The 2020 court ruling required the White House to provide real-time translations via American Sign Language. President Trump stopped using the service in January.
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WASHINGTON – A group of deaf Americans who previously forced the White House to provide American sign language interpreters during a press conference are asking federal judges to step in again after President Donald Trump stopped using the service in January.
In a lawsuit filed May 28, the Deaf Association alleged that the removal of the Trump White House, ASL interpreter at a press conference and briefing, violated federal law. The same group previously forced the White House to provide interpreters for Covid-19 briefings during Trump’s first presidency, with former President Joe Biden expanding its use at his inauguration.
According to the lawsuit, Trump halted the use of sign language interpreters on his second appointment, violating the 2020 ruling by Judge James Boasberg. Boasburg is the Supreme Court justice of the District of Columbia’s U.S. District Court, and has been repeatedly criticized by Trump for his unrelated immigration ruling.
“Federal law explicitly prohibits discrimination against individuals with disabilities and requires meaningful access to federal programs and services,” the lawsuit alleges. “If it cannot be provided to ASL interpreters, it will deprive hearing people of meaningful access to White House press conferences.”
The lawsuit includes two deaf people as plaintiffs – Derrickford and Matthew Bonn, with hundreds of thousands of deaf Americans who may speak only ASL and may not communicate in English at all.
In March, Trump declared that English is the official US language and rescinded a 2000 executive order encouraging people with limited proficiency in English, including ASL speakers, to make the service accessible. NAD asked the White House to revive ASL translations, but no response was received, the group said in the lawsuit.
Members of the hearing impaired community have long been concerned about the lack of access to ASL interpreters, especially during times of crisis. The 2020 lawsuit from NAD specifically cited the ongoing pandemic as a reason to translate in real time instead of providing closed captions or transcripts.
ASL translators have become an increasingly common sight at concerts. Taylor Swift and others use them to make lyrics come true for the deaf.
