42 House Democrats sent a letter to Attorney General Barr demanding that DOJ immediately rescind its plan to end the use of in-court interpreters for noncitizens appearing at their initial immigration court hearing.
The decision to replace human interpreters with pre-recorded videos at immigration court hearings as a “cost-saving measure,” is simply dehumanizing and wrong.
The role of an in-person interpreter is integral to providing people with access to due process and having a full understanding of the inalienable rights that form the basis of American values. A video cannot answer any clarifying questions that an individual may have regarding their human rights.
The proposed change would jeopardize immigrants’ rights to due process, worsen delays and backlogs as a result of confusion and lengthier appeals, and ultimately, compromise the integrity our immigration system. This change will do nothing to address the current backlogs, rather, it will ex~cerbate them.
We strongly urge the Justice Department to continue the use of in-court human interpreters and rescind any decision to curb or limit such availability. Any shift in current standards would greatly undennine immigrants• rights to due process and humane treatment.
Source: AILA Doc. No. 19073112.
