President Donald Trump is set to issue an executive order making English the official language of the United States, according to reports. The U.S. has never implemented a national language at the federal level.
In August 2000, five months before he left office, President Bill Clinton issued an executive order to aid what he called “limited English proficiency” (LEP) persons, writing, “To assist the agencies with this endeavor, the Department of Justice has today issued a general guidance document (LEP Guidance).”
The Department of Justice’s Coordination Regulation corresponding to Clinton’s executive order stated, “Where a significant number or proportion of the population eligible to be served or likely to be directly affected by a federally assisted program (e.g., affected by relocation) needs service or information in a language other than English in order effectively to be informed of or to participate in the program, the recipient shall take reasonable steps, considering the scope of the program and the size and concentration of such population, to provide information in appropriate languages to such persons.”
Trump’s executive order would eliminate the Clinton mandate. “Agencies will still be able to provide documents and services in languages other than English, according to a White House summary of the order viewed by The Wall Street Journal,” The Wall Street Journal reported, adding, “The summary of the order said the goal of making English the national language is to promote unity, establish efficiency in the government and provide a pathway to civic engagement.”
In 2021, Oklahoma GOP Senator James Inhofe introduced a bill to make English the official language of the United States. The bill stated, “Not later than 180 days after the date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Homeland Security shall issue for public notice and comment a proposed rule for uniform testing English language ability of candidates for naturalization, which shall be based upon the principles that (1) all citizens of the United States should be able to read and understand generally the English language text of the Declaration of Independence, the Constitution of the United States, and the laws of the United States which are made in pursuance thereof; and (2) any exceptions to the standard described in paragraph (1) should be limited to extraordinary circumstances, such as asylum.”