C - Interpreters

EOIR provides interpreters for all people with LEP who appear before the immigration courts or OCAHO. 

EOIR currently employs over 100 staff interpreters who work in the immigration courts. Because the overwhelming language spoken by people with LEP who have cases or business before EOIR is Spanish, the majority of EOIR’s interpreters speak Spanish. EOIR also employs staff interpreters who speak Mandarin Chinese in courts in which there is a large population of individuals whose best language is Mandarin Chinese. We only have Spanish and Mandarin staff interpreters. If we need a sign language interpreter, we use a contractor interpreter. 

In addition to these full-time federal employees, EOIR has a contract with a language services company to provide scheduled interpreter assistance in whatever language is needed at its immigration courts, before the Board of Immigration Appeals (BIA), and before OCAHO. Alternatively, if an interpreter is needed immediately, EOIR contracts with two telephonic interpreter services. Through these combined efforts, EOIR is able to provide all people with LEP with an interpreter at all hearings. 

Due to the importance of providing accurate interpretations, EOIR only allows qualified individuals to serve as court interpreters. EOIR does not permit the family or friends of a person with LEP to act as court interpreters. Rather, interpreters permitted to interpret in court must meet specific qualifications. For example, they must have at least one year of specialized experience interpreting non-routine material consecutively in a judicial environment. [14] They must also have at least one year of specialized experience interpreting non-routine material simultaneously in a judicial environment. [15] 

Further, EOIR staff interpreters must take an oath when they commence their employment with EOIR that they will interpret and translate accurately; all contract court interpreters must swear or affirm the same at the commencement of each hearing to which they are assigned. See 8 C.F.R. § 1003.22; Immigration Court Practice Manual, Ch. 4.11. 

Staff interpreters must be highly proficient in both English and the foreign language vocabularies typically used in formal, consultative, and casual modes of communication in justice system contexts, including colloquial slang, idiosyncratic slang, and regionalisms.  

Prospective staff interpreters must meet the necessary qualifications before being considered for an interview, including either federal or state certification or one year of interpreting experience in a judicial environment. [16] Final staff interpreter candidates undergo testing prior to receiving an offer of employment and must pass the evaluation with a minimum overall score of 70%. Regardless of their federal or state certification, prospective staff interpreters must be tested. This test was developed and validated specifically for EOIR in 2018 by an outside testing company. The company continues to develop additional tests, maintains current tests, and administers the test to final staff interpreter candidates. Contract interpreters must also go through a contractually mandated first time interpreting (FTI) assignment and annual evaluations. 

A staff interpreter’s proficiency in English and each respective foreign language the interpreter interprets, and the interpreter’s interpretation skills in consecutive, simultaneous and sight translation are tested and evaluated on an ongoing basis. 

[14] “In consecutive interpreting, the interpreter waits until the speaker has finished before rendering speech into another language. Consecutive interpreting is a true and accurate interpretation of one language to another, spoken in brief sound bites successively, without omissions or embellishments, so that the parties can understand each other slowly and deliberately.” National Association of Judiciary Interpreters & Translators, supra Note 1

[15] “Simultaneous interpreting is the rendering of one spoken language into another when running renditions are needed at the same time as the English language communication. The interpreter speaks virtually at the same time as the LEP person.” Id.

[16] In addition to the one-year requirement, EOIR completes reference checks and confirms during the interview process that this interpreting experience was at least at a satisfactory level.