CHICAGO,
IL – U.S. Representative Jan Schakowsky (D-IL) today applauded action by
disability and immigrant rights advocates on behalf of customers with disabilities
to force the Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS) to comply with
the Rehabilitation Act of 1973. Schakowsky attended a news conference
where the Immigrants with Disabilities Rights Project (IDRP) announced
that the organization has filed an administrative complaint on behalf of
immigrants who are deaf or hard of hearing and who have been discriminated
against by the Chicago office of the INS. IDRP is a collaboration
between Access Living, the Illinois Coalition for Immigrant and Refugee
Rights, and other organizations.
"Any
government agency, whether it is the INS or the IRS, is obligated by law
to meet the needs of people with disabilities. All people have the
right to have full access to government services. That right is non-negotiable,"
Schakowsky said.
"I
applaud today's action. It puts the Chicago INS on notice that the
needs of immigrants with disabilities must be met," Schakowsky added.
Earlier
this year, at Schakowsky's request, the House Judiciary Subcommittee on
Immigration and Claims held a field hearing in Chicago to examine problems
at the Chicago INS. During her testimony before the subcommittee,
Schakowsky, among other issues, raised concerns about the failure of the
INS office in Chicago to comply with federal disability laws.
Schakowsky
had also arranged a meeting for immigrant and disability rights advocates
with Chicago INS officials in early October. Many of the issues listed
in the complaint were discussed in detail and acknowledged by INS officials
during the meeting.
The
complaint alleges that the INS has routinely discriminated against immigrants
with disabilities, especially immigrants who are hard of hearing or deaf.
The complaint describes discriminatory practices at the INS such as failure
to provide sign language interpreters; failure to make announcement or
information that is audible to people who are deaf or hard of hearing;
failure to provide telecommunications devises for the deaf (TDD); failure
to notify immigrants about their rights to request specific accommodations;
and failure to install visual alarm systems.
In
the complaint, the INS is called upon to make changes, which include hiring
of an outside consultant to conduct a thorough self-evaluation of the INS
facility, increasing the number of sign language interpreters, and ensuring
that deaf and hard of hearing immigrants have access to all announcements.
In addition, the INS must provide working TDDs, install visual alarms,
and train staff to accommodate people with disabilities.
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