Fact Sheet

KEY FINDINGS

Î Support for Asian Pacific American languages is limited

Î Federal courts lag behind their state counterparts in providing access to justice

Î There a limited federal laws ensuring LEP individuals get meaningful access to justice

Î Federal funding for language access and legal aid is inadequate

SNAPSHOT: LEP IN THE U.S. (2017)

Î 25.9 million LEP individuals

Î 21 million Asian Americans live in the United States

Î 34% of Asian Americans are limited English proficient

Î 1.5 million Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islanders live in the United States

Î 14% of Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islanders are limited English proficient

The National Asian Pacific American Bar Association’s report, “Interpreting Justice: Progress and Challenges on Language Access,” looks into the state of language access from 2007 to 2017. The report focuses on the how federal and state courts and agencies address the needs of limited English proficient (LEP) Asian Pacific Americans (APA) and provides recommendations on effective strategies to increase meaningful langauge access.

Progress & Challenges on Language Access

INTERPRETING JUSTICE

NAPABA Research Institute

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For more information and to download the report, please visit napaba.org

NAPABA Recommends:

Î Supporting Continued Congressional Funding for:

• The Department of Justice’s Civil Rights Division

• The Legal Services Corporation (LSC)

Î Supporting Expanding Laws to Protect LEP Persons:

• Amend the Court Interpreters Act of 1978 to provide interpreter coverage to all cases

• Enshrine EO 13166 into law

• Ensuring State Court Compliance with Language Access Requirements

Î Improving Access to Qualified Interpreters

Î Ensuring Federal Agency and Administrative Court Compliance with Language Access Requirements

Î Strengthening Language Access across State and Local Agencies

Î Supporting Legal Aid Programs’ Role in Increasing Access to Justice

Î Using Other Advocacy and Community-Based Resources to Break Down Language Barriers

Î Utilizing New Tools for Language Access

Î Addressing Challenges to Funding Language Assistance Service

Despite the overall progress made in the past 10 years, LEP individuals continue to struggle with limitations on:

Î The provision of interpreters, Î Costs of interpretation, Î Inconsistent interpreter quality, Î Limited languages interpreted, Î Insufficient language assistance in points of contact outside of the courtroom, and Î A lack of translated written materials.

Figure A | Limited English Proficiency among Asian AmericansBHUTANESEBURMESEVIETNAMESETHAINEPALESECHINESEKOREANCAMBODIANJAPANESEMONGOLIANTAIWANESELAOTIANBANGLADESHI

HMONG

FILIPINO

SRI LANKAN

INDONESIAN

MALAYSIAN

PAKISTANI

ASIAN INDIAN

78%77%

60%58%

57%57%

56%54%

53%51%

49%48%48%

44%43%

42%34%

33%30%

27%

Source: AAPI Data, Infographic: AA Limited English Proficiency (2015)

Figure B | Limited English Proficiency among Native Hawaiians & Pacific Americans

FIJIAN

MELANESIAN

GUAMANIAN

TONGAN

SAMOAN

NATIVE HAWAIIANA

30%29%

26%25%

24%19%

Source: AAPI Data, Infographic: NHPI Limited English Proficiency (2015)