SAN DIEGO — With Magdalena Lucas Antonio de Pascual and her three children facing deportation, the immigration judge wanted to make sure she understood the charges against her. But even with the help of an interpreter speaking in Q’anjob’al, a Mayan language, Ms. Antonio de Pascual appeared to comprehend little.
“What language do you speak?” Judge Philip S. Law asked.
“The reason why I left my country?” she replied through the translator.
“I came across the border illegally because I needed to,” she later told the judge.
“I am going to ignore what you just told me, because that’s not what I asked you,” he said. “I am trying to explain the process and your rights.”…