In compliance with Section 2 of Executive Order 13166, this Plan details Department of Justice initiatives and plans over the next twelve months to improve access to its federally conducted programs and activities by eligible individuals who are limited English proficient (LEP). For the purposes of this Plan, the definition of "federally conducted programs and activities" is identical to that used under the regulations implementing Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973:

[A] federally conducted program or activity is, in simple terms, anything a Federal agency does. Aside from employment, there are two major categories of federally conducted programs or activities covered by the regulation: those involving general public contact as part of ongoing agency operations and those directly administered by the department for program beneficiaries and participants. Activities in the first part include communication with the public (telephone contacts, office walk-ins, or interviews) and the public’s use of the Department’s facilities (cafeteria, library). Activities in the second category include programs that provide Federal services or benefits (immigration activities, operation of the Federal prison system).

28 C.F.R., Part 39, Editorial Note, Section 29.102 Application. Neither Executive Order 13166 nor this Plan creates any new right(s), including the right to seek administrative or judicial enforcement, on the part of any person, including a person with limited English proficiency.

On August 11, 2000, the President issued Executive Order 13166, titled "Improving Access to Services by Persons With Limited English Proficiency ." 65 FR 50121 (August 16, 2000). On the same day, the Assistant Attorney General for Civil Rights issued a Policy Guidance Document, titled "Enforcement of Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 – National Origin Discrimination Against Persons With Limited English Proficiency" (hereinafter referred to as "DOJ LEP Guidance"), reprinted at 65 FR 50123 (August 16, 2000).

Executive Order 13166 requires federal agencies to assess and address the needs of otherwise eligible persons seeking access to federally conducted programs and activities who, due to limited English proficiency, cannot fully and equally participate in or benefit from those programs and activities. The DOJ LEP Guidance in turn advises each federal department or agency to "take reasonable steps to ensure ‘meaningful’ access [to LEP individuals] to the information and services they provide." DOJ LEP Guidance, 65 FR at 50124. The DOJ LEP Guidance goes on to provide that

[w]hat constitutes reasonable steps to ensure meaningful access will be contingent on a number of factors. Among the factors to be considered are the number or proportion of LEP persons in the eligible service population, the frequency with which LEP individuals come in contact with the program, the importance of the service provided by the program, and the resources available to the [agency].

Id. The DOJ LEP Guidance explains that the identification of "reasonable steps" to provide oral and written services in languages other than English is to be determined on a case-by-case basis through a balancing of all four factors.

The DOJ LEP Guidance focuses principally on the obligation of federal departments and agencies extending federal financial assistance to clarify the long-standing legal obligation on the part of recipients of such assistance to address the language needs of their otherwise-eligible LEP beneficiaries. Executive Order 13166 applies this same obligation to programs and activities undertaken directly by a federal department or agency. Section 2 of the Executive Order directs each federal department or agency "to prepare a plan to improve access to . . . federally conducted programs and activities by eligible LEP persons . . . consistent with the standards set forth in the LEP Guidance . . . within 120 days (emphasis added)." Once finalized, such plans are to be filed with the Department of Justice as the central repository of agencies’ plans.¹ In addition, Section 4 of Executive Order 13166 requires that stakeholders, such as LEP persons and their representative organizations, be consulted in connection with the development of such Implementation Plans, among other documents.

Entities or persons having a direct and substantial interest in the provisions of this Plan ("Stakeholders") include both the individual components of the Department (the entities responsible for implementing this Plan) as well as LEP communities (the intended beneficiaries of the language assistance initiatives set out in this Plan). The comments and recommendations obtained through the stakeholder consultations described below were considered in the development of this Plan.

Consultations with Departmental components that took place before and after August 11, 2000 (the date Executive Order 13166 was issued) were considered in connection with the drafting of this Implementation Plan. While a draft of Executive Order 13166 was under consideration by the Office of the President, the Department’s Civil Rights Division (CRT) met with the 16 component agencies or sub-units of the Department of Justice believed to provide direct services to, have frequent predictable interactions with, and/or play an important role in the provision of services to significant numbers of LEP individuals.² These early consultations were designed to share experiences in administering existing language assistance programs, to explore budgetary and programmatic implications of additional language assistance initiatives, and to identify issues likely to arise should the draft Executive Order be issued in final form by the President.

After issuance of the Executive Order, the Deputy Attorney General transmitted to the head of each component agency a memorandum outlining the requirements of Executive Order 13166 and provided a CRT-developed questionnaire designed to assess existing component language assistance initiatives and to identify possible enhancements necessitated by the Executive Order. As a supplement to this survey, CRT also held additional meetings and engaged in frequent telephonic or electronic consultations with various DOJ components to discuss questions of coverage and/or implementation in the months following issuance of the Executive Order.

