In an action that has generated considerable backlash, President Donald Trump has passed an executive order declaring English as the official language of the United States. The directive, which is the 78th of Trump’s second term, permits government agencies and organizations that receive federal funds to decide whether to provide documents and services in languages apart from English.
As stated by the White House, the directive is intended to “foster unity, guarantee consistency in government functioning, and establish avenues for civic involvement.”¹ Nonetheless, educators and advocacy organizations have contested this assertion, claiming that the policy will strip immigrants of access to government services and jeopardize multilingualism.
“This directive restricts people from having complete access to federal services and contradicts the rule of law, established legal standards, and federal guidance,” stated TESOL, the professional association for teachers of English to speakers of other languages. The organization noted that the order overturns a requirement from former President Clinton, which mandated federal agencies to offer language support to those who do not speak English.
Critics have alerted that the policy will estrange immigrants and hinder access to public services, such as education for English learners in the US. The Congressional Asian Pacific American Caucus characterized the order as a “subtle effort to enable federal agencies to discriminate against immigrants and those with limited English skills”.
The United States has 42 million individuals who speak Spanish and three million who speak Chinese, with over 75% of Americans using only English at home. Nonetheless, the nation has a rich history of multilingualism, and the new policy has faced criticism for contradicting this legacy.
The directive has faced criticism for breaching the Civil Rights Act, which forbids schools from discriminating against people based on their language. TESOL highlighted that the directive sharply contrasts with the US’s “diverse and dynamic multilingual and multicultural history, present, and future”.
For decades, policymakers have sought to make English the official language of the US, as Republican members of the House introduced legislation that did not succeed in 2021. The elimination of the Spanish-language version of the official White House website shortly after Trump’s second presidential term began has triggered concerns regarding the administration’s dedication to multilingualism. While the discussion around the new policy persists, one fact is evident: declaring English as the official language of the US has major consequences for immigrants, language students, and the nation’s diverse linguistic background.
