Coming Together for Minority Communities

No One Should Stand Alone

At IU Group we build bridges to close language gaps between English speakers and non-English speakers. Our work aides those who provide these individuals with the basic right to health care services, legal representation and right to live freely in their neighborhoods. Since 1970, we’ve worked with dozens of businesses from coast-to-coast to ensure persons with limited English proficiency (LEP), and who are Deaf or Hard-of-Hearing have the ability to understand and adapt to new environments.

Last weekend, President Trump enacted an executive order which bans individuals from entering the United States from seven Muslim-majority countries in Africa and the Middle East. This ban has left numerous individuals stranded at airports, train stations and our international borders due to their race, religion and creed. In some cases, these individuals previously had the right to enter the United States. This is a major concern for the rights of not only our client’s clients and patients, but our neighbors, friends and family members.

Although so far articulated as a temporary measure, this ban has the potential to put hundreds of individuals in jeopardy. At IU, we are enthusiastic about the American Civil Liberties Union’s (ACLU) decision to take legal action by filing a lawsuit on behalf of two Iraqi men carrying valid Visas who were prohibited from entering the country.

One of these men, an interpreter, worked alongside US troops overseas. These brave professional linguists chose to risk their lives helping Americans learn the language, terrain, culture and dialects of the native peoples of Iraq, Afghanistan and other parts of the Middle East. It is shocking to ban someone who fearlessly helped assist an invading country’s military, and betrays the values for which our country stands.

The team at IU proudly supports our troops and civil rights for all. We believe the actions of the President’s order are a threat to our global interests as well as the health, safety and well-being of minority communities here at home. It is time for Americans as a whole to come together to take action to preserve Life, Liberty and Pursuit of Happiness for our neighbors because, after all, that is the American way.