One year ago, Congress defunded public media. Now that we're 100% community funded, please become a sustaining member or increase your existing membership today.
This is an archival story that predates current editorial management.
This archival content was written, edited, and published prior to LAist's acquisition by its current owner, Southern California Public Radio ("SCPR"). Content, such as language choice and subject matter, in archival articles therefore may not align with SCPR's current editorial standards. To learn more about those standards and why we make this distinction, please click here.
Farsi And Arabic Translators Currently Needed At LAX To Assist Detainees
People walk through the north concourse of the new Tom Bradley International Terminal during its unveiling at Los Angeles International Airport on March 6, 2013 (Photo by Kevork Djansezian/Getty Images)
On Saturday afternoon, an immigrant legal aid organization made a public request for Arabic and Farsi translators to help them assist individuals currently detained at Los Angeles International Airport following the executive order issued by President Donald Trump yesterday. A number of longtime permanent residents of the U.S. from Iran, Iraq and Afghanistan are currently detained at LAX, according to Lindsay Toczylowski, the executive director at Immigrant Defenders Law Center.
The exact number of detainees remains unknown, and legal groups have been coordinating directly with families who are desperately awaiting loved ones at the airport. Toczylowski told LAist that they were trying to gather as much information as possible, and that the detainees included longtime permanent U.S. residents who just happened to be returning to the country today.
"I don't think we have a grasp yet of the actual numbers, there's just a lot of family and friends left without any answers, so we're trying to communicate with them," Meeth Soni, directing attorney at Immigrant Defenders Law Center told LAist.
If you can translate Farsi or Arabic and would like to volunteer your time, please contact the Immigrant Defenders Law Center. The organization has said that sending a Facebook message is currently the best way to quickly reach them (here's a link to their Facebook page).
Update:
Related: Here Are All The #NoBanNoWall Protests Happening In L.A. This Weekend
One year ago, Congress voted to defund public media, eliminating a critical $1.7 million from our budget every year going forward. But they couldn’t silence us, and we’re not going anywhere. LAist is now 100% community funded and that means we’re taking our future into our own hands and turning to you to keep local reporting strong.
You come to LAist because you want independent reporting and trustworthy local information. Our nonprofit newsroom doesn’t answer to shareholders looking to turn a profit. Instead, we answer to you and our communities. We are free to follow facts wherever they lead and to hold power to account without fear or favor. Our only loyalty is to our readers and listeners and our mission: to inform, engage, and strengthen Southern California’s communities.
If this story helped you, please become a monthly member today to help sustain this mission. It just takes 1 minute to donate below.
You come to LAist because you want independent reporting and trustworthy local information. Our nonprofit newsroom doesn’t answer to shareholders looking to turn a profit. Instead, we answer to you and our communities. We are free to follow facts wherever they lead and to hold power to account without fear or favor. Our only loyalty is to our readers and listeners and our mission: to inform, engage, and strengthen Southern California’s communities.
If this story helped you, please become a monthly member today to help sustain this mission. It just takes 1 minute to donate below.
Senior Vice President News, Editor in Chief
