Organizations in Illinois are using artificial intelligence to help Latinos navigate the immigration system as demand for Spanish-language legal resources grows.
Amid the Trump administration’s ramped-up enforcement, immigration has become the most-searched topic on Illinois Legal Aid Online’s Spanish-language website, which has served 65,000 users so far this year.
Teri Ross, executive director of the nonprofit, said to keep up with rapidly changing laws and policies, the organization is using AI to make information about immigration rights faster and easier to find. Ross stressed how critical it is, because many people facing civil legal issues — including immigration cases — do not have a right to an attorney.
"The barriers faced by people who are self-represented is exponentially larger for people for whom English isn't their first language," Ross pointed out. "It's really an access to justice issue."
Ross noted the organization formerly relied on professional translators for website updates, resulting in a two-to-four-week delay between English and Spanish content changes. Now, through machine-learning translation tools and a translation memory vetted by Spanish-speaking lawyers, they can have updates live within 24 hours.
She also warned there is a downside to the same technology helping expand access to legal information. As people are increasingly turning to tools like ChatGPT and Google AI summaries, acknowledging traffic on their website is dropping, even as the need for legal information remains high.
Ross cautioned that some AI platforms may pull information from trusted sources like theirs without directing users to the websites.
"We can leverage AI in a well-designed way to help drive information to Spanish speakers sooner but if you don't regulate the AI appropriately, you're putting yourself at risk," Ross contended. "AI is neither good nor bad, but you can see how it can go both ways."
Ross added that AI-generated legal answers may be inaccurate or fail to account for state or city laws. She advised people to verify legal information through credible sources, especially when facing high-stakes issues such as immigration or housing disputes.
Illinois News Connection originally published this story.