COR/CRT sponsored a Stakeholder Conference held on November 14, 2000, in Washington, D.C. At that conference, attended by representatives of about 60 of the approximately 95 federal departments or agencies, representatives of national and regional advocacy organizations representing LEP populations offered their views on the implementation of Executive Order 13166 in three areas: oral interpretations, written translations, and outreach. Federal attendees also posed questions to panelists on specific programs and language assistance proposals. From DOJ, attendees included representatives from the Civil Rights Division, the Office of Justice Programs, the Justice Management Division, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Executive Office for Immigration Review, the U.S. Marshals Service, and the Immigration and Naturalization Service. In addition, CRT sent letters to numerous LEP advocacy groups and organizations summarizing the requirements of Executive Order 13166 and solicited written comments on the general language assistance needs of, among other entities, DOJ components. DOJ received written comments from three LEP community stakeholders in response to these letters. Finally, DOJ obtained comments through various meetings with representatives of several LEP advocacy groups based in the Washington, D.C., metropolitan area.

The Department identifies five important elements of an acceptable language assistance plan. Those elements are:

• Assessment of LEP populations and language needs;
• Publication of a written language assistance plan;
• Provision of appropriate staff training about the plan;
• Public outreach and notice of the availability of language assistance; and
• Periodic self-assessment and self-monitoring.

 This Plan incorporates and addresses each of these elements with respect to the Department’s own federally conducted activities.

The general mission of the Department of Justice is to advise and counsel the departments and agencies that make up the Executive Branch of the Federal Government in applying civil and criminal laws; to represent Executive Branch departments, agencies, and officials in litigation; to enforce federal criminal and civil laws; to control the nation’s borders; to exercise supervision and control over persons detained, supervised, or incarcerated by the United States; and to generally promote effective law enforcement.

The purpose of Executive Order 13166 and its associated DOJ LEP Guidance is not to create new core services, but to eliminate or reduce– to the maximum extent practical– limited English proficiency as a barrier or impediment to accessing existing core services. Thus, in identifying language assistance initiatives consistent with the underlying goal of the Executive Order, it is reasonable to focus initially on DOJ components whose programs and activities have the greatest potential for interactions with LEP individuals, and that involve the exchange of vital information affecting the provision of a service, grant of a benefit, or imposition of a burden. This can be accomplished by focusing on the general nature, purpose, and consequences of informational interactions among a component, the public generally, and LEP individuals specifically.

DOJ components can be grouped into five categories based generally on the nature, purpose, and consequence of their interactions with the general public and/or LEP populations. The first category (A) includes components whose mission or primary function is to serve the internal management and administrative needs of the Department itself. Here, potential interactions with LEP individuals are at most infrequent and secondary to the services performed by these components.³ A second category (B) includes components whose mission or primary function is to serve the legal, investigative, and policy needs of the Department or the Executive Branch in a manner that either is not dependent upon interactions with the public or historical data suggest no significant LEP involvement.⁴ A third category (C) includes components whose mission or primary function is the provision of services, information, or assistance to third party entities which, while potentially serving significant LEP populations, are not themselves properly characterized as limited English proficient.⁵ A fourth category (D) includes components whose mission or primary function is to serve the legal, investigative, and policy needs of the Department or the Executive Branch in a manner that involves (and in some cases is dependent upon) interactions with the public, including predictable and periodic interactions with identifiable LEP.⁶ A fifth category (E) includes components whose mission or primary function is to exercise supervision and control over special populations known to contain significant numbers of LEP individuals.⁷

As experience under this Plan warrants, it is contemplated that a detailed LEP assessment of each specific program and activity by each component of the Department of Justice will be undertaken. However, in developing this initial Implementation Plan, the 38 different departmental components have been analyzed in terms of how they generally interact with the public in the performance of their responsibilities. This approach allows the Department to focus on those components and those areas where the potential impact on LEP persons is of greatest concern. It is also consistent with the approach suggested by many LEP representatives in the course of stakeholder consultations. Moreover, while each of the four factors set out in the DOJ LEP Guidance plays a role in identifying "reasonable steps to ensure meaningful access," the first factor (number or proportion of LEP persons in the eligible service population) and the third factor (importance of the service provided by the program) have the greatest impact in initially determining what, if any, language assistance measures may be appropriate. Where the activities of a component do not involve or depend upon interactions with the general public (i.e., they do not involve the grant of a benefit, provision of a service, or imposition of a burden directly upon individual members of the public or a discrete population subject to the direct supervision and control of the Department of Justice), the number or proportion of LEP persons in the eligible service population is at best negligible. Similarly, where the interactions with the public do not involve direct and immediate impacts on an individual’s health, personal security, employment, or other similar important interest, and the need for language assistance in the individual case is of significantly less importance.

Applying the four-factor analysis, departmental components falling in Categories A, B, or C described above do not routinely engage in activities that implicate important individual interests or potentially impact significant LEP populations. In contrast, the components that fall in Categories D and E do engage in activities that implicate either important individual interests or significant numbers of LEP individuals, or both. In addition, several of the Category E components -- particularly the Immigration and Naturalization Service, the U.S. Marshals Service, and the Bureau of Prisons -- have frequent, if not daily, contact with LEP individuals concerning matters of significant importance.

For these reasons, the implementation of "reasonable steps to ensure meaningful access" is appropriate for nine of the Department’s 38 components.⁸ Those "reasonable steps" are set out in the Language Assistance Plan that follows.

