Beware an administration that bellows ‘English Only’ and ‘America First’ while decimating education
Trump’s executive orders aren’t about language as much as they are about shutting down other perspectives
Donald Trump signs an executive order aimed at closing the Education Department. Photo by Getty Images
Aviya Kushner March 22, 2025
Now that President Trump has signed an executive order to close the Department of Education, it may be hard to muster concern about his effort to make English the official language of the United States.
But it matters more than you might think.
Almost 68 million people out of the total US population of 333 million speak a language other than English at home, according to the US Census. Importantly, 29.6 million of this group have limited proficiency in English.
Language is a way to keep tens of millions of people out of the loop.
“The order allows government agencies and organizations that receive federal funding to choose whether to continue to offer documents and services in languages other than English,” the Associated Press reported, adding that the English-only initiative turns over precedent from other presidents including Bill Clinton who mandated that “the government and organizations that received federal funding to provide language assistance to non-English speakers.”
Language and safety
The English-only order endangers the safety of all Americans, not just non-English speakers.
In the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic, information on the virus was not widely available in languages other than English. In Chicago, I saw information printed in Spanish on restaurant napkins; it was a desperate attempt to get the word out.
Sixty congressional representatives wrote a letter in April 2020, expressing the danger, warning that “Failing to immediately provide guidance in Spanish and other languages will jeopardize the health, safety, and economic stability of millions across this country.” (Yes, this was when Congress was still responding to danger.)
“As a matter of public health and safety for all, English-language proficiency should not serve as a barrier to obtain or distribute vital information from the federal government,” the letter stated.
Language and the new isolationism
Attacking languages other than English is related to the new realignment of American friends and foes — and it dovetails with the assault on higher education.
The University of Iowa’s International Writing Program, which has brought writers from around the world to campus for decades, is a target worth noticing.
Visiting international writers helped widen students’ perspectives and deepen their understanding of the world. I had the privilege of meeting these writers — and translating some of their work — as a graduate student.
Approximately 30 writers come each fall, and Israeli writers were among the visitors.
Etgar Keret, who writes in Hebrew, came in 2001 and Anton Shammas, who writes in both Hebrew and Arabic, came in 1981. Orhan Pamuk of Turkey and Mo Yan of China came to Iowa’s program too. Both later won the Nobel Prize. But now, the Federal Government has stopped its funding.
The decision will have immediate effects — including the loss of the University of Iowa’s summer youth program, distance learning courses, and Emerging Voices Mentorship Program.
And it’s not just Iowa.
In recent weeks, American and international students with scholarships from the prestigious Fulbright program have also had their funding frozen. The program’s mission statement, which speaks of expanding perspectives “through academic and professional advancement and cross-cultural dialogue,” seems like a postcard from another time.
In our new world, “cross-cultural dialogue” may not be possible.
What this means
As we are watching an “America first” policy emerging on all fronts, the relationships we have with other countries — economic, educational, and military — are all up for grabs, subject to the whims of one or two people. It’s almost possible to believe that putting yourself first is smartest.
But the most amazing thing about learning another language is that it forces you to harbor a second point of view in your head.
When you speak another language, you have to accommodate another way of building a sentence, another set of cultural references, and possibly another view on questions of time, conditionality and gender.
The incredible thing about sitting down with a writer from another country is that you must acknowledge another point of view, even if you don’t agree with it at all; translating fiction and poetry has given generations of students a gift that has no borders — the gift of perspective.
And make no mistake. What the language executive order is really about is shutting down other perspectives.
For Jews, whose history has often been one of multilingualism, and whose story has been intertwined with translation, the one-language insistence should be concerning. A key element of freedom is the ability to speak the language of your choice. And a prime way to make minorities feel unwelcome is to place their languages on a lower plane.
In 2018, Israel’s Nation-State Law came under fire in some quarters for elevating Hebrew in a country where each street sign appears in Hebrew, Arabic and English — and where Arabs comprise just over 20% of the population.
And while most of the attention was on Arabic, it’s worth noting that the law did not mention languages many Jews in Israel speak, like Yiddish, Russian, and Amharic.
The text of the law announced that “The state’s language is Hebrew,” and that “The Arabic language has a special status in the state; Regulating the use of Arabic in state institutions or by them will be set in law.” Previously, Arabic was an official language of Israel for 70 years. The change to “special status” led to hurt and anger among Arabic speakers.
But the change was noticed, and its importance was discussed.
It’s sad to note the relative silence as the United States tries to do the “official language” thing here.
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