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AILA Doc. No. 15121013 | Dated December 10, 2015
SAN ANTONIO, TX -Indigenous language speakers are facing serious obstacles in procuring access to justice while they are held in family detention centers, argues the latest formal complaint filed today by the partners in the CARA Family Detention Pro Bono Project with DHS's Office for Civil Rights and Civil Liberties and Office of Inspector General. p>
Drawing on the CARA Project's experience with more than 250 indigenous language-speaking families detained in Dilley and Karnes City, Texas, the complaint brings the challenges that these families face into sharp focus. These challenges include: inadequate screening at the border and within family detention centers; a lack of interpretive services for other interactions with government officials, subcontractors (including medical staff) and service providers; and a lack of written materials in indigenous languages. p>
The lack of adequate language services for indigenous families has led to: p>
The U.S. government is obligated to ensure that indigenous language speakers have meaningful access to federal programs and activities. The complaint recommends that DHS: p>
Press inquiries, please contact:
AILA: Belle Woods, bwoods@aila.org, 202-507-7675
Council: Wendy Feliz, wfeliz@immcouncil.org, 202-507-7524
RAICES: Mohammad Abdollahi, mo@raicestexas.org, 210-544-7811
CLINIC: Patricia Zapor, pzapor@cliniclegal.org, 301-565-4830 p>
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The CARA Pro Bono Project is a partnership of the Catholic Legal Immigration Network (CLINIC), the American Immigration Council (Council), Refugee and Immigrant Center for Education and Legal Services (RAICES), and the American Immigration Lawyers Association (AILA), that provides legal representation and undertakes advocacy on behalf of women and children held in federal family detention centers and works to end family detention. p>
Cite as AILA Doc. No. 15121013.
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