When assessed in terms of the role that informational exchanges play in a component’s grant of a benefit, provision of a service, or imposition of a burden directly upon a member of the public,⁹ nine DOJ components emerge under the four-factor analysis set out in the DOJ LEP Guidance as entities for which enhanced language assistance measures are warranted. Those components are: 

• Civil Rights Division
• Immigration and Naturalization Service
• Executive Office of Immigration Review
• U.S. Marshals Service
• Bureau of Prisons
• Community Relations Service
• Federal Bureau of Investigation
• Drug Enforcement Administration
• Executive Office for United States Attorneys

 The nature of each of these components’ interactions with LEP populations and their existing language assistance activities, together with additional language assistance initiatives planned over the next twelve months, are set out below.

4.21 Language Assistance Principles. As an initial matter, the Department adopts the following language assistance principles for situations in which an LEP individual is seeking a direct DOJ service or benefit, or where there is potential for the direct imposition of a burden by DOJ:

• LEP persons should be advised that they may choose either to secure the assistance of an interpreter of their own choosing, at their own expense, or a competent interpreter provided by the relevant component.¹⁰ The provision of this notice and the LEP person’s election should be documented in any written record generated with respect to the LEP person.

• Components should take reasonable steps appropriate to the circumstances to ensure that it provides interpretative services only through individuals who are competent to provide interpretative services at an level of fluency, comprehension, and confidentiality appropriate to the specific nature, type and purpose of information at issue.

• Components should endeavor to expand the range or nature of language assistance measures (including the provision of services in languages in addition to those specified in this plan) whenever experience, changes in target or service population demographics, or new program-specific data indicates that the failure to do so may result in a denial of substantially equal and meaningfully effective services to a significant LEP population served by the component.

• To the maximum extent practical, limited English proficiency shall not act as a barrier or otherwise limit access to vital information, i.e., information publicly available in English as to when, where, or how to access benefits or services from a component.

4.22 Uniform Language Assistance Initiatives. Each of the nine DOJ components identified in this Plan as warranting enhanced language assistance measures should take the following actions:

1. Oral Information. Each location accessible to the public at which vital oral information is made available (e.g., security checkpoints, information desks or telephone lines, certain reception desks or areas, building entries, etc.) maintained or administered by a component identified as warranting language assistance measures will have in place personnel or language assistance resources capable of providing, within a reasonable period of time, information and/or instruction in appropriate languages other than English. Each component will develop and file with COR by the end of the second quarter of Fiscal Year 2001 a timetable for implementing the following:

• Have in place at points of public contact bilingual or multi-lingual staff, appropriate translations of commonly requested information in commonly encountered languages, or procedures for access to telephonic interpretive services¹¹ for use by component personnel.

• As appropriate, the written procedures for accessing telephonic language assistance resources will be (1) inserted into every component telephone book (both written and electronic); (2) posted or otherwise readily available (e.g., through a component intranet system) at every point of public contact; and (3) distributed to every employee whose duties routinely include contact with members of the public.

• Complete and distribute to each duty station, facility or, as appropriate, work group, a listing of staff members assigned to that duty station, facility, or work group who have volunteered to provide temporary language assistance services in the case of an emergency. Such staff members should be identified by name, office, physical location, business telephone number, work hours, language, and level of fluency.

2. Electronic Information. Unless already in place, each component that maintains a webpage accessible to members of the general public should include information on the availability of language assistance through or by the component. Where documents in languages other than English are placed on or accessible through the webpage, information on their availability should be included in the appropriate languages on the web home page or other initial point of access.

3. Signage. Where signage within a publicly-accessible duty station or facility maintained or administered by a component (other than a point of entry into the United States) is provided in English, it will also be provided, at a minimum and as soon as reasonably practical, in the two most common non-English languages spoken in the area served by the duty station or facility where, based on available data, more than 25% of the people within that language group speak English less than well.¹² Signage in fewer languages is warranted where current demographic data establishes that the population potentially served by the duty station or facility does not include more than one language minority group that satisfies the 25% standard. Each component will develop and file with COR by the end of the second quarter of Fiscal Year 2001 a signage implementation timetable, including, where appropriate, reasonable delays necessitated by the lack of current data on LEP populations within relevant service areas or regions.

4.23 Component-Specific Language Assistance Initiatives. In addition to the uniform language initiatives applicable to the nine components engaging in programs and activities warranting language assistance measures, those components will implement additional language assistance measures warranted by their particular programs, activities, and/or target/service population as follows:

1. Civil Rights Division (CRT). The Civil Rights Division is responsible for the enforcement of federal civil rights provisions through investigation, litigation, mediation, and the extension of appropriate training and technical assistance to Executive Branch departments and agencies. To a large degree, the Division’s ability to discharge its duties is dependent upon information obtained from the public, particularly populations that contain significant numbers of LEP individuals. In addition, CRT enforces civil rights provisions prohibiting discrimination on the basis of national origin and citizenship status, classes that specifically include LEP individuals.

CRT currently employs a number of bilingual individuals in professional and administrative support positions. While the public is not required to use CRT-developed complaint forms, the Division currently makes available all such complaint forms in Spanish with some available in other languages. Similarly, the Division has published select outreach materials in multiple languages and is currently evaluating the need for and feasibility of publishing additional outreach materials in languages other than English.¹³ Finally, the Division has arranged for oral interpretative services through a telephone language assistance service.

