Maryland’s immigrants are vital to its economy and communities, yet many face significant language barriers in accessing essential services. Without certified interpreters, healthcare and legal systems become nearly inaccessible for non-English speakers. To understand the scale of this issue, let’s examine the demographics and linguistic diversity of Maryland’s immigrant population.
Understanding Maryland’s Immigrant Population
According to an April 2024 report from the Comptroller of Maryland, over 1 million immigrants reside in the state, representing 16.7% of the population. Maryland’s immigrant population fills 20% of jobs, primarily in healthcare, construction, and food services. Without their contributions, sectors essential to the state’s economy would face severe labor shortages.
Salvadorian immigrants comprise the largest share, accounting for 11.7% of Maryland’s immigrant population. They predominantly reside in Montgomery and Prince George’s counties.
Despite their high numbers, Salvadorians often face challenges accessing services due to a shortage of Spanish interpreters in Maryland, leaving many vulnerable in both healthcare and legal settings.
Naturalized citizens make up more than half of Maryland’s immigrants. However, about 17% of the immigrant population reports limited English proficiency, a significant barrier to accessing services and navigating critical systems like healthcare and immigration.
Maryland’s linguistic diversity
The language needs of Maryland’s immigrant population are as diverse as the communities they represent.
While Spanish is the most common language after English—reflecting the state’s sizable Salvadorian community—other languages, like Mandarin, Cantonese, Korean, and Indigenous Central American dialects, are increasingly spoken. This diversity highlights the urgent need for tailored language services to bridge communication gaps.
Without trained interpreters in these languages, vital communication breaks down, leading to delays in medical treatment, missteps in legal cases, and barriers to critical services. Nowhere is this more evident than in Maryland’s immigration and legal systems, where language access is a lifeline for many.
Language Barriers in Maryland’s Immigration and Legal Systems
Language barriers complicate every step of the immigration process. Salvadorian immigrants, who form the largest immigrant group in Maryland, frequently struggle due to a shortage of Spanish interpreters.
Immigration forms, hearings, and legal consultations often require proficiency in English or certified interpretation, which many Salvadorian families cannot access, leaving them vulnerable to errors that can delay or derail their cases.
Maryland’s growing Chinese and Korean communities face similar challenges. Mandarin, Cantonese, and Korean speakers often encounter limited interpreter availability in immigration courts and USCIS offices. This lack of resources makes navigating complex legal processes nearly impossible for these populations.
The legal consequences of language barriers for Maryland’s immigrants
The absence of interpreters in immigration courts leads to significant delays and errors. Miscommunication can result in incorrect filings, missed deadlines, or misunderstandings during hearings, often jeopardizing an immigrant’s chance of staying in the US.
Although federal mandates require language access, compliance is inconsistent. Immigration notices and forms must be filed in English, leaving non-English speakers dependent on professional translation.
Interpreters are often unavailable for less common languages like Indigenous Central American dialects, further compounding the problem. These gaps in language access reflect a deeper issue: Maryland’s interpreter resources are insufficient to meet the needs of its diverse immigrant population.
Limited resources for Maryland’s immigrant community interpreters
Interpreter shortages are a persistent issue across Maryland’s legal systems. While Spanish interpreters are in high demand, resources for other languages like Chinese, Korean, and Indigenous dialects are even more limited. This imbalance leaves many immigrants without the support they need during critical legal proceedings.
Efforts to meet these demands remain fragmented. Immigration courts rely heavily on over-the-phone interpretation, which is often inaccurate and impersonal. These systemic shortcomings in language access aren’t limited to the legal system—they also permeate Maryland’s healthcare facilities, creating critical barriers for immigrant families.
Maryland’s Healthcare System: A Language Access Crisis
Maryland’s immigrants battle to access healthcare due to language barriers. For the 17% of immigrants with limited English proficiency, navigating medical appointments, understanding treatment plans, and advocating for their needs becomes nearly impossible without interpreters. Healthcare interpreter services in Maryland are critical but often unavailable where they are most needed.
Salvadorian families frequently encounter obstacles when seeking care. Many healthcare facilities in Maryland lack Spanish interpreters, forcing families to rely on ad hoc interpretation from children or staff with limited language skills.
