President Trump Announces Plans to Sign Executive Order Making English Official Language in US
- President Donald Trump announced plans to sign an executive order making English the official language of the United States, marking the first time the country will have an official language at the federal level
- The order will rescind a federal requirement for language assistance to non-English speakers, established by President Bill Clinton
- This move has sparked controversy, particularly in states like Texas, where the use of Spanish in public life has been a longstanding issue
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Washington, D.C., USA – President Donald Trump is set to sign an executive order to make English the official language of the United States, a White House official announced on February 28.
This historic move marks the first time the country will have an official language at the federal level.
Source: Getty Images
The timing for the signing of the order, first reported by the Wall Street Journal, was not provided.
Background and context
The United States has never had an official language at the federal level, although some states have designated English as their official language.
President Trump, a Republican, has made opposition to illegal immigration a key aspect of his political platform and has consistently advocated for the use of English in public life.
During his first presidential campaign, Trump criticised Republican rival Jeb Bush for speaking another language on the campaign trail, stating in a 2015 New York news conference, "We're a nation that speaks English."
Impact of the executive order
Trump's executive order would rescind a federal requirement established by Democratic President Bill Clinton, which mandated that agencies and other recipients of federal funds provide language assistance to non-English speakers, according to the Wall Street Journal.
Among the executive orders Trump has signed since taking office on January 20 is one aimed at preventing taxpayer dollars from supporting illegal immigration, barring the use of federal money for migrants in the country illegally.
State-level adoption and controversy
According to ProEnglish, a group advocating for English as an official language, 32 U.S. states have already adopted English as their official language.
The issue has been contentious in certain states, including Texas, where the use of Spanish in public life has sparked controversy over the years.
In 2011, a Texas state senator demanded that an immigrant rights activist speak English instead of his native Spanish at a legislative hearing, rekindling a decades-old debate over the propriety of speaking Spanish in Texas, which was once part of Mexico and the Spanish Empire.
The issue has been particularly painful for many older Mexican-American Texans who recall being punished for speaking Spanish in school during the 1950s.
Trump’s administration releases top US secret
Legit.ng earlier reported that the Justice Department has released a new batch of Jeffrey Epstein files following Attorney General Pam Bondi's review of classified documents in the case. However, the highly anticipated client list was not included in the release.
"This Department of Justice is following through on President Trump’s commitment to transparency and lifting the veil on the disgusting actions of Jeffrey Epstein and his co-conspirators," Bondi stated on February 27.
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