Another Attack on Language Justice:
Memo on Language Access in Immigration Court Cancelled
In June 2023, the Department of Justice released a memo expanding language access for people in immigration proceedings. The memo stated that the immigration judge should “at the start of each case, identify the noncitizen’s preferred language or languages” and “ensure that the noncitizen is provided with interpretation into their preferred language going forward.” The memo provided further protections for language access rights by holding immigration judges accountable for “familiarizing themselves with resources available to noncitizens at the detention facility” to help them secure out-of-court language services and by allowing immigration judges the ability to extend filing deadlines if it is difficult for someone to access language services.
Although still limited in their scope given that the burden still remained on individuals to submit their documents in English—a requirement for people in immigration proceedings—these guidelines were a small step towards ensuring that people had their language rights considered and protected in immigration court.
However, in the Trump administration’s latest blow to the immigrant community and to language access rights, the June 2023 memo was cancelled on February 6th. This leaves individuals in immigration proceedings with even fewer protections in a system that is already daunting to people with limited English proficiency. According to the cancellation of the memo, it remains outside of the immigration judge’s jurisdiction to “gather evidence outside of court” to assist individuals navigating language access barriers. Effectively, the cancellation of the memo relieves immigration judges of the burden of having to help people access language services.
As language justice activists, we know that denying people language access is a gateway to stripping them of their legal rights. When people do not have their language rights respected, they are denied access to a fair trial and cannot have their case fully represented. The cancellation of the memo on Language Access in Immigration Court shows that the Trump administration is committed to stopping immigrants from seeking protection by any means possible. At Respond, we remain committed to filling the massive gaps in language access left by the Trump administration and will keep fighting to ensure that as many people have their voices heard as possible.
by Machaela Parkin
Eastern European + Central Asian Languages Lead & Spanish Co-Lead