Because of its central role in the enforcement of civil rights provisions prohibiting national origin and citizenship status discrimination and its role coordinating federal enforcement of Title VI, CRT believes it appropriate to assume a leadership role in implementing LEP language assistance measures. A review of the programs and activities of the CRT highlight four LEP-intensive areas that warrant consideration of additional language assistance measures. The Division will take the following actions to address or further assess LEP issues in each of the following areas:

• Complaint Forms. All complaint and Privacy Act release forms published by CRT for distribution to individuals for the purpose of soliciting information about or allegations of possible violations of federal civil rights statutes will, at a minimum, be translated into any of the five most common languages spoken in the United States wherever 25% or more of the language group speak English less than "well" based on the most recent census data. Based on the 1990 census, these languages would include Spanish and Chinese. In addition, the Division will evaluate the feasibility of translating complaint forms into any of the 15 most commonly spoken non-English languages in the United States that meet this 25% standard. Based on the 1990 census, this would include (in addition to Spanish and Chinese) Korean, Vietnamese, and Russian. Finally, regardless of the form used to file a complaint, the Division will respond to the complainant in the appropriate language other than English where Division officials have a reason to believe that the complainant is an LEP person.

• Outreach Materials. All written materials published by CRT for wide distribution to individuals and that are designed to explain individual rights, complaint procedures, or other information vital to understanding and exercising federally protected rights, will, at a minimum, be translated into any of the ten most common non-English languages spoken in the United States wherever Census or other available data indicates that 25% or more of the language group speak English less than "well." Based on the 1990 census, languages satisfying the 25% standard include Spanish, Chinese, Korean and Vietnamese. In addition, the Division will evaluate the feasibility of applying the 25% translation standard to the thirty most commonly spoken non-English languages in the United States based on current census data.

2. Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS). The Immigration and Naturalization Service is responsible for the protection of the nation’s borders through the administration and enforcement of laws governing the admission of non-citizens or non-permanent residents into the United States, apprehension and removal of aliens who enter illegally and/or whose stay is not in the public interest, and the processing of naturalization and citizenship petitions and applications. Because of its mission and target population, of all the departmental components, INS has the most immediate and substantial impact on significant LEP populations within the United States.

Consistent with its frequent interactions with significant LEP populations, INS already has implemented substantial initiatives to address the language needs of LEP individuals. In addition to the employment of a large number of personnel who can perform their duties in languages other than English, INS employs or has under contract a large body of language specialists. The ability to provide Spanish language assistance is a common characteristic throughout the INS system. All Immigration Inspectors, Detention Officers, Deportation Officers, and Border Patrol Agents are taught Spanish as part of their

training. INS currently has qualified interpreters in 67 other languages. Information on the procedures for accessing these language resources are distributed to INS personnel. Its New York District Office, for example, currently has over 120 permanent, intermittent, and as-needed translators capable of providing language services nationwide 24 hours a day. If this service is unavailable, arrangements have been made to use a commercial telephonic language assistance service. Many of its most-requested forms are translated into at least Spanish and, in some cases, into 11 languages other than English. In most interviews or hearings, INS provides interpreters or permits aliens to be accompanied by an interpreter. It maintains a toll-free, nationwide contact telephone number providing information on the status of applications in both English and Spanish. In the area of detainment, INS currently includes as part of its Intergovernmental Service Agreements (IGSAs) with entities providing detention services a requirement that the service provider shall ensure compliance with all applicable laws, regulations, and procedures and specifically requires special provisions for non-English speaking detainees. Those special provisions are detailed in the Detention Standards that are part of the INS Detention Operations Manual.

A review of the programs and activities of INS suggest five specific areas in which consideration of additional LEP measures is warranted: instructional forms, charging documents and notice of removal procedures, interpreters at asylum interviews, detention, and law enforcement activities. INS will take the following actions with respect to each area:

• Application Forms. To the maximum extent practical, limited English proficiency should have no impact on the grant of a service or benefit, or imposition of a burden by INS unless English competency is a condition of eligibility. In the area of application forms, INS will take the following actions:

• As soon as practical, INS will provide and make available to the public translations of instructions for completion of the following forms in Spanish and Chinese except where otherwise noted: I-539 (application to extend/change nonimmigrant status), I-589 (application for asylum), I-695 (application for replacement employment authorization or temporary residence card), I-765 (application for employment authorization), and I-821 (application for temporary protected status; Spanish only); AR-11 (change of address form), G-14 (information form), I-131 (application for travel document), and G-731 (Inquiry About Status of I-551 Alien Registration Card). INS shall develop and file with COR by the end of the second quarter of Fiscal Year 2001 a timetable for such translations.

• INS will complete and file with COR, by the end of the second quarter of Fiscal Year 2001, an assessment of the need, feasibility of and fiscal requirements for making available translations of instructions for the forms listed above in the following additional languages: Korean, Vietnamese and/or Russian.

• Charging Documents and Notices of Removal. To the maximum extent practical, every individual subject to removal from the United States will be advised of the basis for such proposed action and the procedures through which the individual may challenge the proposed action. In the area of translations of charging documents and notices of removal, INS will take the following actions:

• INS will complete and file with COR, by the end of the second quarter of Fiscal Year 2001, an assessment of the applicability of the LEP guidance to its enforcement operations, and the need, feasibility of, and fiscal requirements for providing written translations or oral interpretations of charging documents and notices of removal in appropriate additional languages.

