Bad Interpreters Hinder Immigrants in Deportation Hearings, Suit Says

Illegal immigrants and refugees are handicapped in deportation hearings by “incompetent” interpreters and by an Immigration Court practice of translating only parts of proceedings, according to a lawsuit filed Monday in Los Angeles federal court.

“The present practice results in hearings wherein non-English speaking individuals are deprived of the opportunity to understand and fully comprehend what is being said,” the suit charges, contending that the practice deprives immigrants of “a full and fair hearing.”

The suit was filed by the Legal Aid Foundation and immigrants’ rights groups.

‘Untrained, Incompetent’

The experience of trying to understand court proceedings and to communicate through an untrained interpreter reduced one Salvadoran plaintiff in the case to tears, the suit said. Others in the suit, including Iranian and Central American refugees appealing deportation orders, blame errors in translation for the court’s denial of their requests for political asylum and stays of deportation.

The class-action suit contends that the courts “customarily employ interpreters . . . who are untrained, incompetent and ill-prepared to interpret proceedings.”

Often, Spanish-speaking interpreters double as Immigration Court clerks and are unable to fully focus on interpreting the proceedings, said Legal Aid Foundation attorney Sandra Pettit. Others lack a knowledge of legal and technical terms used in the hearings and are “unable to translate at a meaningful level of competency to enable a person . . . to place his/her claim before the court,” according to the suit.

Jerry Hurwitz, counsel to the Executive Office for Immigration Review that oversees the Immigration Court, denied the charge that interpreters are incompetent. But Hurwitz declined to comment further because the issue is in litigation.

Pettit said another issue raised by the suit is the court’s policy of translating only the petitioners’ comments to the judge and his to the petitioner. Attorneys’ arguments and objections and the judge’s decision are not translated, she said.

According to Pettit, other than lower courts such as small claims, state and federal courts employ only certified interpreters. The suit filed Monday asks for similar standards for the Immigration Court, which do not require certification.

‘Life and Death’ Issues

Noting that the Immigration Court often rules on such “life and death” issues as whether a person can remain in the country or return to a war-ravaged homeland, Pettit said, “Immigration proceedings have a higher consequence in people’s lives and should be equated to federal or criminal proceedings.”

The suit, filed against the Executive Office for Immigration Review, officers of the Immigration Court and the Immigration and Naturalization Service, asks for relief in the Los Angeles and San Diego INS districts.