Chinese immigrants in counties like Montgomery and Howard face similar issues, with limited access to interpreters fluent in Mandarin or Cantonese, further complicating interactions with medical providers. These challenges are even more pronounced in mental health care, where effective communication is critical for accurate diagnosis and treatment.
The impact of language barriers on mental health care
Mental health care is particularly inaccessible for immigrant families. Adolescents from immigrant households experience high rates of depression, anxiety, and trauma. However, they often struggle to access proper diagnosis or therapy due to a lack of interpreters.
Immigrant adolescents in Maryland frequently rely on parents to communicate with providers, creating cultural and linguistic misunderstandings that hinder effective treatment.
Federal law, including Title VI and Section 1557 of the Affordable Care Act, mandates that healthcare providers offer free and accurate interpretation services. Yet, enforcement is inconsistent.
Providers may skip interpretation services altogether due to cost, delays, or insufficient training, leaving immigrant families without meaningful access to mental health support. These systemic gaps in language access aren’t just theoretical—they have real and often devastating consequences for immigrant families in Maryland.
Case studies: real-life impacts of interpreter shortages in healthcare
The Public Justice Center and Centro SOL illustrate the severe consequences of interpreter shortages in Maryland through three case studies:
A 16-year-old with a chronic eating disorder: A Spanish-speaking teenager was denied mental health care due to a provider’s refusal to offer interpreters. Without the recommended therapy, her condition worsened, showing the critical need for accessible language services.
An adolescent struggling with depression and anxiety: A youth experiencing severe mental health challenges faced significant delays in treatment due to a clinic’s lack of Spanish-speaking staff and refusal to provide interpreters. This delay led to further deterioration in the adolescent’s mental health, showing how language barriers can deepen health inequities.
A child with autism spectrum disorder: A non-English-speaking family seeking care for their child encountered systemic barriers due to the absence of interpreters. Miscommunication resulted in misdiagnoses and ineffective treatment plans, negatively affecting the child’s development and future health outcomes.
These case studies illustrate the devastating impact of inadequate interpretation services on immigrant families in Maryland. Miscommunication and delays in care result in preventable health risks and inequities, further underscoring the urgent need for reliable, professional interpreter services statewide.
Bridging Maryland’s Language Gap: The Role of Professional Interpreters
Maryland’s growing immigrant population urgently needs professional, culturally competent interpreters across healthcare, legal, and community services.
Professional interpreters ensure accuracy by applying cultural expertise and certification, especially in high-stakes situations. Miscommunication in these settings causes avoidable mistakes, from healthcare misdiagnoses to legal errors.
The Language Doctors (TLD) actively addresses Maryland’s interpreter shortages by delivering fast, reliable services in over 200 languages, including Spanish, Chinese, Korean, and Indigenous dialects. TLD’s interpreters bring cultural and linguistic expertise to every interaction, ensuring clear communication in complex systems.
TLD’s solutions have already improved outcomes for organizations like The Urgency Room, a high-volume emergency care provider. Staff there use TLD’s on-demand interpreter software to connect with interpreters in under 30 seconds, eliminating long wait times and enabling life-saving care.
Maryland’s hospitals, clinics, legal offices, and government agencies can adopt similar systems to ensure every immigrant receives timely and accurate services.
Collaboration: TLD’s key to expanding language access
From experience, we’ve learned collaboration plays a critical role in overcoming language barriers. Community organizations, healthcare providers, and policymakers must work together to expand interpreter access.
These partnerships can:
- Community Outreach: Identify language needs and educate immigrants about their rights to interpretation.
- Train staff: Provide tools and cultural sensitivity training to recognize when professional interpreters are necessary.
- Pool resources: Share funding and infrastructure to make certified interpreters widely available.
Investing in professional interpretation strengthens Maryland’s economy and social connections. With immigrants filling one in five jobs, reducing language barriers unlocks their economic potential, expands access to essential services, and builds trust within communities.
With over 25 years of experience, The Language Doctors is a proud leader in solving Maryland’s (and the United States’s) language crisis. Having worked with frontline organizations, including many US Government agencies, we understand the challenges on both ends of the communication divide.
Let’s bridge the language gap together.
Contact The Language Doctors today to discover how our certified interpreters can help your organization ensure equitable access for Maryland’s immigrant communities.