• Asylum Interviews. To the maximum extent practical, limited English proficiency should play no role, directly or indirectly, in the grant or denial of authority to remain in the United States. In FY 1999, INS conducted over 36,000 asylum interviews, 6,500 credible fear interviews, and 200 reasonable fear interviews. INS estimates that LEP services were required in approximately 90% of the cases. Of all asylum applications, almost 16% came from citizens of Spanish-speaking countries and over 13% came from citizens of China. INS routinely provides interpretative services in appropriate languages in all credible fear interviews. In the area of asylum interviews, INS will undertake the following actions:

• INS will develop and issue appropriate standards or criteria for determining whether, by certification, demonstrated fluency or other means, a person will be deemed competent to provide interpretative services in credible fear or asylum interviews. INS will complete and file with COR a timetable for the development and issuance of such standards by the end of the second quarter of Fiscal Year 2001.

• Regardless whether an applicant provides his or her own interpreter, INS will, as soon as fiscal resources permit, provide a competent interpreter or hearing officer in the appropriate language at every asylum interview. INS will complete and file with COR, by the end of the second quarter of Fiscal Year 2001, an assessment of the fiscal requirements and a proposal for the identification and acquisition of fiscal resources necessary for providing interpretative services by competent interpreters at all asylum interviews.

• Pursuant to the International Religious Freedom Act, 22 U.S.C. §6473, INS will not rely upon, permit, or otherwise authorize third parties to act as interpreters or translators in any credible fear or asylum interview where the third party may hold or is assumed to hold, a bias against the applicant.

• Detention. In the area of detention, a detainee’s limited English proficiency should, to the maximum extent practical, have no impact on his or her eligibility for benefits, receipt of services, or the imposition of a burden different in kind or degree than other detainees. While INS has already engaged in extensive language assistance services in the area of detention, INS will take the following specific actions:

• INS will ensure that providers of detention services under Intergovernmental Service Agreements (IGSAs) are on notice, in a manner to be determined by INS, that their obligation to ensure compliance with applicable laws, regulations and procedures includes compliance with the applicable requirements regarding meaningful access to limited English proficient persons as set forth in the Guidance to Recipients of Department of Justice Federal Financial Assistance: Providing Meaningful Access to Individuals Who Are Limited English Proficient in Compliance with Title VI and Implementing Regulations ("LEP Guidance for DOJ Recipients").

• By the end of the second quarter of Fiscal Year 2001, INS will complete and file with COR a review of its existing language assistance services outlined in its Detention Standards (set out in its Detention Operations Manual) to ensure that they are consistent with the compliance standards for detention facilities receiving federal financial assistance as set forth in the LEP Guidance for DOJ Recipients.

• Enforcement Activities. Several units of the INS (including the Border Patrol) perform investigative and law enforcement duties. In the discharge of their various responsibilities, INS investigative and law enforcement units engage in activities that (1) reasonably require periodic interaction with LEP individuals, and/or (2) have a direct impact on important interests on the part of LEP individuals. For these reasons, INS will take the following actions:

• By the end of the second quarter of Fiscal Year 2001, INS will complete and file with COR an assessment of the applicability of the LEP guidance to its enforcement operations, and a review of its existing language assistance services to ensure that its LEP practices (including its use of pre-printed forms, notices, waivers and similar documents) are consistent with the compliance standards for investigative and law enforcement entities receiving federal financial assistance as set forth in the LEP Guidance for DOJ Recipients.

3. Bureau of Prisons (BOP). The mission of the Federal Bureau of Prisons is to administer and maintain correctional institutions for individuals placed in the custody of the U.S. Attorney General; to develop and implement appropriate correctional programs balancing the concepts of punishment, deterrence, incapacitation, and rehabilitation; and to provide assistance to state and local correctional agencies. Significant numbers of LEP individuals are part of BOP’s prison population.

BOP has already initiated a number of programs to address many of the language assistance needs of its largest LEP population – Spanish-speaking prisoners. BOP provides many program statements, orientations, statements of rules and procedures and other documents in Spanish, and bilingual staff are generally available to meet the needs of its Spanish-speaking population. No other LEP population represents more than 5% of the total inmate population. For these smaller LEP populations, oral and written communications in their native languages are provided on an ad hoc basis.

Of all BOP activities, its exercise of custody and control over federal prisons has the greatest potential impact on LEP individuals. The terms and conditions of that custody and control over federal prisoners are largely identical to those imposed by state and local governments over prisoners subject to their respective authority. Consistent with the mandate of Executive Order 13166, LEP prisoners under BOP supervision and control should have the same rights to meaningful access to prison-based programs and activities as do LEP prisoners under the jurisdiction of recipients of federal financial assistance from DOJ. With respect to its prisoner population, BOP will take the following action:

• BOP will review its existing language assistance services to ensure that its LEP practices are consistent with the compliance standards for correctional systems receiving federal financial assistance as set forth in the LEP Guidance for DOJ Recipients.

4. U.S. Marshals Service (USMS). The mission of USMS is to enforce federal laws and provide support and security to the federal justice system; exercise custody in the transportation of federal prisoners; execute federal court orders; exercise custody and management over forfeited assets (including their ultimate disposal); assure the safety of endangered government witnesses and their families; and collect and disburse funds.

