Comptroller Stringer Calls for More Inclusive Interpretation Services to Expand Language Access for Immigrant Communities

(New York, NY) – Today New York City Comptroller Scott M. Stringer called for new funding to be included in the City’s FY 2021 budget to expand programming for inclusive interpretation services to mitigate the linguistic barriers faced by more than 1.2 million New Yorkers who speak languages of limited diffusion (LLDs). According to Comptroller’s Stringer’s analysis of U.S. Census Bureau data, more than 1.2 million people living in New York City speak a language at home that is spoken by fewer than 100,000 or about 1 percent of the city’s population. This presents a direct challenge for LLD speakers to secure the frontline, in-person interpretation they depend on in complex courtroom cases including immigration proceedings, or housing court cases. LLD speakers face linguistic barriers in other city-funded services as well that pose challenges to participating fully in their children’s education and in civic life.

“Language impacts every aspect of  life, and too many New Yorkers who speak languages of limited diffusion are underserved and deprived of basic services due to a lack of quality frontline interpreters,” said Comptroller Stringer. “This has to change. Investing in truly inclusive language services will widen the circle of opportunity for thousands of immigrant New Yorkers and help them gain access to meaningful support. Let’s uphold New York City’s promise as a sanctuary in this year’s budget, by promoting equity for all, in every language.”

To increase the supply of interpreters in the city, Comptroller Stringer called on the City to invest in the creation of a Community Legal Interpreter Bank (CLIB), a proposal put forward by African Communities Together, Mexican American Students’ Alliance, Asian American Foundation, and New York Immigration Coalition. The program would work to recruit, train, and dispatch legal interpreters to legal services organizations across the city. Comptroller Stringer also called on the City to allocate funding to launch three language services worker-owned cooperatives, one each for African, Asian, and indigenous Latin American LLDs, which would not only guarantee high-quality language services but would create employment opportunities for many immigrant New Yorkers.

“Despite the fact that New York City has one of the most inclusive and expansive language access laws in the country, there are still thousands of hard-working families who are forced to navigate complex government and court systems without access to appropriate language services, transforming even basic tasks into insurmountable obstacles. We must do more to empower every New Yorker, which is why we’re thrilled to see Comptroller Stringer’s support for proposals that the NYIC, African Communities Together, Asian American Federation, and Masa have long been advocating for, including the creation of a community legal interpreter bank and enabling  immigrant community-based organizations to develop and launch language services worker-owned cooperatives to meet the needs of our diverse city. These are simple and cost-effective solutions designed to make New York City work for all,” said Steve Choi, Executive Director of the New York Immigration Coalition.

“Our African immigrant members are proud to be part of New York City, a place that offers the promise of inclusion and equality for all,” said Amaha Kassa, Executive Director of African Communities Together. “However, without language access, that promise will never be achieved. Investing in the creation of a Community Legal Interpreter Bank and building language services worker cooperatives in immigrant communities can help us get there. Thank you, Comptroller Stringer, for amplifying the call for New York City to lead the way in developing a language service professional workforce for the 21st Century.”

“We thank the Comptroller for highlighting the challenges of providing language access to critical services for New York’s immigrant communities,” said Jo-Ann Yoo, Executive Director of the Asian American Federation. “The sheer number of languages spoken by African, indigenous Latinx, and Asian communities presents a major challenge to ensuring equal access to services, particularly for less commonly spoken languages. We look forward to working with the city to address this challenge by tapping into existing skills within our communities to create a workforce with the proper training and skills to meet the growing demand for language services.”

“During this moment, when immigrant communities are under constant attack, it has become all the more critical to ensure that actionable and trusted information is accessible to immigrant communities, including critical resources that they are eligible for,” said Aracelis Lucero, Executive Director of Masa. “The first step towards protecting immigrant families is ensuring information is accessible in their native language. Our communities that speak a less commonly spoken language should not be forgotten but instead, their rich language and cultural knowledge should be elevated by the city. One way to do this is to support the development of language worker cooperatives where community members are gaining the critical knowledge, training, and skills that they need to meet this gap. We want to thank Comptroller Stringer for raising this issue to help ensure New York City continues to be bold, brave and a truly equitable city for all to live in.”

To read Comptroller Stringer’s letter, click here.

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