Thread: Shortage of court interpreters worsening in U.S.

Shortage of court interpreters worsening in U.S.

By Maité Jullian, USA TODAY
An existing shortage of certified court interpreters is worsening, court officials say, as law enforcement agencies step up actions against illegal immigrants.

Arrests leading to federal prosecutions and deportations reached record levels in fiscal year 2008, according to an October report by Immigration and Customs Enforcement.

Wanda Romberger, manager of court interpreting services at the National Center for State Courts, says that almost every state is being confronted with a lack of certified interpreters — who have to pass difficult exams — especially in languages other than Spanish.

"I don't know of many jurisdictions that would say they have enough qualified court interpreters," she says. There are about 3,000 certified interpreters, says Isabel Framer, chairwoman of the National Association of Judiciary Interpreters and Translators. Only 500, she says, work in languages other than Spanish.

The association did not estimate how many more interpreters are needed, but according to a 2007 report by the Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts, there was a 17% increase in the number of events requiring interpreters in 115 languages in federal courts from October 2006 to September 2007.

Framer says that several cases have been reversed because of poor interpretation. Parastoo Zahedi, a Virginia-based immigration lawyer says she "repeatedly had to reschedule cases because there was no interpreter."

Administrative Office spokesman Richard Carelli says federal courts provide adequate interpreters for most Spanish speakers, who, he says, represent 95% of immigration-related cases.

However, he says, it can be difficult to find interpreters in some languages. Carelli also says that "finding interpreters for certain indigenous dialects from Central and South American countries has presented problems."

The shortage affects state and federal courts equally in languages other than Spanish, Framer says. It pushes courts to use freelance interpreters who may lack training, says Suzan Kern, a former interpreter who is now an immigration lawyer.

"There is an assumption that if you're bilingual, you can interpret and translate but it is most definitely not the case," she says.

Certified interpreters have to pass exams, either through a state certification program, the Administrative Office or the Consortium for State Court Interpreter Certification, Framer says.

They are trained in the use of the specific court terms and protocols, Kern says. Courts also use qualified interpreters — non-credentialed but with experience — but there are not enough of them either, Framer says.

Framer says one of the main reasons for the shortage is the lack of funding for training and testing programs. Legislation that would provide federal funds for state court interpreters has stalled, Romberger says.

The Administrative Office spends $11 million a year in interpreting services, Carelli says, including travel expenses.

The skills to pass these tests are "phenomenal," Romberger says. In 2007, only 77 of 459 candidates passed the Federal Court Interpreter Certification Examination, according to the Administrative Office of U.S. Courts.

Courts sometimes hire uncertified interpreters because they are cheaper, Framer says.

According to the Administrative Office of U.S. Courts, a federal certified or qualified court interpreter is paid $376 a day. Others are paid $181.

When Immigration and Customs Enforcement detained 389 illegal workers at the Agriprocessors meatpacking plant in Postville, Iowa, on May 12, 32 certified Spanish interpreters were flown in, according to Robert Phelps, clerk of the U.S. District Court in Cedar Rapids. Even so, there were snags.

"People were unable to talk some of the South American dialects people were speaking," says Kathleen Campbell Walker, an immigration attorney who has worked in Texas for 20 years.

http://www.usatoday.com/news/nation/200 ... titialskip

related:
http://www.alipac.us/ftopict-138517-translators.html

An existing shortage of certified court interpreters is worsening, court officials say, as law enforcement agencies step up actions against illegal immigrants.



If anything, this should be a huge indicator of just how severe the problem of illegal immigration is in this country.

Or, are we supposed to grant them amnesty due to a shortage of interpretors?

Let Ramos and Compean out and any other border patrol officer out of prison and let them interpret.

Frankly, they should bring their own interpreter. They have a right to an attorney in a criminal suit but not a right to an interpreter. Seriously, if someoine needs an interpreter, they should be charged for it.

Dixie

Perhaps it should read:

SURPLUS OF ILLEGAL IMMIGRANT CRIMINALS CREATES Shortage of court interpreters"

Originally Posted by misterbill

Perhaps it should read:

SURPLUS OF ILLEGAL IMMIGRANT CRIMINALS CREATES Shortage of court interpreters"

There you go misterbill. Let's start turning it around on them.

In my opinion, if you need an interpreter, then it should mean AUTOMATIC deportation. No waste of taxpayer money in our legal system.

The Administrative Office spends $11 million a year in interpreting services, Carelli says, including travel expenses.

This is just a fraction of the expenses tax payers fork out because of ILLEGAL IMMIGRATION. What a waste of money being spent on people who have no business being in America in the 1st place!