Respond Crisis Translation

The Trump Administration has signed agreements with 33 countries to receive forcibly deported asylum seekers, refugees and other immigrants. Often with no warning, with no chance to raise fears of persecution, they are sent to “third countries” where they have no ties, don’t speak the language, and are subjected to grave mistreatment, detention, and torture.

“Third-country deportations are motivated by linguistic and cultural deprivation: they rely on fear in an unfamiliar environment to break migrants. In this multicultural context, interpreters play an essential role in ensuring that migrants are heard and understood across linguistic and cultural barriers”, says Aymeric, RCT’s French Team Lead.

Our Spanish and French teams have been supporting the cases of 15 people from Peru, Colombia, and Ecuador who were forcibly deported to the Democratic Republic of the Congo.
“Taking these people’s passports and sending them to countries they do not know and where their language is not spoken endangers their physical integrity, safety, and most basic ability to communicate, ask questions, understand, and make themselves understood”, according to Raquel, RCT’s Spanish Team Lead. 

While our teams are supporting the cases on the ground, head over to ThirdCountryDeportationwatch.org, a project by and with the support of and , to learn more about these forced deportations.

🆘 BRING LETY HOME 🆘

Lety Rojas, member of our partner organization Instituto Familiar de la Raza, has recently been detained by ICE in Las Vegas. Lety has lived in the U.S. for 23 years, since she was only 7 years old. This is the only home she has truly known. She does not have immediate family in Mexico, which makes this situation even more painful and uncertain.

Her family and friends are raising funds to help with legal fees, immigration attorney costs, and for communication costs during this difficult time.

Every donation, no matter the amount, helps lighten the burden and brings us one step closer to bringing her home.

DONATE NOW: bit.ly/support-lety

Respond Crisis Translation stands in solidarity with Lety, her family and her friends. We — translators, interpreters, and language workers — demand her immediate release!
Please share this fundraiser, donate and talk about it!

17 people have been killed in ICE custody in 2026 alone. That is one death every six days. We remember them — and all those killed before them.

These are not isolated deaths. They are the result of an immigration system built on dehumanization, disappearance, and deprivation. People in ICE detention are forced to navigate systems they do not understand. They are made to sign papers they cannot read. They plead for care without interpretation. They endure transfers, hearings, and punishment without clear information. 

Language access is a human right. Without it, people are denied the ability to express their needs, be heard or understood, and access care and support. They are denied their fundamental rights.

ABOLISH ICE

Data source: ICE.gov, KFF, NPR, American Immigration Lawyers Association, American Immigration Council, TRAC Reports

💻 Free online event: Refugees & AI
🔗 RSVP: bit.ly/rct-dair-event

This Friday, April 17, Respond Crisis Translation and the Distributed AI Research Institute (DAIR) are coming together to for „On Refugees and AI“ — an online event centering the lived experiences of refugees and migrants and their power-building work against surveillance technologies.

Surveillance systems do not stay in one place. Technologies tested on Palestinians are exported to the EU and the US, where they are used to police, harass, and criminalize refugees and migrants. Those most impacted by these systems are also among the first to understand and resist them.

Join the event to learn about the role of language workers in crisis contexts, and how our community shows up alongside migrants, asylum seekers, genocide survivors, and others navigating displacement, detention, violence, and language rights violations.

The program includes:
• Session 1: Introduction: Refugees and AI
• Session 2:Refugees, Migrants, and Border Surveillance
• Session 3: From ICE Abductions to Genocide in Gaza, Language Workers Resist
• Session 4: Possible Futures Workshop: Imagining Better

📅 Friday, April 17, 2026
🕘 9 AM–12 PM PT / 5–8 PM CET / 7–10 PM EAT
💻 Online
🔗 RSVP: bit.ly/rct-dair-event