As the amount of immigrants to the United States has increased since 2006, so too has the need for courtroom translators for defendants that do not speak English as a first language. In 2006, there were 5,177 hearings in Minnesota that required an interpreter. In 2010, there were 30,009 – many of them criminal defense hearings. According to one district judge, an unwitting admission of guilt due to a language barrier can send innocent people to jail, possibly opening the door for deportation.