aided have been women, but the act also applies to men, children and parents who are abused, she said.

No culture is immune from domestic violence, but some cultures accept and support practices that are abusive, she said. For example, female genital mutilation or physical punishment of children may be considered the norm. Men may believe sexual abuse shows their masculinity.

Adapting to new land

Kudo has never been abused herself, but she knows what it feels like to be a stranger in a new and different culture. While in Japan, she had met a retired social worker from Indiana who encouraged her to come to the United States to study.

She had learned to read and write English in school, but she didn't speak it well when she arrived at Indiana University in Indianapolis. The public transportation she was used to in Japan wasn't available. Opening a bank account was a new experience.

“In Japan, writing a check is not the normal way of paying bills,” she said.

Kudo persevered and earned her bachelor's and master's degrees in social work from Indiana University. She did social work for a time and then returned to school to earn her law degree.

She was in her last year of law school when she was diagnosed with breast cancer. Kudo went through treatment while writing her final paper and preparing for law exams.

“I really didn't have time to think of it (the cancer),” she said with laughter.

But after the cancer treatment and law exam were past, Kudo took time to reflect.

“I was blessed with the chance to live another life,” she said.

After receiving a job offer in Chicago, Kudo moved to Lombard in 2006, where her husband, retired history professor John Stevens, had grown up. The couple share their home, where Kudo now has a private law practice, with two cats and a dog they adopted during a stay in Costa Rica.

“I'm an animal lover,” she said.

Kudo plans to expand on her work with immigrants by training this spring to be a volunteer tutor with Literacy DuPage, to help nonnative speakers learn English. Even immigrants without legal status, who may have come to escape persecution or to seek a better life, do not deserve to be abused, she said.

“I want society to be aware immigration is not a simple matter,” she said. “They want to come here for the same reasons our ancestors came here.”

For information on Life Span, visit life-span.org.