Conflict & Justice  Some Immigrant Victims of Domestic Abuse
Afraid to Seek Help Along Border   Sister Rosemary Welsh,
center, with two immigrant women who were victims of domestic
abuse and got counseling at Casa de Misericordia. These women
are in new relationships and recently acquired US visas. (Photo:
Jason Margolis)  Most of the women who come to Casa de
Misericordia, or House of Mercy, in Laredo, Texas, are
undocumented immigrants. For many, it's hard to see a way out of
an abusive relationship.  Player utilities  "One of the ways men
would keep them in a domestic violence situation was saying that
I am a US citizen, or I am legal permanent resident, and you
call the police, and they will deport you and I will stay with
the kids," said Sister Rosemary Welsh, the group's executive
director. "So it was a way of terrorizing the women and also
keeping them in bondage and keeping them in a violent
situation."  Abused women, as well as some men, have been
coming to Casa de Misericordia for 15 years, seekin