Tuesday, July 15th, 2025
In a win against ICE and their continued discrimination against people with disabilities in detention, Disability Law United and co-counsel Disability Rights Legal Center (DRLC) have prevented a Deaf immigrant from Mongolia from being immediately deported without having been provided necessary accommodations for his disability, and without a formal hearing on his asylum claim.
Our client, B.A., was subjected to police-sanctioned abuse, physical assaults and harassment in Mongolia because of his disability. He came to the United States to seek asylum, bringing with him a written letter explaining his disability and his need for interpretation in Mongolian Sign Language (MSL). ICE detained him, denied him these accommodations, and conducted only a brief interview without MSL interpretation, leaving B.A. unable to communicate with ICE officers. The interview resulted in a fill-in-the-blank finding that our client had not established that it was more likely than not that he would be tortured should he return to Mongolia, putting him at imminent risk of deportation – a decision which they did not bother to translate into MSL, either.
Knowing her client could be put on a plane immediately, without notice or further proceedings, B.A.’s immigration attorney reached out for help. Eight days after learning of the case, DLU and DRLC filed a lawsuit under Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act and the Administrative Procedure Act, and a motion for a temporary restraining order, seeking to prevent B.A.’s removal until he was provided appropriate interpretation and taken out of expedited removal status. As a result of that lawsuit and motion, ICE issued a Notice to Appear, the charging document that placed B.A. into formal immigration proceedings, meaning he is no longer at imminent risk of deportation, and will now be able to formally raise his request for asylum.
On Wednesday, July 9th, the court issued a preliminary injunction in the case, with the judge ordering ICE to provide a MSL interpreter at all significant proceedings. He also ordered that prior determinations about B.A.’s mental competency and fear of torture be stricken, and that he must be given more time for video calls with his attorney. ICE must redo his medical and mental evaluations, this time in the presence of a certified MSL interpreter. Finally, the court is taking under submission whether to order that B.A.’s sister, a resident of the U.S., be allowed at all proceedings, and whether B.A. is entitled to Mongolian language translation of orders after proceedings.
Unfortunately, B.A, remains in ICE custody at the notorious Otay Mesa, California detention facility. Along with co-counsel at DRLC, we will continue to fight for our client’s rights. ICE must be held accountable for the myriad ways in which they continue to violate disability laws – and the rights of people with disabilities seeking asylum.
How many other Deaf refugees/immigrants/asylum seekers are being detained (and without sign language accommidations in ASL or their native sign language)?
Cops no interpreter four times arrested .