Domestic Violence Against Women

In the book, Children of the Land, Marcelo Hernandez Castillo persuades his audience with numerous topics such as domestic and systematic violence against immigrant women. Since the beginning, Amá demonstrates to be an independent woman who likes to work and to have a life far away from Apá. Amá took initiative to flee Mexico with her children as she tried to keep them alive. Yet, she is a victim/survivor of domestic violence. Hernandez Castillo writes “Maybe Amá and Apá didn't yet know they loved each other, even after so many years, just like I thought I knew what love was but didn't know how to love yet” (108). Hernandez Castillo implies his mother confuses the habit to be waiting for Apá with loving him. Also, Hernandez Castillo felt “He [Apá] won” (284) when Amá decided to go back to Mexico even when she knew her husband continued to see himself as the jefe of the house.

Amá was a victim of physical, psychological, and systematic violence. When Hernandez Castillo was trying to obtain a U visa for his mother, the opportunity was denied to her because the victim did not have a "credible" story, too much time passed, and the law was unwilling to provide justice. Additionally, “The U visa law told women like my mother how they should suffer and provided a checklist for correct forms of suffering” (243). Victims of sexual assault and domestic violence can be granted permission to stay in the United States under a U visa if they assist the police in their investigation. But women are scared to report violence to the authorities, especially undocumented women. They want to keep their families together and are terrified to be deported when seeking help. Last year, 33,500 assault victims applied for U visas, yet, the legal limit of U visas that can be guaranteed per year is 10,000. As a result, women continue to experience violence and oppression in their houses and systematically. 
Questions: 

1. Hernandez Castillo writes " ... we can confuse violence with love, trying to convince ourselves that it wasn't so bad" (206). In what other situations/parts is this portrayed throughout the text, and what are the consequences?

2. How does Children of the Land criticizes the “American Dream”?