In February, an ICE agent directed Emilio, a deaf man, onto a bus in southern Texas after nine weeks in immigration detention. Emilio said he requested a sign language interpreter but none was provided. He realized he was being sent to Mexico, a country where he had never lived, after seeing the Mexican flag. He had been working at Amazon when he was detained during an asylum check‑in appointment in December 2025.

The surge in deportations under the Trump administration has strained the immigration system and raised concerns that staffing reductions have limited access to accommodations required by the Rehabilitation Act of 1977. The law obligates agencies that receive federal funding, including ICE, to provide reasonable accommodations for disabled individuals, including sign language interpretation.

More than 100 deaf people who use sign language as their primary language have received deportation orders since the start of 2026, according to data supplied by Mobile Pathways and verified by Mother Jones. The figure likely undercounts because it does not include deaf individuals who use hearing devices. Deaf detainees often lack interpreters during detention and court proceedings, and there is no publicly available data on how frequently interpreters are provided. Emilio did not know Mexican sign language, which differs from Venezuelan sign language, and many Latin American countries have distinct sign languages.

Edgar, another Venezuelan deaf individual, was detained in May after a traffic stop in Utah. He was held in several facilities and eventually transferred to California. An interpreter was not provided when he was asked to sign documents he did not understand, he said. He signed the papers unaware they were self‑deportation forms, a violation of due process, according to his attorney Laura Murchie of Disability Law United.

A deaf Mongolian detainee in California waited four months for an interpreter, prompting a lawsuit alleging violations of disability civil rights laws. Alina Engelman, a public health professor at California State University, East Bay, said withholding communication access denies deaf people’s humanity. A DHS spokesperson said written Spanish was used for communication with Edgar and denied that an interpreter was denied.

Celena Ponce of Hands United has assisted about 20 deaf detainees since January, many of whom reported prolonged periods without interpreters. The organization also provides interpretation for deaf immigrants to share their stories. Cuenca Maldonado, president of the National Hispanic Latino Association of the Deaf, said effective communication is essential for understanding legal rights and accessing services, especially when face coverings obscure visual cues.

Emilio said he remains unsure why he was targeted and whether his asylum case has been closed, while the DHS has not responded directly to questions about interpreter provision at his check‑in. The lack of interpreter certification for sign languages other than American Sign Language leaves deaf detainees vulnerable to miscommunication in the immigration process.