A 2020 court ruling mandated the White House provide real-time translations via American Sign Language. President Trump halted their use in January.
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WASHINGTON – A group of Deaf Americans who previously forced the White House to provide American Sign Language interpreters during press briefings is asking a federal judge to again intervene after President Donald Trump halted their use in January.
In a lawsuit filed May 28, the National Association of the Deaf argued that the Trump White House’s removal of ASL interpreters at press conferences and briefings violates federal law. The same group previously forced the White House to provide interpreters for COVID-19 briefings during Trump’s first presidency, and former President Joe Biden expanded their use when he took office.
The lawsuit says Trump stopped using sign language interpreters upon taking office a second time, violating the 2020 ruling by Judge James Boasberg, who at the time said providing closed captioning or written transcripts is insufficient. Boasberg is the chief judge for the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, and has been repeatedly criticized by Trump over unrelated immigration rulings.
“Federal law unequivocally prohibits discrimination against individuals with disabilities and requires them to have meaningful access to the federal government’s programs and services,” the lawsuit alleges. “Failing to provide ASL interpreters deprives deaf people of meaningful access to the White House’s press briefings.”
The lawsuit includes two Deaf people − Derrick Ford and Matthew Bonn − as plaintiffs, and notes that hundreds of thousands of deaf Americans speak only ASL, and may not communicate at all in English.
Trump in March declared English to be the official language of the United States, and rescinded a 2000 executive order that encouraged the executive branch to make services available to people of limited English proficiency, including ASL speakers. The NAD asked the White House to reinstate ASL translation but received no response, the group said in its lawsuit.
Members of the Deaf community have long worried about lack of access to ASL interpreters, especially during times of crisis. The 2020 lawsuit from the NAD specifically cited the ongoing pandemic as a reason for having real-time translations instead of providing closed captioning or transcripts.
ASL translators have also become an increasingly common sight at concerts, with Taylor Swift, among others, using them to bring lyrics to life for deaf people.