Among its activities, USMS reports three discrete activities as having the greatest potential for interactions with LEP individuals: security of judicial facilities, detention, and prisoner transport. In addition, it reports that predictable interactions with LEP persons can be assumed, albeit with lesser frequency, in connection with its investigative and law enforcement activities. Currently, USMS employs a number of bilingual personnel (with an emphasis on Spanish) to assist in the discharge of its responsibilities but believes that the employment of additional bilingual personnel would have the greatest impact on improving its ability to ensure meaningful access on the part of LEP individuals. With respect to its activities, USMS will take the following actions beyond its current language assistance initiatives:

• USMS will seek to employ and assign additional bilingual and multi-lingual employees to programs, locations, or duties having the greatest potential for improving meaningful access to USMS services by LEP individuals.

• By the end of the second quarter of Fiscal Year 2001, USMS will prepare and file with COR a timetable for making available in Spanish commonly-used forms, notices, waivers, and other law enforcement or detention-related documents affecting important rights and privileges.

• By the end of the second quarter of Fiscal Year 2001, USMS will complete and file with COR an assessment of the need, feasibility of, and fiscal requirements for making commonly used forms, notices, waivers, and other law enforcement or detention-related documents affecting important rights and privileges available in additional languages other Spanish whenever 25% or more of the members of the language group speak English less than well or not at all.

• By the end of the second quarter of Fiscal Year 2001, USMS will complete and file with COR a review of its existing language assistance services to ensure that its LEP practices with respect to its detention, investigative, and prisoner transport activities (including its use of pre-printed forms, notices, waivers and similar documents) are consistent with the compliance standards for investigative and law enforcement entities receiving federal financial assistance as set forth in the LEP Guidance for DOJ Recipients.

5. Community Relations Service (CRS). The Community Relations Service provides conciliation and mediation services to state and local governmental entities and minority communities to help resolve or minimize the potential for racial and ethnic conflict. It has no law enforcement, complaint adjudication, or litigation authority.

While no data currently exists to determine precisely the number of LEP individuals served by or benefitting from its activities, CRS reports that it provides services each year to local communities that include significant numbers of immigrants from one or more of the following areas: Southeast Asia, China, Eastern Europe, Mexico, and South America. CRS currently employs bilingual staff with fluency in English and either Spanish or French. It currently makes available a brochure of its mission and services in the following languages: English, Spanish, Arabic, Chinese, Cambodian, Hmong, Korean, Lao, and Vietnamese. This material is also available on the CRS webpage at http://www.usdoj.gov/crs.

While CRS has not identified an area where the absence of language assistance services has had a measurable impact on either its ability to perform its conciliation and mediation services or the ability of LEP individuals to make use of its services, the important role played by CRS in the early identification and resolution of community discord warrants consideration of possible enhancements to its community outreach efforts. For this reason, CRS will take the following action:

• By the end of the second quarter of Fiscal Year 2001, CRS will complete and file with COR an assessment of the need, feasibility of and fiscal requirements for increasing its national or regional written and/or oral outreach efforts to include additional non-English languages beyond those currently relied upon by CRS.

6. Executive Office for Immigration Review (EOIR). Pursuant to delegation, EOIR exercises the Attorney General's adjudicatory and appellate authority with respect to immigration hearings. In the discharge of this authority, it operates as an administrative law court independent of the INS. EOIR's mission is to conduct hearings before administrative law judges and to review appeals from the decisions of the Immigration Court filed by either the alien or the INS . EOIR also develops national standards regarding the interpretation of the Immigration and Nationality Act and its implementing regulations by issuing precedent decisions that are binding on Immigration Courts and practitioners around the country. EOIR is comprised of four major adjudicative and management components: the Office of the Director (OOD); the Board of Immigration Appeals (BIA); the Office of the Chief Immigration Judge (OCIJ); and the Office of the Chief Administrative Hearing Officer (OCAHO).¹⁴

Because the thrust of EOIR’s focus involves the adjudication of requests for relief from deportation by aliens facing prosecution by the INS, the EOIR docket involves a high percentage of LEP individuals. Under existing regulations, documents filed in connection with most of its adjudicatory proceedings must be in English or accompanied by a certified translation. Most parties in these proceedings are represented by counsel competent in English. In addition, to accommodate the remaining language assistance needs of LEP persons, EOIR currently provides translators to assist LEP individuals in most court matters. Notwithstanding these existing language assistance programs, EOIR will take the following action:

• By the end of the second quarter of Fiscal Year 2001, EOIR will complete and file with COR an assessment of the need to, feasibility of, and fiscal requirements for making commonly-used EOIR-generated forms, notices,, and other similar documents affecting important rights and privileges available in appropriate languages other than English whenever a party is not represented by counsel.

• With respect to its adjudicatory activities, EOIR will review its existing language assistance services to ensure that its LEP practices are consistent with the compliance standards for adjudicatory systems receiving federal financial assistance as set forth in the LEP Guidance for DOJ Recipients.

7. Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI or the Bureau). The mission of the FBI is to investigate violations of federal criminal and civil law; to protect the United States from foreign intelligence and terrorist activities; and to provide training and technical assistance and services to federal, state, local, and international law enforcement personnel.

