Recently, the U.S. Senate passed a bill aimed to make it more difficult for migrants to enter the U.S. and request asylum.
But this bill does nothing to address one of the major factors that slows efficiency in the immigration system: lack of adequate interpretation services for applicants.
A number of years ago, I was introduced to Hugo, a Mexican migrant facing deportation. Hugo was lucky to be represented by a pro-bono lawyer, which is rare for individuals in detention.
But there was a deeper problem: he couldn’t communicate with his counsel. Or the judge. Or any of the officials deciding his fate.
He’d been categorized as a Spanish-speaker, but his native language was Mixe, an Indigenous language from the Mexican state of Oaxaca.
Hugo, whose name has been changed to protect his identity, understood a few Spanish phrases, but mostly he was in the dark about what was happening to him.
By U.S. law, anyone facing deportation or claiming asylum has the right to understand and “meaningfully participate” in the legal process. I’m a translation and interpretation expert, so I was asked to determine Hugo’s Spanish proficiency.
After a thorough........