Tuesday, August 25, 2026

The Monsters Are Coming To Maple Street

How we treat others is a reflection of who we are.
Texas Standard: When someone who’s deaf comes in contact with the immigration system, what services are they entitled to receive and what about others with disabilities, too?

Julia Métraux: So under Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act, any place that receives federal funding is supposed to accommodate the needs of disabled people, and that includes deaf people.

And it’s detention centers and courts where immigration proceedings happen, they both receive federal funding. So deaf people under this law are supposed to have access to sign language interpreters when they request them.

Tell me how this actually plays out in real time. If there’s an immigration enforcement operation, are they supposed to have someone on hand to help a deaf person interact in each of those encounters?

I have to say, just like encounters on the street, I have never heard of a sign language interpreter accompanying ICE agents. Never heard of that happening. I really don’t think it’s happening. But when it comes to being in detention centers, when people are asked to have an interpreter, they’re supposed to get them.

One of the people I spoke to, Emilio, he called Texas home for close to four years. He was prodded to get on a bus. He asked for an interpreter to get more help to understand what’s going on.

Emilio’s from Venezuela originally, and they didn’t give an interpreter. It was only when the bus got to the Mexican border that he realized that, oh, I’m being dropped off in Mexico, a country where I am not from. He did not have a passport on him because he was detained at an asylum check-in.

There are definitely other instances as well. For example, people in ICE detention not having access to interpreters when they’re trying to get medical help just with regular interactions with guards. And there’s no public information on just how often deaf people are given interpreters.

However, there are definitely stories of people just not having access when they need it. Just imagine if you’re the only person who really speaks your language and you’re alone in ICE detention, and how much more brutal that is.

There’s another problem that would arise from sign language barriers, and that’s interpreters who can’t sign in the migrant’s language, right?

Yeah, and so this organization called Hands United, which helped deaf immigrants and their families, told me that the U.S. does not recognize certification for sign language interpreters for languages other than American Sign Language.

So interpreters are essentially taken at their word that they can actually interpret in another form of sign language, like Venezuelan Sign Language, Mexican Sign Language. This leads to people sometimes getting very poor-quality interpreters, because there’s just no certification process in the United States for that.

You know, something else that strikes me: There have been a lot of concern about the masking of ICE agents, especially when enforcement actions are taking place, and that unto itself, it would seem, would pose a barrier for many deaf migrants, no?

I spoke to the president of the National Hispanic Latino Association of the Deaf, and he told me about this being a major concern when you’re dealing with an ICE agent and they’re asking you questions.

By the way, it’s also not true that deaf people can read people’s lips perfectly. I feel like that’s a common misconception. But it is helpful, so when a deaf person doesn’t even have access to that, that just is a lot more scary because you don’t know what’s going on.

You also report that staff cuts have affected deaf migrants. Say more about that.

So there’s something called the Office of Civil Rights and Civil Liberties, and when there’s a complaint that Section 504, that I previously mentioned, is not being followed, you’re supposed to be able to file a complaint there.

So there used to be around 150 staff members in this office under the Department of Homeland Security, and all but two were laid off last year, and so this office is basically not operating.

But this is happening at a time when ICE, as I understand it, has been staffing up.

Yeah absolutely and they basically completely just gutted the enforcement that’s supposed to look over whether or not people with disability accommodation, they’re being followed.

What comes next here, Julia? Are you seeing any momentum or movement on this issue?

I think there’s a problem faced when there’s a minority of people that face an issue.

It’s hard to necessarily get a large movement around something. There are not a lot of disability and deaf organizations that are doing work specifically focusing on helping deaf people in the immigration system. Hands United is a far minority of groups. So that’s definitely a challenge.

There’s not one clear way forward, but people are definitely trying. There are definitely lawsuits happening.

It’s a developing story, as they say.

I would say there’s not necessarily a clear end in sight to any of this, just because it’s definitely part of the deportation machine and there’s an not an end in sight for that either.
Meanwhile:
Gov. Greg Abbott has asked a federal judge to reject Minnesota's effort to force the extradition of an immigration officer arrested in Texas, saying he has "serious concerns" whether the officer is actually a fugitive from justice.

Abbott said state officials are still investigating whether Christian Castro, who is being held in Cameron County Jail, can be classified as a fugitive because he didn't flee Minnesota but was apparently reassigned to Texas by Immigration and Customs Enforcement.

Minnesota is also seeking a court order keeping Castro in custody beyond Thursday for fear he would "flee and avoid prosecution." In Texas, people awaiting extradition cannot be held longer than 90 days. Castro was arrested in Cameron County on May 29 on a warrant issued by a Minnesota court.

Abbott, in a brief filed Monday, asked the judge to deny the request, noting Castro's freedom would have "no effect on the Governor's ability to issue a warrant to extradite." "The ninety-day period limits pre-warrant detention; it does not impose a ninety-day deadline on the Governor to approve or deny the demanding State's request," Abbott told the court.

Both sides are due to appear for a Tuesday hearing in Brownsville regarding Minnesota's request.

...

In particular, Abbott's filing says it appears Castro did not flee Minnesota but instead returned to Texas for his job obligations, citing media reports that quoted the ICE officer's defense attorney.

The governor has instructed interim Texas Secretary of State Robert Howden — who was a senior adviser to Abbott before taking on the role — to investigate Castro's circumstances and whether he should be turned over to Minnesota's custody.

"Based on publicly available information indicating that Mr. Castro was compelled to return to Texas on orders of the federal government, I have serious doubts that the prerequisites for extradition have been met," Abbott wrote in a July 31 letter to Howden.

Howden's report is still pending so Abbott has not made a decision regarding the extradition request, the Monday court filing said. Howden's office did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

"Once the Secretary of State concludes his investigation, the Governor may conclude that the statutory requirements for extradition are satisfied, or he may conclude that they are not," the filing said. "Either way, Governor Abbott is entitled to see that deliberative process through and is entitled to the presumption of regularity afforded to government acts."
Minnesota alleges Texas is in violation of federal and state law. I’m not an expert on interstate extradition, but the Constitution appears to back Minnesota. So why is Abbott doing this?
Abbott shot back later that day during an unrelated news conference.

After expressing his distrust of Walz, the Texas governor pointed to a wide-ranging welfare fraud scandal in Minnesota that the Trump administration used to justify Operation Metro Surge, a crackdown that also led to the fatal shootings of two U.S. citizens by federal immigration officers.

"While they're making demands, I got a demand of my own and that is: It's time for Minnesota to step up and repay the United States of America and Americans for all the fraud that they have committed in their state under federal programs," Abbott said last week.
He’s in a fight for reelection, and he’s only leading his Democratic opponent by 1 point. And he’s playing his Trump card.

If you know the “Twilight Zone” episode the title references, you know the monsters are us. Not alien invaders, or foreign invaders; just panicky us. But panic stops working after a bit. These stories are all stories about the consequences of inflaming panic. The silver lining of the cloud is that panic isn’t working anymore.
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