The order, first reported by The Wall Street Journal on Friday, argues that a national language promotes a sense of national identity, unity and a “pathway for civic engagement.” The order “celebrates multilingual Americans who have learned English and passed it down, while empowering immigrants to achieve the American Dream through a common language,” according to officials.
The order also rescinds a federal mandate that requires agencies and institutions that receive federal funding to provide language assistance to non-English speakers, potentially limiting access to a broad range of public services.
While many federal agencies and state and local governments have moved to make services more accessible to non-English speakers over the last several decades, congressional Republicans have tried, unsuccessfully, to pass legislation that would make English the national language.
According to the U.S. Census Bureau, more than three-quarters of Americans only speak English at home, though millions of Americans also primarily speak Spanish and Chinese, among other languages, while Native American communities speak dozens of languages across the country.
Trump is also deploying federal law enforcement agencies to investigate, arrest and detain people living in the country without legal permission, including ramping up deportation flights and reserving the military prison at the naval base in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba for immigrants marked for deportation.
