“Alone in a Crowd: Indigenous Migrants and Language Barriers in American Immigration”

• Published date: 01 October 2023
• DOI: http://doi.org/10.1177/21533687211006448
• Author: Denise N. Obinna
• Date: 01 October 2023
• Subject Matter: Articles

Article

“Alone in a Crowd:

Indigenous Migrants and

Language Barriers in

American Immigration”

Denise N. Obinna

1

Abstract

Indigenous migrants in American custody often speak neither English nor Spanish. This

leaves them at risk for family separation, deportation and due process violations. In

this article, I discuss the challenges which indigenous migrants face in American

immigration. Examining linguistic variations, this manuscript illustrates that American

immigration policies have not adjusted to the linguistic diversity at the border—or

in the immigration courts. Despite the growing number of indigenous migrants seeking

asylum, most are assumed to speak only Spanish. This assumption neglects the wide

linguistic diversity of immigrants and directly impacts their experience through the

immigration bureaucracy. For indigenous migrants, linguicism or the exclusion of

native languages can have life or death consequences—especially if they are unable to

secure interpreters or relay crucial aspects of their case. As such, linguicism perpe-

tuates an unequal justice system which fails to provide an understanding of the asylum

process for those who speak indigenous languages.

Keywords

critical race theory, criminological theories, indigenous people, race/ethnicity, colonial

theory, criminological theories, race, class, and gender articulation, c riminological

theories, social control theory, criminological theories, immigration and crime,

criminological theories

1

Department of Sociology, Mount St. Mary’s University, Emmitsburg, MD, USA

Corresponding Author:

Denise N. Obinna, Department of Sociology, Mount St. Mary’s University, 16300 Old Emmitsburg Rd.,

Emmitsburg, MD 21727, USA.

Email: obinna@msmary.edu

Race and Justice

ªThe Author(s) 2021

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DOI: 10.1177/21533687211006448

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2023, Vol. 13(4) 488–\ 505

In December 2018, two children from indigenous Maya communities in Guatemala

died while in the custody of the United States Customs and Border Protection (CBP).

Jakelin Caal Maquin aged seven and Felipe G´omez Alonzo aged eight both came to

the U.S when their parents fled poverty and violence in their home countries (Jordan,

2018; Sacchetti, 2018). The children’s deaths occurred within weeks of each other and

following both cases, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) stated that the

parents either failed to notify Border Patrol agents about the need for medical care or

that they declined medical care completely. Jakelin’s father has since denied these

allegations (Romero, 2018). After the two deaths, the CBP announced a change in

policy calling for prompt health screenings of all children in their custody (McDonald,

2018; Sacchetti & Moore, 2018). Despite the change in policy, little attention has

focused on the fact that the two families speak indigenous languages. The native

language spoken by Jakelin’s father is the Mayan language Q’eqchi or K’ekchi’ and

the language spoken by Felipe’s father is Chuj a language indigenous to Guatemala.

While it is unclear how much the parents understood on the forms which were written

in English and read in Spanish by CBP officers, both cases raise important questions

about the CBP’s use of English-only forms.

Amid the scrutiny of family separation, scores of immigrant parents have been

deported back to their homelands without their children (Hals & Levinson 2018;

Jordan & Dickerson, 2018). In many cases, the deportation occurred after they had

signed paperwork with the understanding that their children would be returned to

them. Ahtone (2018) states that indigenous families are more likely to be separated

because indigenous mothers cannot effectively refute the U.S. government’s claims

that they are ‘unfit’. As such, the gravity of the current refugee crisis is complicated by

language barriers at the U.S.-Mexico border (Bernd, 2018; Wallace & Hern´andez,

2017). Upon apprehension at the U.S.-Mexico border, migrant men, women and

children are housed in hieleras or iceboxes for days at a time. Here, they sleep on cold

concrete floors in overcrowded cells huddled under foil blankets (Cantor, 2015; Riva,

2017). Afterward, migrants are housed in detention centers for up to a year as they

await their first Credible Fear Interview (CFI) with an asylum officer.

A 2013 memorandum from DHS acknowledged that there were limited interpreters

for indigenous languages such as Q’eqchi,Q’anjob’al or Mam.

1

This means that these

limitations could result in lengthy delays in the processing of credible fear cases.

Likewise, a 2015 report on the difficulties faced by indigenous speaking migrants

found that up to 42%of Guatemalan families entering Southern Arizona spoke an

indigenous dialect as their primary language (Trevizo, 2015). Work by Gieselman

(2018) and Truax (2018) emphasize the serious consequences which arise when

indigeneity is erased during the migration experience. Indigenous migrants are at

greater risk for deportation, family separation and death in CBP custody as a result of

cultural and ethnic differences which are systematically ignored.

The CBP and the DHS unquestionably face several challenges in providing real

time interpretation services to indigenous migrants. However, the deaths of Jakelin

and Felipe illustrate that language access can be a life or death situation. Still, while

language barriers are a contributing factor to the difficulties which indigenous Central

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Obinna