The Bureau’s investigative activities and associated law enforcement authority have the greatest impact on LEP persons. In support of its investigative activities, the FBI maintains extensive language resources and is currently authorized in excess of 400 language specialists. The five most common languages among Bureau language specialists are Spanish, Russian, Arabic, Chinese, and Korean. In addition, the Bureau has available a number of law enforcement-related forms and notices in multiple languages other than English.

In addition to maintaining its extensive non-English language capabilities, the Bureau will take the following actions:

• The FBI will review its existing language assistance services to ensure that its LEP practices are consistent with the compliance standards for investigative and law enforcement entities receiving federal financial assistance as set forth in the LEP Guidance for DOJ Recipients.

• By the end of the second quarter of Fiscal Year 2001, the FBI will complete and file with COR an assessment of the feasibility of, approaches to, and fiscal requirements for making its extensive library of law enforcement-related forms in multiple languages available to other investigative bodies of the Department, the federal government, and state and law enforcement organizations.

• By the end of the second quarter of Fiscal Year 2001, the FBI will complete and file with COR an assessment of the feasibility of, approaches to, and fiscal requirements for making the services of its Law Enforcement Interagency Linguist Access (LEILA) database available in whole or in part to other components of the Department and/or other federal departments and agencies.

8. Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA). The mission of DEA is to enforce the controlled substance laws and regulations of the United States; to assist in the identification and prosecution of organizations, and principal members of organizations, involved in the growing, manufacture, or distribution of controlled substances; and to recommend and support non-enforcement programs aimed at reducing the availability of illicit controlled substances on the domestic and international markets.

Due to the nature and focus of its mission, DEA already has in place an extensive system of language assistance resources to support its internal investigative and law enforcement functions. Due to its investigative and law enforcement authority, DEA engages in activities that (1) reasonably require periodic interaction with LEP individuals, or (2) have a direct impact on important interests on the part of LEP individuals. For these reasons, DEA will take the following action:

• DEA will review its existing language assistance services to ensure that its LEP practices are consistent with the compliance standards for investigative and law enforcement entities receiving federal financial assistance as set forth in the LEP Guidance for DOJ Recipients.

9. Executive Office for United States Attorneys (EOUSA). The mission of the EOUSA is to provide executive assistance and administrative support to the 94 local Offices of the United States Attorney. The local United States Attorneys, in turn, represent the legal interests of the Executive Branch before the Federal District Courts of the Judicial Branch.

While the EOUSA generally does not itself engage in activities having a direct and substantial impact on significant LEP populations, the local United States Attorneys do perform services, collect information from and provide information to members of the general public. Depending on their geographic location, the population served can include significant LEP populations. In addition to the Uniform Language Assistance Initiatives outlined at Section 4.22, above, the EOUSA will take the following action:

• In the discharge of its legal and law enforcement activities, EOUSA will complete and file with COR a review of its existing language assistance services to ensure that its LEP practices are consistent with the compliance standards for similar law enforcement entities receiving federal financial assistance as set forth in the LEP Guidance for DOJ Recipients.

4.3 Staff Training. All employees expected to implement the language assistance initiatives set out in this Plan should be knowledgeable about (1) the nature and scope of language assistance services and resources available through their employing component, and (2) the procedures through which they may access those services to assist in the discharge of their respective duties. Each component subject to this Plan will develop and file with COR by the end of the second quarter of Fiscal Year 2001 a timetable for the implementation of following actions with respect to staff training:

1. Component employees whose routine duties include interactions with the public will be provided with written information on the scope and nature of available or planned language assistance services and the specific procedures through which such services can be accessed at the employee’s work location.

2. Each component (or, as appropriate, component sub-unit) will develop and incorporate into new employee orientation and/or training programs a module on the nature and scope of language assistance services and the specific procedures through which each employee can access those services.

4.4 Outreach. LEP individuals in need of language assistance services should have reasonable notice of the availability of such services. Each departmental component with significant LEP contacts should undertake appropriate written and oral outreach efforts designed to alert LEP communities and individuals as to the nature, scope, and availability of the language assistance services set out in this Plan. In the area of outreach, each component subject to this Plan will take the following actions:

• Where documents are available in languages other than English, the English version will include a notice of such availability translated into every language in which the document is available.

• Where documents are available for viewing or downloading through a component webpage in languages other than English, a tag indicating such availability in each of the languages will be included on each webpage.

• To the maximum extent possible, components will strive to inform stakeholder organizations regarding the nature and scope of available language assistance services through appropriate oral and written means.

4.5 Monitoring. Language assistance plans should be periodically reassessed to ensure that the scope and nature of language assistance services provided under the plan reflect updated information on relevant LEP populations, their language assistance needs, and component experience under the plan. Over the next twelve months, each component subject to this Plan will take the following actions to monitor the effectiveness of its language assistance initiatives and assess the possible need for enhancements or modifications to those initiatives:

1. By the end of the third quarter of the fiscal year, CRT will advise each component on the approaches to be used to assess component activities under this Plan.
2. By the end of the fiscal year, each Component will submit to CRT the results of its assessment of its activities under this Plan, together with any proposed modifications to this Plan. Each subsequent year, the Component will report the results of its assessment of its activities under this Plan within the framework of such reporting mechanisms as it, after consultation with COR, deems appropriate.
3. By the end of the first quarter of Fiscal Year 2002, CRT will forward to the Attorney General (or his or her designee) recommendations on proposed modifications, if any, to this Plan for the remainder of Fiscal Year 2002 and beyond.

