Language Interpretation and Other Variables Shaping Outcomes for Detained Immigrants in Immigration Court Hearings

• In Event: Poster Session

Abstract

Ethnographic data is used to examine immigration court cases for detained immigrants facing possible deportation, frequently connected to histories of criminal conviction. The project examines cases of adults in a single Midwest immigration court. The research focuses on Spanish-speaking immigrants from Mexico, Central America, and South America who are monolingual Spanish speakers or Spanish-dominant speakers using court-based translation services. Approximately half of respondents represent themselves in these court hearings, typically via video link up from detention facilities. Immigrants in these court proceedings have no right to attorneys provided by the government, although the court is obligated to provide language interpretation. The research reveals that in this courtroom, court interpreters only interpret comments made directly to respondents, while neglecting to interpret conversations between government attorneys and judges and others. The preliminary research maps the process of deportation hearings, considering potential consequences of communication gaps facing non-English speaking respondents in these court proceedings. The poster presents data from five months of observation sessions at the court, examining variables including pro se vs. attorney representation, presence of family or others at the hearing, individual judges, presentation of criminal records, involvement specifically in the vaguely defined “crimes of moral turpitude,” and case outcomes.

Author

• Michelle VanNatta, Dominican University