President Trump's executive order, which makes English the official US language, reached history to claim the case, noting that the country's founding documents are written in English.
But that's not just in English, it's just the end. After the constitution was drafted in 1787, they were able to understand the discussion of “Volkommenere Vereinigung” as they were supporters of the printed translation of ratification for Dutch speakers in New York and German speakers in Pennsylvania.
Promoting and eliciting whether America should have one language or embrace its polyglot spirit has sparked a century of heated debate, raising deeper questions about belonging and assimilation in countries where people speak more than 350 languages.
Now, Trump's executive order puts “America's first” stamp in his country's speech.
His orders have resulted in a long-standing victory in the English-only movement, tied to efforts to curb immigration and bilingual education. Advocates said they recognized the reality of the advantages of English in American life. Almost 80% of the population speaks English only, and immigrants have long been required to demonstrate their proficiency in English before becoming citizens.
Sen. Eric Schmidt, a Missouri Republican, calls this “long, long postponed” official recognition that “we speak English in this country.” Sen. Mike Lee, a Republican of Utah, wrote a social media position in Spanish, saying that English should be the country's “of of the idioma.”
But immigration rights groups and Congressional Democrats warned that the order could marginalize immigrants and make it difficult for English speakers to fill out or vote on medical forms, where they would receive government services. The Congressional Asia-Pacific American Caucus called it “a thinly veiled attempt to allow federal agencies to discriminate against immigrants.”
Some critics compared Trump's order with Indian boarding schools that banned their native language, World War I laws that banned German languages, and state-level efforts to ban bilingual education.
Legal experts said the effect of the order could be muted first.
The mandate signed by then-President Bill Clinton in 2000 revoked that government agencies and those receiving federal money requested that limited English-speaking people provide translated documents and other language services.
But unlike some restrictive English-only state laws that have been overwhelmed by the courts, Trump's orders do not require an institution that operates solely in English. They can continue to provide documents and services in other languages.
“We've been working hard to get into the world,” said Mary Carroll Combs, professor of education at the University of Arizona.
Early American history is full of examples of bilingual government, experts said. In the 19th century, the Midwest states translated laws and messages from the governor into Norway, Germany and Wales. California's 1849 constitution required the public disclosure of laws and regulations in both English and Spanish.
“There has always been a diverse group of linguistics,” said Christina Mulligan, a professor at Brooklyn Law School who wrote about the translated constitution.
The influx of immigrants from Asia and Latin America in the second half of the 20th century helped to stimulate the modern English-only movement. Over 30 states have designated English as their official language.
When he first ran for president, Trump seized the issue as one of America's identities. He told Jeb Bush, former bilingual governor of Florida, “This is a country where we speak English, not Spanish.” During last year's campaign, Trump said American classrooms were overwhelmed by students “from countries that don't even know what language is.”
His executive order said that specifying English as the official language would streamline communication and “enhance shared national values and create a more cohesive and efficient society.”
The order was repeated four years later by some Arizona voters with a massive Mexican-American voter to Trump, and then looked back at him in 2024.
David Ramos, 36, who works in the aerospace industry in the Phoenix region, said he already thought English was the country's official language. He said he grew up listening to his Puerto Rican father speaking Spanish and regretted not learning it.
Ramos, who voted for Trump, said the designation would have little impact on his life, but he took it as a sign that Trump was moving forward to fulfilling his campaign promises.
“I want a leader who spoke for us assertively, even if he doesn't agree 100% of the time compared to people who are doormats,” he said.
However, 39-year-old Jorge Marquez was torn apart. He worked in construction for years, opening and saving for Phoenix's over-the-counter school, English 4 U, where he taught immigrants how to order irregular English verbs and McDonald's cheeseburgers. Like Trump, he wants more people to speak English.
But as the Friday evening class concluded, he and his students were worried. They saw learning English as a bridge to better work and could communicate with doctors, bosses and child teachers. But they were worried that Trump's dict order would criticize people who spoke other languages, had accents, and were struggling to learn English.
“He's not wrong,” Marquez said of Trump. “English is beautiful, but please teach me that in a good way. Please sympathize with it a little.”
