Family separations bring call for rare language interpreters

[Judi Lynn]

By ANITA SNOW, ASSOCIATED PRESS
PHOENIX — Jun 26, 2018, 3:27 PM ET

As word spread that the Trump administration was separating migrant families, urgent calls went out across the internet for interpreters at the U.S.-Mexico border.

But this call was not for Spanish speakers. These interpreters needed to speak the lesser-known indigenous languages of Guatemala and Mexico, including Mayan languages and Zapotec.

Guatemalans have been the largest group of immigrants apprehended at the Mexico border this year. The U.S. Border Patrol says almost 29,300 families were arrested from Oct. 1 to May 31. Many of them are not fluent in Spanish and instead speak Mayan languages known as K'iche' and Mam.

Robert Foss is a Los Angeles immigration attorney. He says having an interpreter is essential for immigrants to receive "a full and fair hearing," especially in asylum cases.

https://abcnews.go.com/International/wireStory/family-separations-bring-call-rare-language-interpreters-56178954

(Short article, no more at link.)