President Donald Trump is planning an executive order to make English the official language of the United States.
The planned order, obtained and reviewed by The Epoch Times and confirmed by a White House official, is unique to the nation’s 250-year history.
It would rescind a federal mandate by President Bill Clinton that required any agencies receiving federal money to provide language assistance to those who do not speak English.
It would allow agencies to maintain practices of providing documents in services in other languages “but encourages new Americans to adopt a national language that opens doors to greater opportunities.”
“Agencies will have the flexibility to decide how and when to offer services in languages other than English to best service the American people and fulfill their agency mission,” the White House fact sheet of the planned order reads, also noting that English is the most widely used of the 350 different languages spoken across the country.
“Establishing English as the official language promotes unity, establishes efficiency in government operations, and creates a pathway for civic engagement.”
The order, once signed, is contrary to President Joe Biden’s efforts to promote bilingualism and, in some cases, preferred treatment to those still learning English.
Biden’s Department of Education secretary, Miguel Cardona, used his final days in office to push to states and school districts a dual instruction plan by which class time in all subjects would be split between English and a foreign language.
The fact sheet also notes that 180 nations have an official language and that at least 30 U.S. states and five territories have already embraced English as the official language.
“This order celebrates multilingual Americans who have learned English and passed it down while empowering immigrants to achieve the American Dream through a common language,” the fact sheet reads.
Trump is likely to face resistance from the American Civil Liberties Union, which has pushed for more federally funded translation services to assist illegal immigrants, teacher unions, and various other civil rights organizations that have opposed his platform from day one.
The League of United Latin American Citizens, according to its website, monitors any movement toward making English the nation’s official language and calls any English-only provisions “linguistic racism” reflective of earlier laws that promoted discrimination.
“Laws were enacted to prevent Chinese from testifying in court, Japanese from owning land, German from being learned in schools, and Hispanic children from attending integrated schools,” the website says.
