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Some children who were evacuated from Afghanistan and are being cared for at a Chicago shelter for immigrant minors have hurt themselves, harmed other children or threatened staff. Others have tried to escape or talked about wanting to die. Some have required psychiatric hospitalization. These events at the shelter were described by three employees and other people familiar with the conditions there, as well as being detailed in police records and internal documents obtained by ProPublica. Employees at the shelter, which is operated by the nonprofit Heartland Alliance, say they are overwhelmed and ill-equipped to care for the roughly 40...

In hiding and desperate, two former Afghan interpreters have urged the UK to rescue them from what they see as a Taliban death sentence because they worked for British troops. Both men, named "N" and "W" to protect their identities, said they applied to a government scheme to be allowed to resettle in Britain, but were rejected because they had been sacked from their interpreting jobs for offences that they said they did not commit. They said they feared for their lives and for the lives of their families as the Taliban gains ground following a decision by the United...

The Biden administration is planning to temporarily house about 2,500 Afghans fleeing unrest in their home country at Fort Lee, Va., with expansion to other military bases possible in the future, U.S. officials said Monday. The Army post, about 25 miles south of Richmond, will serve as a way-station for Afghans who have passed the State Department’s screening for special immigrant visas, said John Kirby, a Pentagon spokesman. The group includes interpreters who worked alongside U.S. troops in Afghanistan and their family members. “These people and their families are in the very final stages of the SIV process, so there’s...

During our nearly 20-year presence in Afghanistan, the U.S. military and countless government personnel have been aided by Afghan interpreters. These brave men and women bridged the gap between Americans and Afghans, often patrolling, and sometimes even fighting, alongside our forces.Because of their selfless service to American personnel, the Taliban consider interpreters arch traitors. According to Brown University’s Costs of War Project, “at least thousands” of Afghan interpreters have been killed in retaliation by the Taliban and other criminal elements.The United States created the Special Immigrant Visa program in 2006 to grant threatened interpreters from Iraq and Afghanistan refugee status...

The American Civil Liberties Union announced Saturday evening that a federal court in New York had issued an emergency stay on President Trump’s executive order banning immigration from seven predominantly Muslim countries. The court’s decision, which will affect people who have been detained in airports, came after the ACLU and other activist groups filed a class action lawsuit on behalf of two Iraqis who were held at John F. Kennedy International Airport in New York as a result of the order. “I hope Trump enjoys losing. He’s going to lose so much we’re going to get sick and tired of...

The federal court for the Eastern District of New York issued an emergency stay halting President Donald Trump’s executive order banning entry to the US from seven majority-Muslim countries tonight, following widespread protests at airports around the country. The court ruled on a habeas corpus petition filed by the ACLU on behalf of Hameed Khalid Darweesh and Sameer Abdulkhaleq Alshawi, who were denied entry to the US upon landing at JFK airport in New York City and detained indefinitely by Customs and Border Patrol. Darweesh spent a decade working for the United States military in Iraq as an interpreter and...

Going through a divorce has been difficult for Sepideh Saeedi. Not understanding what’s happening in court because she isn’t proficient in English has made the process even harder. “When you don’t understand what the judge is saying, what the other side’s attorney is saying, it’s very stressful,” Saeedi, 33, who speaks Farsi, said after a recent court hearing in Redwood City, Calif. Legal advocates say throughout the state, litigants in divorce, child custody, eviction and other civil cases who have difficulty with English are going into court without qualified interpreters. Instead, many are forced to turn to friends or family...

The interpreters who worked for American and NATO forces during the recent Afghanistan war are among our bravest and most loyal allies. They played an essential role educating foreign troops about the local culture they so badly needed to understand, and sourcing intelligence. As the US withdraws from Afghanistan, the tens of thousands of Afghans who put their own and their families’ lives at risk, because they believed US promises would be fulfilled, should now be offered safe haven. Instead, a majority of the interpreters are being denied transit to the US, or left in limbo for years on end....

Thousands were promised spots first in line for special visas to the U.S., but the process has slowed to a crawl. Now the Iraqis, targeted for death because of their service to America, can only wait. Reporting from Baghdad— He rarely leaves his house. He's been shot at by gunmen in a passing car. He gets death threats over the phone. "Traitor," the callers say. "American agent." Tariq, 27, is a quick-witted, tech-savvy Iraqi who tosses off idiomatic American English phrases such as "I'm outta here" and "That's cool." When he served as an interpreter for the U.S. military, Tariq...

FORWARD OPERATING BASE HASSANABAD, Afghanistan -- In the middle of a foot patrol Saturday through what may be the most dangerous part of the most dangerous province in Afghanistan for U.S. troops, Staff Sgt. John Nickerson peered through the scope of his assault rifle at a group of Afghan men who were rolling a wheelbarrow toward him. Suddenly, he had to switch gears to the gentler form of counterinsurgency. "Hold," Nickerson said into his hand-held radio, lowering his gun. "We've got some men with a kid in a wheelbarrow trying to get our attention. Where's Doc at?" In the barrow...

