ICE Is Detaining Deaf Immigrants & Denying Them Access to Sign Language
On September 29, 2025, 49-year-old Arturo Ruvalcaba, who is deaf, was waiting at a bus stop near Salt Lake City to head back home from work. As Ruvalcaba, who is originally from Mexico, waited, three SUVs arrived at the stop and two Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents approached him. They were wearing green uniforms, bulletproof vests (one with “ICE” written on it), and their faces were partially covered. The agents asked Ruvalcaba’s ID and shouted commands, but given his disability, Ruvalcaba couldn’t hear them. Through gestures and signing, he tried to tell agents that he’s deaf, but the agents continued to approach him.
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While Ruvalcaba was trying to find his green card — to show his status as a permanent resident — one of the agents applied pressure over his shoulders, while another one pulled one of his arms, injuring him. When Ruvalcaba was able to show them his identification and his green card, the ICE agents left the area, according to court documents and Ruvalcaba’s lawyer, Jared Allebest.
Once at home, “he showed me his arm, and [it] was completely swollen from the elbow down to his wrist,” Natalie Ruvalcaba, his wife, tells Refinery29 Somos. “We took him to the doctor the next day, and the doctor said he had sprained his elbow, so he needed to start physical therapy.”
The following week, Ruvalcaba tried to go back to work, but he was in a lot of pain. Following another doctor’s visit, and because of the swelling and pain, he had to take several weeks of unpaid leave from work.
“It was a very scary situation,” Ruvalcaba adds. “I was very angry that this happened because all he was doing was waiting for the bus.”
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"I was very angry that this happened because all he was doing was waiting for the bus."
Natalie Ruvalcaba
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In November, Ruvalcaba, who has three young children and has been in the U.S. for more than 22 years, filed a lawsuit against the Department of Homeland Security, ICE, and other federal officials, alleging violation of his Fourth Amendment rights and discrimination due to his disability, including failure to provide him with an American Sign Language (ASL) interpreter to be able to properly communicate.
As ICE agents continue to swarm U.S. cities as part of the Trump administration’s immigration crackdown, detaining and deporting people en masse, and often using aggressive and violent tactics, advocates and lawyers say there has also been an increase in cases similar to Ruvalcaba’s, in which deaf immigrants are detained without being provided appropriate sign language interpretation. (Despite repeated requests for comment, neither the Department of Homeland Security nor ICE responded.)
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Courtesy of Arturo and Natalie Ruvalcaba
Celena Ponce, the founder of Hands United, a nonprofit organization that provides immigration services for people who are deaf and hard of hearing, says that over the last six months, she’s worked with four immigrants detained in states, including Texas, Georgia, and Washington, who have not been given sign language interpretation weeks into their detention.
Howard Rosenblum, the founder and chair of Deaf Equality, an advocacy organization led by deaf attorneys like himself, says that while there’s always been issues with ICE and their communication access, he is aware of several cases including, among many others, a deaf Mexican DACA recipient from California who was detained in El Paso, Texas, for weeks without an interpreter; and a nearly deaf 21-year-old man with a developmental disability who was detained in Tacoma, Washington, and was also not provided adequate interpretation.
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"As ICE agents continue to swarm U.S. cities as part of the Trump administration’s immigration crackdown, detaining and deporting people en masse, ... advocates and lawyers say there has also been an increase in cases similar to Ruvalcaba’s, in which deaf immigrants are detained without being provided appropriate sign language interpretation."
Valeria Ricciulli
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Another one of those cases is Avirmed’s, a 49-year-old deaf Mongolian immigrant who was detained in San Diego for five months without access to interpretation in his main language, Mongolian Sign Language (MSL).
Mr. Avirmed, who prefers to go by his last name, has a traumatic brain injury. Last year, he decided to come to the U.S. to meet his sister, who is a U.S. citizen. When he entered the southern border on February 15, 2025, Mr. Avirmed showed a letter, translated to English, where he expressed his intent to apply for asylum. According to court documents, the Border Patrol agents refused to accept or read the letter, and instead transferred him to ICE custody without providing MSL interpretation.
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Even though Ms. Avirmed, his sister (who also prefers to be identified by her last name), kept informing ICE that he needed MSL interpretation, agents kept trying to communicate with Mr. Avirmed in ASL, which he doesn’t understand. “He went through hell,” Ms. Avirmed tells Somos. “He just didn't understand what was going on around him. He never expected that he would be detained that long.” One of the times she was able to talk to him via a Zoom call, he said he was exhausted because agents kept forgetting he was deaf and kept trying to call his name.
