The author examines the positioning of interpreters within régimes that rely on dichotomies such as insider/outsider, national/universal, and open/closed borders, focusing especially on exclusionary policies aimed at asylum seekers. The author focuses on the extent to which the communicative rights granted to or claimed by interpreters and translators in this context reflect the politics of belonging that informs current immigration policies and practice. She supports her analysis with data drawn from interviews she conducted with adjudicators, solicitors, interpreters and interpreter coordinators working in the UK asylum system. Interpreters themselves seem unsure about the boundaries of their role. The author’s data demonstrates the complexity of their positioning and their own, shifting perception of it. Ultimately, she concludes, the status and role of interpreters in this context remain largely vulnerable to exercises of power outside of their control.