A number of Arabic and Pashtu interpreters at the terror-war detention center at Guantanamo Bay are under active investigation for omitting valuable intelligence from their translations of detainee interrogations, among other security breaches. This could taint some of the evidence at the "9/11 trial" in New York and proceedings against other detainees. Remarkably, the Pentagon never cleaned up the "mole infestation" at its highest-security facility after the FBI busted a Muslim spy ring at Gitmo in 2003. The 2003 probe involved at least two Arabic interpreters with high-level security clearance. Senior Airman Ahmad al-Halabi, a Syrian native, and former Army...

BAGHDAD – The U.S. military has barred Iraqi interpreters working with American troops in Baghdad from wearing ski masks to disguise themselves, prompting some to resign and others to bare their faces even though they fear it could get them killed. --snip-- “The terps are the number one wanted here,” said A.J., a 36-year-old military interpreter, using the shorthand for his profession. “More than the Americans. More than anyone.” --snip-- U.S. military officials said they began to enforce the mask ban in September. “We are a professional Army and professional units don’t conceal their identity by wearing masks,” Lt. Col....

'Up to 1,500 Iraqis are to be airlifted to Britain after ministers agreed to grant sanctuary to the interpreters who worked for our forces. In a multi-million pound operation starting in April, the translators and their families will be flown here in groups of 100 every fortnight until the autumn. They will be transported in military planes to an RAF base in the South-East where they will be processed by immigration officials. They will then go to a hotel west of London for a few days before being resettled in two northern cities. There they will receive free housing and...

A project to translate Nebraska court documents into foreign languages has caught the attention — and criticism — of a Lincoln man. Andy Ringsmuth wants the Nebraska Minority Committee to stop translating civil and self-represented litigant forms into Spanish, Vietnamese and Arabic. “It’s pretty clear in our state constitution that English is the official language of the state,” he said. Ringsmuth cited the following passage in the Nebraska constitution: “The English language is hereby declared to be the official language of this state, and all official proceedings, records and publication shall be in such language...” But Liz Neeley, the project...

This is the first in a series following a media event at the Intelligence Center on Fort Huachuca on Wednesday. By Bill Hess Herald/ Review FORT HUACHUCA — In small buildings human intelligence collector trainees are getting a taste of what they will face when they deploy to Iraq. More realistic training for interrogators, as human intelligence collectors are called, is a fact of life at the Intelligence Center on this southern Arizona Army post. And that realism means Arabic is a major part of the graduation test — a 10-day field training exercise. Staff Sgt. Rami Elsouhag said interrogators...

FORT POLK, La., Nov. 1, 2006 —Imagine traveling thousands of miles to a foreign land where very few speak your language, where the customs, weather, environment and mannerisms are all different. Thankfully, for members of the Afghan National Army (ANA) who came to Fort Polk, La., to train at the Joint Readiness Training Center (JRTC), there was a helping hand: interpreters. While they don't wear the camouflage uniform of the soldiers, Afghan interpreters tend to blend. However, Hassan Wilson, a native Afghan who has been interpreting for two years between American and Afghan forces, said their role is vital. "What...

(CNSNews.com) - Fifty-six members of the U.S. House on Friday urged House Judiciary Committee Chairman James Sensenbrenner (R-Wis.), to fight the renewal of a provision in the Voting Rights Act that mandates multilingual ballots. "We believe these ballot provisions encourage the linguistic division of our nation and contradict the 'Melting Pot' ideal that has made us the most successful multi-ethnic nation on earth," the 56 House members wrote. Only one of those signing the letter is a Democrat - Collin Peterson of Minnesota. The letter refers to special provisions added to the Voting Rights Act (VRA) in 1975 that are...

CAMP FALLUJAH, Iraq (Feb. 3, 2006) -- Being able to communicate with the local populous is an important part of every mission the Marines of 2nd Battalion, 2nd Marine Regiment conduct in their area of operations. In order to do this, the unit works with local Iraqi interpreters. Sergeant Dustin L. Barrow, an Ironton, Ohio, native, is the enlisted interpreter liaison for the battalion. He ensures the translators are satisfied with what they have, while also ensuring they are doing their jobs to support the operations the companies carry out. “This is the first time I have dealt with interpreters...

PHILADELPHIA - Romualdo Rivera arrives at the emergency room with what seems to be a complaint of chest pain. But it's hard to be sure — he doesn't speak English.

<p>Officials have said they won't be needing your services, after all.</p> <p>The office that treats mental health patients in Multnomah County had included Klingon on a list of 55 languages that could be spoken by incoming patients.</p> <p>But the inclusion of the Star Trek language drew a spate of tongue-in-cheek headlines.</p>