New York Migrant Surge Sparks Need for Legal Interpreters

Thousands of migrants and asylum seekers from West Africa, Latin America, and China enter New York City every week, speaking a variety of languages from West African Wolof to indigenous Ecuadorian Kichwa to Chinese Min Nan.

Fears of discrimination lead many migrants to say they speak a more common language to ensure they get connected to a translator. A severe shortage of translators fluent in less common languages combined with a lapse in municipal funding for translation programs means migrants in New York are experiencing severe difficulties in getting proper legal services both in and out of the courtroom.

“There ...