|
Getting your Trinity Audio player ready...
|
President Trump signed an executive order Saturday making English the official language of the United States, marking the first time the U.S. has designated an official language at the federal level.
“A nationally designated language is at the core of a unified and cohesive society, and the United States is strengthened by a citizenry that can freely exchange ideas in one shared language,” the executive order reads.
The English language executive order rescinds a federal mandate that requires agencies and other recipients of federal funding to provide language assistance to non-English speakers, a mandate issued by former President Bill Clinton. Agencies, however, will still be able to provide documents and services in other languages. The Trump administration says its goal is to “promote unity, establish efficiency in the government, and provide a pathway to civic engagement.”
The order also states that “Agency heads are not required to amend, remove, or otherwise stop production of documents, products, or other services prepared or offered in languages other than English.”
Republican members of Congress have tried unsuccessfully to pass legislation declaring English the official language. English is already the most commonly used language in the country, and many states have designated English as their official language.
The Wall Street Journal first reported the president’s plan to sign the executive order.
On the campaign trail last year, Mr. Trump decried other languages entering the U.S.
“We have languages coming into our country,” Mr. Trump said at CPAC, the Conservative Political Action Conference, outside Washington, D.C., last year. “…These are languages — it’s the craziest thing — they have languages that nobody in this country has ever heard of. It’s a very horrible thing.”