Trump administration ends translation services for some immigration programs

U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services will no longer provide translation services for people calling the Homeland Security Department. United States Citizenship and Immigration Services, also known as USCIS, will terminate a contract with a translation provider, according to a memo obtained by Government Executive magazine. The memo also reportedly instructs employees to end phone calls if they are not fluent in the caller’s language, without transferring the call to someone else, even if they speak the caller’s language.

The termination affects calls about programs like Systematic Alien Verification for Entitlements and E-Verify, which tracks illegal immigrants’ employment status.

The contract was with Legal Interpreting Services, Inc., and was intended to last through November. Since the current contract was awarded in 2022, the agency has extended it multiple times and obligated more than $422,000 to it.

President Donald Trump’s pick for USCIS head, Joseph Edlow, is currently awaiting Senate confirmation. In the meantime, Kika Scott, a former chief financial officer, fills the role.

Why did USCIS end the contract? The termination came after the agency was directed to provide a rationale for all its contracts, Government Executive reported. The USCIS contract is part of a much larger agreement between the Department of Homeland Security and the translation company, to which the department has already obligated $3.6 million. The Federal Emergency Management Agency, which provides translation services to hurricane victims, used more of that amount than any other agency. It’s not immediately clear if the other contracts are affected. The change also comes after Trump’s executive order declaring English the official language of the United States.