The National Association of the Deaf (NAD) sued President Donald Trump and several co-defendants for failing to provide qualified ASL interpreters at public press briefings and similar events.
The lawsuit, filed on Wednesday, alleges that the White House stopped using ASL interpreters in January, "denying hundreds of thousands of deaf Americans meaningful access to the White House's real-time communications on various issues of national and international import."
The Executive Office of the President, The White House Office, Office of the Vice President, White House Chief of Staff Susan Wiles and Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt were also named as defendants in the suit.
Newsweek reached out to attorneys for the plaintiffs and the White House for comment.
WHY IT MATTERS
ASL is the primary and preferred language of many deaf individuals. The language has a unique vocabulary, grammar and syntax.
"Many deaf individuals cannot read or understand written English. Consequently, English closed captions are not an adequate substitute for ASL interpretation," attorneys for the plaintiffs said in the complaint.
The Trump administration faced a similar legal challenge during the first term of his presidency. The NAD filed a lawsuit against Trump and several others in 2020 for failure to provide in-frame ASL interpretation during COVID-19 briefings.
Under a judge's injunction, the administration was required to provide in-frame interpretation or a simultaneous stream with an interpreter from a remote location in a picture-in-picture format.
The case was dismissed in 2021 after then-President Joe Biden took office. The Biden administration laid out its commitment to providing ASL interpretation in a memo entitled "Communication Services for People Who Are Deaf or Hard of Hearing at Presidential Briefings." The policy stated that a qualified interpreter would be provided at briefings held by the President, Vice President, First Lady, Second Gentleman or White House Press Secretary, in addition to COVID-19 briefings and any other briefings approved by designated White House officials.
WHAT TO KNOW
The NAD and two of its members, 36-year-old Indiana resident Derrick Ford and 48-year-old Maryland resident Matthew Bonn, allege that the failure to provide ASL interpreters is a violation of federal law prohibiting discrimination against individuals with disabilities and requiring access to the federal government's programs and services.
Attorneys for the plaintiffs said both Ford and Bonn were unable to understand much of what was being said at White House press briefings, depriving them of information on executive orders, DEI, Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid, the economy and other issues impacting Americans.
"It is apparent that the White House is not complying with the Policy announced and followed by the prior administration," attorneys for the plaintiffs wrote in the complaint.
The NAD sent a letter to Wiles urging the White House to reinstate ASL interpreters in January, but the association has not received a response, according to the suit.
The plaintiffs are asking the court to provide injunctive relief requiring the defendants to provide qualified ASL interpreters at press briefings, press conferences and related events held by the president, vice president, first lady, second lady or White House press secretary. The plaintiffs are also asking that the interpreters be visible in frame, both in television broadcasts and videos streamed or uploaded to the White House's website or social media pages.
WHAT PEOPLE ARE SAYING
Attorneys for the plaintiffs, in a complaint filed Wednesday: "Such fluent and accurate interpretations are critical for deaf Americans, especially in times of great and frequent change."
Dr. Bobbie Beth Scoggins, Interim Chief Executive Officer of the NAD, in a statement: "Deaf and hard of hearing Americans have the right to the same access to White House information as everyone else. Denying them ASL interpreters is a direct violation of that right, and the NAD will continue to fight for their full inclusion in the democratic process."
WHAT HAPPENS NEXT
Summons were issued for the defendants, who will have 60 days to respond after being successfully served.
https://www.newsweek.com/deaf-association-sues-trump-lack-asl-inerpreters-press-briefings-2078561