Enacting President Donald Trump's March 2025 executive order, the Justice Department's directive instructs agencies to restrict non-English communications across public websites, correspondence, and educational tools. Departments may now only provide foreign-language materials when legally required or deemed essential for healthcare and national security operations. Several entities have already begun compliance, including the General Services Administration, which shut down the Spanish version of USA.gov earlier this week. Although public feedback is accepted through January 11, the Justice Department has confirmed the guidance is fully finalized and currently active.
Key points
Federal agencies are instructed to operate primarily in English unless foreign-language m…: Federal agencies are instructed to operate primarily in English unless foreign-language materials are legally required or essential for national security and healthcare.
The directive formally operationalizes a March 2025 executive order that declared English…: The directive formally operationalizes a March 2025 executive order that declared English as the official language of the United States.
The new federal policy is already in active effect despite having an open public comment…: The new federal policy is already in active effect despite having an open public comment period that runs through January 11.
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The Trump administration has directed US federal agencies to prioritise English in government operations and restrict the use of foreign-language materials, in a move that could affect more than 27 million people with limited English proficiency in the country.
“Agencies should strive to operate solely in English,” the Justice Department said in fresh guidance issued on Thursday, according to a New York Post report. The directive asks agencies to provide a wide range of government materials exclusively in English, including official correspondence, regulations, public announcements, applications, websites, educational resources and internal communications.
The guidance also extends to artificial intelligence tools used by federal agencies, marking a broader push to make English the default language across government operations.
The latest directive seeks to implement President Donald Trump's March 2025 executive order that designated English as the official language of the US. The order reversed a decades-old federal policy aimed at improving access to government services for people who have limited English proficiency.
While Trump's original executive order did not require agencies to discontinue existing multilingual services, the new Justice Department guidance…
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