In early September, the Kathryn O. Greenberg Immigration Justice Clinic (IJC) released Held Incommunicado: The Failed Promise of Language Access in Immigration Detention, the first report of its kind, focusing on how language access was denied to those who have limited English proficiency being held in U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) detention facilities. The denial of language access the report uncovered includes multiple instances of ICE not providing translators and interpreters, impeding detained peoples' ability to request medical care and legal assistance, and demonstrates that the agency failed to meet its own guidelines.

At Cardozo, clinical students gain real-life experience advocating for clients and advocating for justice for all. The students involved in this report worked during a two-year period interviewing detained people and contributing to the writing of the report. Keisy Germosen ’24, who worked on the report when she was a student at Cardozo, said that she admired the bravery of those who contributed to the report, and that “their future is still very much in the hands of the institution they dared speak up against … I hope this report helps to bring them justice.”

The report was overseen by Professor Lindsay Nash, the co-director of the clinic, as well as Ellie Norton, clinical teaching fellow at the IJC. It includes the first-hand accounts of nearly 180 individuals currently or recently detained in ICE detention centers.

“Interviewing the detained individuals with limited English proficiency really showed me how language access is such an important but often overlooked issue in the country,” said Kayla He, a 3L student who worked on the report. “I am grateful to be able to work on this report to raise awareness of this issue and elevate such a vulnerable population’s voices.”

Held Incommunicado offers the first nationwide empirical data showing how the immigration detention system denies noncitizens vital language services that ICE is legally obligated to provide in the context of medical care and law libraries. The report also states that without language access detained people face deportation without any meaningful chance to seek relief, denial of proper medical care and are subject to invasive medical procedures without their consent. 

3L Stacy Moses, said that the stories shared with the clinic were “truly heartbreaking,” and said it was “shocking and infuriating to see the extent of ICE’s willingness to deny some of the most basic human necessities to immigrants with limited English proficiency.”

The clinic students said they hope that the report will result in meaningful change and accountability on behalf of ICE.

“This was a really tough project to work on,” said Anais Rosenblatt ’24, who also worked on the report. “It took some serious perseverance to work through all of the obstacles standing between us and folks in immigration detention. I'm incredibly proud of the amount of detained individuals that we had the pleasure of speaking to, and I hope the report will serve to amplify their voices and create tangible change.” 

Read more about the report from the Los Angeles Times, and read the full report here.