Indigenous border crossers continue to face language barriers despite requirements that information be provided in a language they understand, advocates say.
โMany are processed based on an interview where they donโt fully comprehend what it means in terms of their legal rights,โ and that can be the difference between qualifying for asylum or being deported, said Blake Gentry, author of the report โExclusion of indigenous language speaking immigrants in the US Immigration system, a technical review.โ
Since 2000, federal agencies are required to assess and improve access to services for those with limited English proficiency. But 15 years later, the implementation of comprehensive language programs remains uneven, government officials and advocates have said.
From the time they get caught at the border, thereโs no assessment tool to determine a personโs primary language, interpretation services are inconsistent and neither agents or officers at the border are properly trained to determine how fluent they are, for instance, in Spanish, said Gentry, of Ama Consultants in Tucson.
For his report, he reviewed current policies and practices and interviewed immigrant families, immigration attorneys, court interpreters, people who had contact with indigenous-language speaking immigrants in adult and family detention centers and in shelters for unaccompanied minors.
Spanish is still the predominant language spoken by those captured at the border, but the share of Central Americans โ in particular Guatemalans in the Tucson sector โ is going up.
While many speak some basic Spanish and can say their name or where they are from, they cannot understand policies and processes explained in more advanced Spanish, said Sebastian Quinac, a spokesman for the Guatemalan community in Tucson and a Kaqchikel native speaker. Few indigenous-language speakers have higher than a third-grade education.
The number of indigenous-language speakers that go through DHS is not tracked though.
โItโs really important that indigenous people, not only those from Guatemala but also those from Mexico and other countries who come here, understand in their own language the laws and why they have to sign a document,โ Quinac said.
Among other things, the Guatemalan community calls on the federal government to work with indigenous-language speakers to develop a language screening assessment tool to figure out the needs and the size of the population and to provide uniform indigenous language interpretation services across all agencies throughout the immigration enforcement process.
ICE and Border Patrol officials in Arizona said they already have systems in place to communicate with those they encounter.
The Border Patrol contracts interpreter and translating services that offer more than 150 languages and dialects to assist when someone speaks an indigenous language, officials said. Agents also make every effort to contact consulate officers so they can assist in the process.
DHS also uses an โI Speakโ poster and cards that include 75 of the most frequently encountered languages, as well as 13 of the indigenous languages of Mexico and Central America with the countryโs flags to the side for people to identify their language to officers.
In Arizona, ICE has always been able to provide a translator or find ways to communicate with detainees, an official said. And in June, ICE officials said they were looking to better address language issues for speakers of indigenous languages in family detention centers.
Officers and agents often reach out to the Guatemalan consulates in Arizona, said Carlos de Leon, consul general of Guatemala in Tucson.
โAll of the consulates have a list of people who speak the different dialects who we can reach out to when the Border Patrol or the court needs interpreting services,โ he said.
Detainees also call the consulate directly when they have legal questions, he said, but added that anything that can benefit the community to ensure they understand the process is welcomed.
In 2010, the Government Accountability Office found the DHS didnโt have a systematic method for assessing its foreign language needs. Five years later, the GAO said the department has not fully met its recommendations, which included a comprehensive assessment of its needs and identifying any shortfalls.
DHS convened a joint language task force and developed a language access plan, but the GAO has said itโs not enough to close its recommendations.
As of June 1, more than 8,000 Guatemalan unaccompanied minors were caught at the border this fiscal year and another 7,000 family units.
Between 36 percent and 42 percent of the Guatemalan families released this spring said they primarily spoke an indigenous language, said Gentry, based on interviews with 247 families released by ICE in Southern Arizona between February and April.
Mayan languages spoken in immigration court proceedings are also on the rise. In fiscal year 2013, Quiche was the 25th most common language used in immigration court. The following year, Mam was 16th, Quiche was 17th and Kanjobal was the 25th most common.
The issues of indigenous-language speakers, said David Maurer, the GAOโs director of homeland security and justice issues, โunderscores the importance for DHS to fully understand what needs there are and figure out where they have gaps.โ
Visit Tucson.com to read the full report and watch a demonstration of what a Border Patrol stop of an indigenous language speaker could be like.
