Thread: WA: More towns in East WA need Spanish translators

Like Mattawa, more E. Washington towns need Spanish translators

The mayor of the Yakima Valley town of Mattawa says more towns with large Spanish-speaking populations will likely need to hire translators.

The mayor, Judy Esser, says Bridgeport, Brewster and Mabton may face the same federal pressure.

The Justice Department forced Mattawa to use translators and to translate municipal documents into Spanish. The city agreed to resolve complaints from people who were victims of domestic violence and felt they weren't helped by police because of language differences.

Mattawa officials expect the translation services will cost the town about $4,000 this year.

Mattawa's population is 2,609 and nearly 90 percent Hispanic.

Washington state is going down hill fast....Yakima is the largest home of drug cartels from Mexico in the Pacific Northwest! and the people there don't seem to give a damn !!

Matawa is one of the worst I was working in the area and had a guy that had to take a pee test so he was taken to a med center in Matawa and no one spoke english we had to transport to Ellensberg for test ..