WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump on Saturday signed an executive order designating English as the official language of the U.S., the first time in American history such a designation has been made.
“From the founding of our Republic, English has been used as our national language,” the order reads. “It is therefore long past time that English is declared as the official language of the United States.”
Trump’s order marks the first time in history the country has had an official language, though the majority of U.S. states have already designated English as their official language.
People who go through the naturalization process to become U.S. citizens are also required to take an English test in which they “must demonstrate an understanding of the English language, including the ability to read, write, and speak basic English,” according to U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. Trump’s order states that designating English as the country’s official language will further “empower” new citizens and aid them in assimilating.
“Speaking English not only opens doors economically, but it helps newcomers engage in their communities, participate in national traditions, and give back to our society,” the order states.
While English is the most widely used language in the country, U.S. residents communicate in more than 350 languages, according to data from the U.S. Census Bureau. More than three-quarters of Americans speak only English at home, according to the bureau.
The change is consistent with Trump’s hard-line immigration stance, including his executive order ending birthright citizenship — which several courts have struck down.
During the 2024 presidential campaign, he railed against undocumented immigrants that didn’t speak English and warned about the languages that were “coming into our country.”
At the presidential debate against then-Vice President Kamala Harris in September, he said, “They can’t even speak English. They don’t even know what country they’re in, practically” and last April, he said that the town of Whitewater, Wisconsin, was full of undocumented immigrants who “don’t speak a word of English.”
In remarks at the March 2024 Conservative Political Action Conference, Trump said, “We have languages coming into our country. We don’t have one instructor in our entire nation that can speak that language … 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.”
Trump’s own vice president has previously pushed for English to be the country’s official language. In the last Congress, then-Sen. JD Vance, R-Ohio, introduced the English Language Unity Act with Sen. Kevin Cramer, R-N.D., which would have required the federal government to use English “in commonsense circumstances.”
“This commonsense legislation recognizes an inherent truth: English is the language of this country. That is why the overwhelming majority of the American people support this proposal,” Vance said in a statement when they unveiled the measure. “The English language has been a cornerstone of American culture for over 250 years. It is far past time for Congress to codify its place into law, which is exactly what this bill does.”
