Federal Judge Orders White House To Restore Live ASL Interpretation at Press Briefings

The White House will be required to restore live American Sign Language (ASL) interpretation at press briefings led by President Donald Trump or Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt, following a federal judge’s order.

U.S. District Judge Amir Ali found that the Trump administration’s decision to end ASL interpretation illegally excludes deaf Americans from crucial government updates on topics such as war, the economy, and public health. The judge also noted that evidence shows closed captioning and transcripts are insufficient alternatives for accessibility.

“Given the nature of the programming at issue here—regularly scheduled briefings on critical topics implicating markets, medicine, militaries, and myriads of other issues—the court finds that denying deaf Americans access to and the benefit of it presents a clear, present, and imminent harm,” Judge Ali concluded in a preliminary injunction requiring interpretation to immediately resume.

The ruling marks a victory for the National Association of the Deaf (NAD), which filed a lawsuit against Mr. Trump. The organization argued that its members have suffered since the White House ended the Biden-era ASL interpretation policy in January. The group contends that the decision violates the 1973 Rehabilitation Act, which was expanded in 1978 to bar the government from excluding people with disabilities from government programming and communications.

Judge Ali, a Biden appointee, did stop short of the NAD’s request to require ASL interpretation at briefings by Vice President Vance, as well as at appearances by his wife and First Lady Melania Trump.

The judge also addressed the Trump administration’s claim that the requirement would be a “major incursion” on its prerogatives and its apprehension about having an interpreter share the stage with the president.

“ASL interpretation does not require a speaker to ‘share his platform’ with anyone,” the judge said. “The evidence shows, and the court finds, that the defendants can readily implement remote ASL interpretation without an interpreter present in the same room as the speaker.”
https://www.nysun.com/article/federal-judge-orders-white-house-to-restore-live-asl-interpretation-at-press-briefings

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