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The Trump Administration, through new guidance from the Justice Department, is pushing federal agencies to operate “English only” and requiring a gradual reduction in multilingual information and services, which could impact the more than 27 million people with limited English proficiency.
According to the New York Post,trump Government is pushing further to nominate Englishfederal government official language,Ministry of Justice Recently a comprehensive new guideline was issued, requiring government agencies to stop using foreign language materials as much as possible and instead provide government information and services in English.
New guidance issued by the Justice Department on Thursday clearly states that “government agencies should strive to operate entirely in English.” The move implements President Trump’s previous executive order designating English as the official language of the United States.
According to this guidance, federal government agencies should provide all types of government information, including official correspondence, regulations, public announcements, application forms, websites, educational resources, and even internal communications and artificial intelligence tools, in English to the extent possible.
This guidance significantly expands the executive order signed by Trump in March 2025. At the time, Trump reversed a decades-old federal policy that was designed to improve access to government services for Americans with limited English proficiency.
Trump’s original executive order did not require government agencies to cancel existing multilingual services, but new guidance issued by the Justice Department explicitly states that English should become the default language for government operations and service delivery.
This policy change could impact more than 27 million people in the United States who have limited English listening, speaking, reading, and writing skills.
The Justice Department said government agencies may still provide translation services when required by law or as necessary to carry out their duties, such as national security and health care services. However, the guidance also encourages organizations to review and cancel multilingual programs that do not meet the above conditions.
Many federal departments have begun to adjust related services. The Department of Housing and Urban Development removed non-English options from its services in August; The Departments of Homeland Security, Education and Treasury have also begun removing foreign language content from their websites.
Additionally, the General Services Administration also shut down the Spanish version of the government portal USA.gov this week and redirected visitors to the English website. The Spanish version of the website has been available since 2003.
“I would be surprised if more government agencies wouldn’t remove multilingual content or try to reduce the language services they provide,” Jacob Hofstetter, a policy analyst at the Migration Policy Institute, told the Washington Sun.
The Justice Department, led by Attorney General Todd Blanch, issued new guidelines, this time to further support the establishment of English as the official language of the government.
Michael Muley, a former Justice Department civil rights official and now civil rights attorney, warned that limiting translation services could affect the normal operations of government agencies, including their ability to collect information from the public.
Mule said, “I hope it will be easier for people with criminal leads to use the FBI’s tip line, and I also hope people will know how to properly file their income taxes.”
The Justice Department published the guidance in the Federal Register on Thursday and opened it up to the public to submit comments until Jan. 11 next year.
In 2000, then-President Bill Clinton signed an executive order requiring federal agencies to improve access to government services for people with limited English proficiency.
