Deaf Refugees Face Unique Hurdles

One week ago, I was in Grand Forks, ND, for a conference on implicit bias and the legal profession. One of the most extraordinary sessions concerned the criminal justice system and the deaf and hard of hearing community.

The presentation was led by Pam Smith and Kathy Frelich of the Adult Outreach department for the North Dakota School for the Deaf/Resource Center for Deaf and Hard of Hearing.

The talk helpfully started with “Hearing Loss 101.” In just one small part of that instruction, I learned a tremendous amount about hurdles facing deaf individuals. For example, did you know that:

• ASL (American Sign Language) does not correspond to English? It’s closest to French and not real close to that.
• CASE is another form of sign language: Conceptually Accurate Signed English. This language uses ASL signs but in an English structure.
• English is always a second language for a deaf individual, such that written communication is not a great substitute for signing.
• Language deprivation is common for a deaf individual. Think about it: hearing kids get all sorts of ancillary language instruction from the TV, radio, or listening to grownups and other kids talk around them. A deaf individual only learns words from one-on-one instruction.

So this brings us to the unique problems facing deaf refugees. They may have been brought up without any language — not their home language, not sign language of any sort. This is particularly true if a refugee has become deaf through, say, childhood illness such as untreated ear infections, instead of growing up in a family with other deaf members. They may have learned to communicate with their close family members through a form of pantomime. But they may not have language as you and I might think of it.

Such individuals face enormous challenges navigating life in the United States. And even greater challenges if intersecting with the American legal system. For those in the criminal justice system, those language barriers may render an individual incompetent to stand trial.

Although I’m in my 11th year of teaching immigration law, I hadn’t previously thought about the unique hurdles facing deaf refugees. They are daunting.

-KitJ