On March 6, 2025, the Executive Office of the President released Executive Order no. 14224: Designating English as the Official Language of the United States. The order revokes Executive Order 13166, which was put in place to protect limited English proficiency (LEP) people’s access to federally-funded services like education by providing multilingual access to their resources. The order also poses a threat to Section 203 of the Voting Rights Act, as it requests the Department of Justice to conduct reviews of federal agencies and rid them of “non-essential multilingual services.” Exactly which services fall under this description remain unknown. The American Translators Association, joined by a language association coalition that includes over 28,000 language professionals, has released a statement opposing the order, calling it a step backward for civil rights and a detriment to the wellbeing of America’s many linguistic minorities.
While the United States previously recognized no official language, English was the de facto language of the country and the most widely spoken. However, translations of government paperwork into other widely used languages like Spanish and Mandarin are usually offered, especially in states like California, whose residents belong to over 200 language groups and comprise 18% of the country’s LEP individuals. The designation of an official language will be especially controversial within this state, given the many measures it has recently taken to incorporate foreign language programs into public school curriculums and to support English-learning students. It’s important to consider the impact Executive Order 14224 will have on states that value linguistic diversity, and the political significance of the federal government targeting multilingualism at all.
The reasoning behind the order is shaky at best. The official announcement of its passage claims that the action is aimed at streamlining federal processes, empowering residents to be more civically engaged, and “returning to tradition” as a way to help people to achieve the American Dream. Increasing efficiency is a common excuse for implementing English-only policies, but we must question who exactly will benefit from this supposed streamlining. The federal government might save some money, but the millions of Americans who speak a primary language other than English will be cut off from essential federal services. Federal efficiency is only a front for the order’s true objective, which is to ostracize LEP individuals.
The order also claims that English-language assimilation will allow residents to “engage in public discourse, volunteer in civic initiatives, and meaningfully monitor current events.” However, linguistic minorities are already engaging in these aspects of civic participation through their primary languages. For example, the 2024 presidential election saw 24 million additional voters in 30 states receive ballots translated into their native languages. In implying that valuable civic participation is achievable only in English, the federal government devalues the contributions of linguistic minority residents to American society.
Furthermore, what exactly the order means by “returning to tradition” is unclear. Linguistic diversity dates back to the beginning of American history—among others, Spanish, French, and Portuguese have been spoken here throughout the colonial period, and hundreds of indigenous languages existed long before American Indians’ first contact with Europeans. English itself has several dialects that are deeply rooted in American history and culture but are profiled and stigmatized. A clear example is African American Vernacular English (AAVE). Despite the fact that linguists recognize it as a legitimate dialect with distinctive grammar and pronunciation rules, AAVE speakers are disadvantaged in many spheres of American society. They are less likely to be considered for housing rentals and have their testimonies be trusted in court. This highlights the absurdity behind defining an official language in a country as diverse and historically varied as the United States. The English-only tradition Executive Order 14224 wants to return to is one that even English itself can’t achieve.
Perhaps most concerningly, the order idealizes linguistic homogeneity through the Department of Justice’s goal of redirecting funding to English-language assimilation programs. This implies that the federal government wants Americans to improve their English proficiency with the hopes that they will completely abandon their native languages. Not only is this deeply disturbing for people who take pride in their linguistic heritage, it will also accomplish nothing in terms of integrating minorities into American society. The order forces an impossible standard of English propriety onto minorities then punishes them for not meeting it, which only exacerbates existing language barriers.
The implications of Executive Order 14224 are vast. Although only federal agencies are required to comply with executive orders, their wide range of operations include several provisions that will directly impact LEP Californians. Access to education will be affected if the Department of Education can no longer disperse funds for the Title III federal grant of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act. Initiatives like the English Learner Roadmap Policy that support students in learning English receive a large portion of their funding from this grant. Another program funded by Title III is the State Seal of Biliteracy, which incentivizes students to learn a foreign language during high school and in turn expand their perspectives to a global scale. Defunding these programs not only hinders LEP students, but also deprives English-proficient students of the opportunity to gain an understanding of their multilingual peers.
Another cause for concern is the Executive Order’s impact on translated ballots for federal elections. Translated ballots were implemented through Section 203 of the Voting Rights Act and targets the disenfranchisement of linguistic minorities by requiring states to offer translated election ballots in localities where at least 10,000 people or 5 percent of the voting population belongs to a language minority group, has depressed literacy rates, and aren’t proficient in speaking English. California contains six of the 43 localities in the nation that are required to provide translated ballots under Section 203’s criteria, with Los Angeles County alone translating ballots into six languages other than English.
The responsibility of enforcing the Voting Rights Act lies with the Department of Justice, but the agency, headed by Attorney General Pam Bondi, has abandoned its responsibility to protect vulnerable voters and decided to focus on preventing voter fraud, especially the rare cases of non-citizen voting. Already, Bondi has instructed DOJ voting rights lawyers to dismiss cases they’ve taken on and withdraw from seven of the fourteen cases that were active at the time of the statement. Perhaps the “tradition” Executive Order 14224 wants to revert to is the time before the Fifteenth Amendment and the Voting Rights Act. While the Department of Justice has yet to target translated ballots based on the Executive Order’s unclear instructions, it has already distanced itself from defending the voting rights of marginalized groups. If it adheres to the order’s instructions to cut “non-essential” multilingual services, its complicity will allow for state governments to neglect their Section 203 obligations, bringing about the widespread disenfranchisement of LEP voters.
In limiting multilingual access to federal services, Executive Order 14224 attacks the rights of linguistic minorities to equal protection and participation in American society. The order targets LEP individuals as abnormal and foreign, seeking to limit their access to education and democracy. The problem of a waning national identity is not caused by multilingualism and it won’t be resolved if language minorities “just learn English.” The root cause lies in the misconception that a correct linguistic standard exists at all, and that it is reachable through an official statement of exclusion or enforcing an impossible standard of conformity on English-learners. Executive Order 14224 must be revoked for the sake of our students, the protection of America’s linguistic diversity, and the preservation of democratic principles.
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