Today's Date: June 8, 2023
Brookdale Reports May 2023 Occupancy   •   KIA K5 NAMED AMONG LIST OF 2023 BEST CARS FOR TEENS BY U.S. NEWS AND WORLD REPORT   •   Michael A. DeMayo Recognized as a 2023 Leader in Law   •   USCIB Releases Pride Month Statement, Supporting Equality and Inclusion   •   The Rice Family Foundation to Support Local Area Non-Profit Organizations   •   Charles River and INADcure Announce Gene Therapy Manufacturing Collaboration   •   Bristol Myers Squibb Receives U.S. FDA Approval of New State-of-the-Art Cell Therapy Manufacturing Facility in Devens, Massachus   •   Fortune Brands Innovations Publishes 2022 ESG Report   •   U.S. Conference of Mayors Denounces State Legislature Attacks on LGBTQ+ Rights, Reaffirms Commitment to LGBTQ+ Community   •   NAELA Theresa Award Honors Attorney Laurie Hanson, a Trusted Advocate for Individuals Living With Disabilities   •   Pennsylvania American Water Signs Agreement to Purchase Farmington Township’s Water and Wastewater Systems   •   TIO CLASS ACTION NOTICE: Glancy Prongay & Murray LLP Files Securities Fraud Lawsuit Against Tingo Group, Inc.   •   Forbes names Sun Life U.S. a Best Employer for Diversity   •   The Toro Company Names Joanna M. Totsky Vice President, General Counsel and Corporate Secretary   •   SoftwareReviews Reveals the Top ESG Software Solutions That Enable Organizations to Build a Culture of Purpose and Sustainabilit   •   New Canyonville Solar Project to Benefit Oregon Residents and Agriculture   •   Waystar Accelerates Impact in Healthcare Payments with New Innovations on Cloud-Based Platform   •   A Decade of Impact: 11,000 Our Military Kids Scholarships Funded by KBP Brands   •   PowerSchool Announces Partnership with Stepwell to Streamline Special Education Compliance and Monitoring   •   GenCare Lifestyle and Rippl Care Announce Partnership to Bring Enhanced Behavioral Health Care to Senior Living Communities
Bookmark and Share

R.I. Police Accused Of Violating Rights Of Limited-English-Speaking People

PROVIDENCE - The RI ACLU has filed a federal civil rights complaint against the Rhode Island State Police (RISP) for violating a law that requires agencies receiving federal funding to provide meaningful access to programs, services, and communication for individuals with limited English proficiency (LEP). The ACLU’s complaint, filed with the Civil Rights Division of the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ), alleges that RISP has failed to adequately assess the needs of LEP populations in Rhode Island, and has also failed to adequately address these needs. As the complaint notes, the failure to sufficiently communicate effectively leads to unequal access to benefits, services, and knowledge of one’s rights for LEP persons.


Last year, after RISP applied to the federal government to assist in the enforcement of immigration law, the ACLU filed an open records request with the agency for documents relating to RISP’s compliance with its legal obligations to provide appropriate interpreter services. The ACLU’s review of those documents, performed by RI ACLU volunteer attorney Jennifer Doucleff, concluded that RISP’s activities in that regard were woefully insufficient, leading to the filing of the complaint.

The Civil Rights Act of 1964, and specifically a provision known as “Title VI,” requires any agency receiving federal funding to implement a four-factor analysis to determine the scope of interpreter services needed for that particular agency. According to the documents received by the ACLU, it does not appear that the RISP has ever conducted any analysis of Rhode Island’s LEP population, nor does the agency have policies in place to do so.

Among other things, the ACLU’s ten-page complaint letter to the DOJ calls the language services provided by RISP “of questionable quality.” Despite the “breadth of programs and services” the agency routinely provides to LEP individuals in a variety of contexts, RISP was able to produce only six forms that it uses in the Spanish language, and of those six, translation errors appear in four of them.

Additionally, the ACLU complaint alleges that the RISP is not providing adequate language services proportionate to the needs of Rhode Island’s LEP population. In fact, there is no evidence that RISP employs any language interpreters, Spanish or otherwise, or that there are enough sufficiently bilingual state police officers to satisfactorily address the needs of the significant LEP population in Rhode Island.

The complaint calls on the DOJ to “take action to ensure that RISP complies with its obligations under Title VI such that LEP persons in Rhode Island will have access to appropriate and adequate language services as regards RISP’s programs and activities.”

RI ACLU volunteer attorney Doucleff said today: “With a history of documented racial and ethnic profiling, as well as a recent commitment to enforcing federal immigration laws, the State Police must uphold its obligation to provide adequate interpretation and translation services to the state’s significant LEP population.”


STORY TAGS: HISPANIC, LATINO, MEXICAN, MINORITY, CIVIL RIGHTS, DISCRIMINATION, RACISM, DIVERSITY, LATINA, RACIAL EQUALITY, BIAS, EQUALITY



Back to top
| Back to home page
Video

White House Live Stream
LIVE VIDEO EVERY SATURDAY
alsharpton Rev. Al Sharpton
9 to 11 am EST
jjackson Rev. Jesse Jackson
10 to noon CST


Video

LIVE BROADCASTS
Sounds Make the News ®
WAOK-Urban
Atlanta - WAOK-Urban
KPFA-Progressive
Berkley / San Francisco - KPFA-Progressive
WVON-Urban
Chicago - WVON-Urban
KJLH - Urban
Los Angeles - KJLH - Urban
WKDM-Mandarin Chinese
New York - WKDM-Mandarin Chinese
WADO-Spanish
New York - WADO-Spanish
WBAI - Progressive
New York - WBAI - Progressive
WOL-Urban
Washington - WOL-Urban

Listen to United Natiosns News