US Edition
ICE Releases Deaf Mongolian Immigrant After Holding Him for Months without Interpreter
CALIFORNIA, UNITED STATES, JUL 23 – Judge Dana Sabraw ruled ICE violated disability rights by denying interpreter access, affecting asylum assessments for Avirmed, a deaf Mongolian man detained for five months.
- A deaf Mongolian asylum seeker named Avirmed was held for months at Otay Mesa Detention Center in Southern California without a sign language interpreter before his release in July 2025.
- Avirmed entered the U.S. in February seeking asylum after a 2020 assault in Mongolia caused a traumatic brain injury that leads to seizures and memory loss, and his attorneys argued ICE violated federal disability laws by denying interpreter access.
- On July 9, Judge Dana Sabraw directed ICE to arrange for a Mongolian Sign Language interpreter for Avirmed and to conduct new evaluations of two critical assessments that had previously been completed in a language he could not comprehend.
- Avirmed's attorney Alegría De La Cruz stated he was "basically in solitary confinement" due to lack of communication, and his sister confirmed he is now home with her in Virginia.
- The release and court ruling highlight gaps in language access for disabled asylum seekers and suggest the government may need to improve compliance with federal disability protections in immigration proceedings.
11 Articles
11 Articles
Times of San Diego
ICE releases deaf Mongolian immigrant after holding him for months without interpreter
This story was originally published by CalMatters. Sign up for their newsletters. A deaf Mongolian man who uses sign language to communicate has been released from immigration custody in Southern California after spending months in detention without access to an interpreter, a family member confirmed Tuesday. CalMatters reported earlier this month on the man’s detention. His family requested he be identified only by the name Avirmed because of …
For six years, the association has denounced the absence of sign language graduates on the island. In launching a petition, it calls for a reaction from the institutions to a discrimination which it describes as "structural". In Corsica, deaf people remain excluded from a fundamental right: to understand and to be understood. Despite repeated warnings for more than six years, there is still no professional structure dedicated to interpretation i…
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