New York, NY—This weekend, President Trump signed an executive order designating English as the official language of the United States. The executive order announcement rescinds a 2000 federal mandate from former President Bill Clinton. This mandate required agencies and other recipients of federal funding to provide language assistance to people with limited English proficiency.
Murad Awawdeh, President and CEO, New York Immigration Coalition:
“America will always be a multilingual and multicultural society, no matter how many xenophobic policies Donald Trump tries to enact. It is unclear how far this shameful ‘English Only’ executive order will be implemented, but denying people the right to interact with government agencies and access services they are eligible for in the language they speak will cause severe harm not just for the people seeking services and information, but for society as a whole as civic participation diminishes. Rather than working towards a more inclusive and vibrant country, this order sends a message that linguistic diversity should be erased instead of celebrated – and that immigrants with limited English language proficiency are somehow less deserving of access to our government. We stand against this exclusionary policy. A prosperous society must achieve language justice, to ensure that all communities have access to the essential resources they need to thrive in the United States.”