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"He went through hell. He just didn't understand what was going on around him."
Ms. Avirmed
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During one of the calls, she taught him some English words, and the letters “D-E-A-F,” so he could wear them on his shirt for agents to remember. Another time, she tried to talk to him in MSL through a device provided to him, but the device automatically blurred the background when they were signing, so they couldn’t understand each other. “We went through a lot, it was such a hard time,” she says. “Every time I called and talked to him, I would cry.”
According to Ms. Avirmed, the only times her brother had access to MSL interpretation were when she found an interpreter herself and paid out of pocket, so her brother could properly communicate with his attorney. (Following a July court order, Mr. Avirmed was released and has now reunited with his sister, as he continues with his asylum case.)
ICE is required by law to provide accommodations for immigrants with disabilities
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According to section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, all federal agencies, including ICE, are required by law to provide equal access for people with disabilities to all “programs, activities, and services,” which includes providing deaf detainees with accommodations such as sign language interpreters and other communication services.
“If someone cannot effectively communicate, then how are these folks [supposed] to navigate being in detention,” says Laura Murchie, staff attorney at Disability Law United, who represented Avirmed. “[Detainees] need to be able to communicate with their lawyer. They need to be able to examine and defend themselves against any evidence the government attorney might put on. They need to understand the proceedings as they're happening.”
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"If someone cannot effectively communicate, then how are these folks [supposed] to navigate being in detention?"
Laura Murchie
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Murchie adds that deaf individuals also need to be able to communicate (via a tablet or videophone, for example) to make medical requests, to be able to buy something from the commissary, or to talk with their loved ones.
American Sign Language is not universal
Ponce explains that there are many nuances when it comes to sign language interpretation. One of them is that not all deaf people know sign language in the first place, so they may have their own gestures that are not part of a formal language.
Additionally, as Avirmed's case proved, “every country has its own sign language, so just because someone comes from a Spanish-speaking country does not mean they need Spanish Sign language,” Ponce adds. “They need to use Mexican Sign Language, Colombian Sign Language, Venezuelan Sign Language … which is why it's really important to know what country someone is from when you're trying to get accommodations for a deaf individual.”
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Ponce adds that over the past few months, there’s been instances in which interpreters in foreign sign languages have tried to enter ICE detention centers to interpret for deaf detainees, but they were not allowed in because they were asked for a certification — but there is currently no certification in the U.S. for languages other than ASL.
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"Every country has its own sign language, so just because someone comes from a Spanish-speaking country does not mean they need Spanish Sign language. They need to use Mexican Sign Language, Colombian Sign Language, Venezuelan Sign Language … which is why it's really important to know what country someone is from when you're trying to get accommodations for a deaf individual."
Celena Ponce
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Besides not having access to the sign language they use to communicate, deaf and hard of hearing immigrants detained by ICE may face other barriers. For instance, if a person’s hands are cuffed behind their back, they can’t communicate. And once in detention, they might be given tools like the one Avirmed used, where the background of a video is automatically blurred. “And because sign language very much depends on the shape of your hand and which fingers you have up, if your hand is blurred, you're not able to know what that person is saying,” she adds.
Finally, Ponce adds that it’s important to keep in mind that a deaf person’s first language is sign language, so relying on reading and writing as a way to communicate while in detention is the equivalent of asking a person to go through an entire legal process in their second language. “Regardless of how much education you've had in that language, people obviously still prefer their first language,” she adds.
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"Communication access is not a courtesy; it is a legal requirement, and ICE’s violations of these requirements put deaf individuals’ lives at risk."
Howard Rosenblum
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As ICE raids continue, organizations like Hands United and Deaf Equality have several resources to help the deaf community in case they are approached or detained by ICE, including printable “Know Your Rights” cards to carry, translated into several sign languages; printable ICE communication boards, a downloadable letter that explains their rights, and a video on what deaf and hard of hearing individuals should know about ICE.
Most importantly, though, the deaf community, advocates, and attorneys are calling for the agency to follow the law and provide the required accommodations.
“When deaf individuals cannot understand why they are being arrested, where they are being taken, or communicate with staff at detention facilities; when they are denied communication access during high-stakes immigration hearings; and when they have no ability to contact family members or an attorney, the legal, psychological, and physical consequences can be severe,” Rosenblum concludes. “Communication access is not a courtesy; it is a legal requirement, and ICE’s violations of these requirements put deaf individuals’ lives at risk.”
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