By Michael Clements
The Trump administration is reversing the longstanding practice of requiring information on federal programs to be provided in multiple languages for people with limited English proficiency, under Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964.
A memo from Attorney General Pamela Bondi, released on July 14, states that language is not covered by the Civil Rights Act.
Title VI is based on the equal protection clause of the U.S. Constitution’s 14th Amendment. It requires equal treatment under the law, regardless of a person’s immutable characteristics, such as race or national origin.
Based on this interpretation, federal agencies and federally funded state and local entities were required to provide forms, websites, notices, and advisories in languages spoken by the applicants. Translators were also to be provided.
Bondi issued the memo with guidance for implementing President Donald Trump’s March 1, 2025, Executive Order 14224, which designated English as the United States’ official language.
In the memo, Bondi cites several court decisions in which she says judges ruled that limited English proficiency is not an immutable characteristic under Title VI. This finding narrows the instances in which multilingual services would be required, according to the memo.
“Language proficiency is not interchangeable with national origin or race,” the guidance states.
Trump’s executive order allows the heads of agencies that receive or disburse federal funding more leeway to reduce “non-essential multi-lingual services” and “redirect resources toward English-language education and assimilation.”
“As President Trump has made clear, English is the official language of the United States,” Bondi said in the memo. “The Department of Justice will lead the effort to codify the President’s Executive Order and eliminate wasteful virtue-signaling policies across government agencies to promote assimilation over division.”
The Department of Justice (DOJ) is suspending all existing guidelines for multilingual services, according to the memo. Over the next 60 days, DOJ officials will consult with other agencies to compile a list of recommended changes to the language policy. Within 120 days, the DOJ will circulate a proposal for new guidelines to be reviewed by other agencies, the memo states.
“Within 180 days, the Department will issue new guidance, for public comment, which presents clear, practical guidelines that help agencies prioritize English while explaining precisely when and how multilingual assistance remains necessary to fulfill their respective agencies’ mission and efficiently provide Government services,” the memo reads.
Trump’s executive order repealed President Bill Clinton’s August 16, 2000, Executive Order 13166.
Clinton’s order expanded access to federal programs for people who spoke limited English. It applied to federal agencies that dealt directly with the public. It also covered programs funded by federal funds but delivered by state and local governments, community-based organizations, or other non-federal service providers.
In a fact sheet released the day he issued his order, Trump wrote that making English the official language will draw Americans together as part of a unique American culture.
“With this Executive Order, President Trump affirms that a common language fosters national cohesion, helps newcomers engage in communities and traditions, and enriches our shared culture,” the fact sheet reads.
Simon Hankinson, a senior research fellow with The Heritage Foundation, agrees. He said that countries around the world have designated official languages, even countries in which hundreds of languages are spoken regularly. He said an official language ensures citizens can communicate with one another and the rest of the world.
“You have to be able to communicate and write your laws in an intelligible language that everybody can read and understand,” Hankinson told The Epoch Times. “That’s one of the reasons the European Union is so complicated and convoluted, because they have to translate everything into 20 languages.”
The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) did not respond to a request for comment by publication time. But the group has opposed past attempts to designate English as the United States’ official language.
In a 2012 post on the ACLU’s website, ACLU legislative counsel Gabe Rottman wrote that making English the official language violated the First Amendment by stifling non-English speakers.
“By contrast, in the United States, the unique focus on freedom of expression means linguistic freedom of expression as well,” Rottman wrote.
