Pedro immigrated to the U.S several years ago to escape violence in his home country. He found work in a restaurant and befriended Jason, a frequent customer who offered to introduce him to the city and friends to create a more stable life. Pedro and Jason soon began dating and moved in together.
Jason began controlling Pedro, saying that he didn’t want to lose him. At the beginning, he didn’t allow Pedro to put a password on his phone or be friends with anyone he didn’t know. The controlling behavior escalated with Jason acting violently, making scenes in public and threatening to take his own life if Pedro left. After some time, things settled down and Pedro believed Jason had changed. Jason asked Pedro to marry him for love and offered to fix his immigration status through the marriage. Pedro agreed, thinking that Jason was a better person.
A few months into marriage, the jealousy and violence returned with Jason slapping, punching and even strangling Pedro while in a drunken argument. Pedro called the police but didn’t file a report. He decided to move out, and soon after Jason began stalking him. Pedro called the police again, but again they didn’t make a report due to lack of evidence. Jason continued threating Pedro by telling him that if he didn’t come home, he was going to report him to ICE and kill himself.
Pedro continued staying with friends, but Jason always found a way to find him. A month later, things had calmed down and Jason contacted Pedro to apologize and say that he accepted that they couldn’t be together and asked to meet him at the house to sign divorce papers and divide belongings. When Pedro arrived, Jason began arguing and put a knife to Pedro’s neck, threatening to kill him and himself. Pedro was able to escape and call the police, who filed a report but didn’t arrest Jason. Pedro obtained an order of protection and was given CasaLuz’s number.
CasaLuz helped Pedro create a safety plan, begin counseling and work with one of our partners for immigration and divorce assistance. Pedro is now waiting for his work permit and feels safe and grateful that CasaLuz gave him a hand and made him feel that he deserves a better life free of violence.
Names have been changed to protect identity.
