A leader of the Illinois Deaf Latino Association is working to shed light on the necessity of trilingual American Sign Language interpreters to help ease communication within families.
"Without trilingual interpreters, communication wouldn't happen," IDLA president Karen Macias told NBC Chicago.
There are differences between different sign languages, ranging in subtlety depending on the country or region of the speaker. Macias first observed the differences herself when she moved from Mexico City to Chicago five years ago.
"So you encounter an interpreter who's not trilingual, their main mode is American Sign Language in English. So there are some words and concepts in ASL that you get the gist of, but not in my native language," Macias said.
The need can be filled by people like Esteban Amaro Jr., who is the city's first Mexican male trilingual interpreter with a national certification. Fluent in Spanish, English and ASL, he provides a necessary resource for Chicago's deaf Spanish speakers.
"So interpreters, we convey the tone, we convey the message, we convey the points," Amaro Jr. said.
Amaro Jr. is already a fixture at Chicago community events, often interpreting for Mayor Brandon Johnson at press conferences.
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At the Mayor's Office for People with Disabilities, he interprets at the Career Center, helping connect deaf job seekers with work opportunities. He's one of four full-time interpreters with the city and the only one who is trilingual.
Amaro Jr. added that interpreting is often just as much about culture as it is language.
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"In Mexico for example, the notary publics do have some kind of legal capabilities, whereas here a notary public is not the same as a lawyer," he said.
Without an interpreter who knows those differences, people could be left signing legal documents they might not fully understand.
A graduate of Columbia College, Amaro Jr. has been with the city since 2022.
Macias credits Amaro Jr. for helping her better understand her new city, something she also does for children and families through the Illinois Deaf Latino Association.
Both she and Amaro Jr. hope more ASL interpreters expand their skillsets to include a different language, particularly Spanish.
"We have so many individuals from Latin America that are moving here, that's why there's a need to have more trilingual interpreters," Macias said.