Endnotes

1. Within the Department of Justice, this responsibility has been assigned to the Coordination and Review Section (COR) of the Civil Rights Division (CRT).

2. The components that participated in these early consultations included the Office of Justice Programs, the Office of Community Oriented Policing Services, the Asset Forfeiture and Money Laundering Section of the Criminal Division, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Bureau of Prisons, the Drug Enforcement Administration, the Immigration and Naturalization Service, the Office of Public Affairs, the Executive Office of United States Attorneys, the Office of Special Counsel for Immigration-Related Unfair Employment Practices of the Civil Rights Division, the Office of Inspector General, the Justice Management Division, the U.S. Marshals Service, the Executive Office for Immigration Review, and the Office of Information and Privacy.

3. Included in Category A are the Office of the Attorney General, the Office of the Deputy Attorney General, and the Office of the Associate Attorney General, the Executive Office for United States Trustees, the Justice Management Division, the Office of Professional Responsibility, Office of Intergovernmental Affairs, the Professional Responsibility Advisory Office, the Office of Policy Development, the Office of the Pardon Attorney, and the Office of the DOJ Executive Secretariat.

4. Included in Category B are the Office of Legal Counsel, the Office of Inspector General, the Office of Dispute Resolution, the Office of Information and Privacy, the Office of Investigative Policies, the Office of Legislative Affairs, the Office of the Solicitor General, the Tax Division, the Antitrust Division, the Civil Division, the Criminal Division, and the Environment and Natural Resources Division.

5. Included in Category C are the Office of Justice Programs, the Office of Tribal Justice, the United States Parole Commission, the Foreign Claims Settlement Commission, and the Office of Community-Oriented Policing, and the Office of Public Affairs. To the extent that these and other departmental components may extend federal financial assistance subject to Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, as amended, 42 U.S.C. §2000d, et seq., and similar civil rights provisions, it is expected that such components will apply and enforce the companion DOJ LEP Guidance for DOJ Recipients, to be issued under Section 3 of Executive Order 13166.

6. Included in Category D are the Civil Rights Division, the Community Relations Service, the Executive Office for United States Attorneys (for the offices of the local United States Attorneys), the Federal Bureau of Investigation, and the Drug Enforcement Administration.

7. Included in Category E are the Immigration and Naturalization Service, the U.S. Marshals Service, the Bureau of Prisons, and the Executive Office for Immigration Review.

8. Different languages or numbers of languages are identified with respect to different responsibilities under this Plan. These differences resulted from the application of a common formula (i.e., language groups where 25% or more of its members indicate they speak English less than "well") to different types of activities having different objectives. For example, components with greater predictable interactions with identifiable LEP populations should plan for greater language assistance measures than components with lesser, albeit important, interactions with LEP populations. Similarly, activities such as community outreach intended to generate a greater demand for component services among underserved communities, including LEP communities, should be translated into more language than other types of component documents. Of course, as increased interactions with LEP populations are created through outreach activities, the need to provide services and information in additional languages may increase.

9. For example, the investigation of a complaint of discrimination by the CRT would be a "service," the grant of authority to engage in temporary employment by the INS would be a "benefit," and the imposition of discipline upon a prisoner in a BOP correctional facility would be a "burden."

10. While a LEP person may often look to bilingual family members or friends or other persons with whom they are comfortable for language assistance, there are many situations where a LEP person might want to rely upon component-supplied interpretative services. For example, such individuals may not be available when and where they are needed. Alternatively, an individual may feel uncomfortable revealing or describing sensitive, confidential, or potentially embarrassing medical, law enforcement (e.g., sexual or violent assaults), family, or financial information to a family member, friend, or member of the local community. Similarly, there may be situations where a component’s own interests justify the provision of an interpreter regardless of whether the LEP individual also provides his or her own interpreter. For example, where precise, complete and accurate translations of information and/or testimony are critical for law enforcement, adjudicatory or legal reasons, a component might decide to provide its own, independent interpreter.

11. "Telephonic interpretative services," sometimes referred to as "language lines," involve the use of interpreters who provide either simultaneous or consecutive translations by telephone.

12. "Available data" includes but is not limited to language and demographic census information pertaining to the area or region served.

13. Several outreach brochures are already translated into Spanish and one targeted to potential victims of national origin discrimination is scheduled for translation into 12 languages other than English.

14. EOIR’s three adjudicatory units are the Board of Immigration Appeals, responsible for interpreting and applying immigration laws through reviews of decisions by subordinate administrative adjudicatory bodies; the Office of the Chief Immigration Judge, responsible for conducting formal immigration and naturalization hearings; and the Office of the Chief Administrative Hearing Officer, responsible for conducting administrative hearings relating to (1) unlawful hiring, recruiting, or referring for a fee or continued employment of authorized aliens, and failure to comply with employment verification requirements; (2) document fraud; and (3) immigration-related unfair employment practices.

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This page was last updated on January 10, 2001