WASHINGTON, D.C. – Over the weekend, the Trump administration issued an Executive Order dictating that English would be the only official language of the United States. The National Partnership for New Americans (NPNA), a multi-ethnic, multiracial coalition of 86 of the nation’s largest immigrant and refugee rights organizations with reach across over 42 states, issued the following statement in response.
Said Nicole Melaku, NPNA executive director, “Repealing Executive Order 13166, which was signed by President Clinton and in practice for a quarter of a century, is simply another way for this adminstration to attack the Civil RIghts Act of 1964, Title 6–effectively denying the participation, and access to benefits and services of those with limited English proficiency. America is at its strongest when everyone has equal access to information. Immigrant inclusion is essential to a thriving democracy, economy, and society, and everyone should have access to the resources necessary to unlock their fullest potential. This ‘English only’ mandate will not only act as a barrier to a prosperous life in the United States, but will create further division in an already divided country. We condemn yet another blatant attack on our communities that will make it harder for people to access social services, civic life, and respond to moments of community-wide crisis in life-threatening emergencies.”
Said Angelica Salas, Executive Director of the Coalition for Humane Immigrant Rights and co-chair of NPNA, “Hundreds of languages are spoken in the United States and the safety, security, and well-being of entire communities in matters of health, law enforcement, justice, and crucial social services is based on equitable language availability and accessibility. The ‘English-only’ mandate is ludicrous and tone-deaf to the reality we live in and satisfies only the indiscriminate, cruel, and unrealistic approach to race-based culture-shift being attempted by the Trump Administration and his loyalists. Our nation has moved forward in advancing a pluralistic, multi-language society where everyone benefits from engaging in multiple languages in addition to English. We will not go back, and we will resist attempts to limit access to life-saving, life-transforming information that our communities need and deserve.”
Said Murad Awawdeh, president and CEO of The New York Immigration Coalition and member of the NPNA executive committee, “America will always be a multilingual and multicultural society, no matter how many xenophobic policies Donald Trump tries to enact. It is unclear how far this shameful ‘English only’ executive order will be implemented, but denying people the right to interact with government agencies and access services they are eligible for in the language they speak will cause severe harm not just for the people seeking services and information, but for society as a whole as civic participation diminishes. Rather than working towards a more inclusive and vibrant country, this order sends a message that linguistic diversity should be erased instead of celebrated–and that immigrants with limited English language proficiency are somehow less deserving of access to our government. We stand against this exclusionary policy. A prosperous society must achieve language justice, to ensure that all communities have access to the essential resources they need to thrive in the United States.”
###
The National Partnership for New Americans (NPNA) is a multi-ethnic, multiracial coalition of 83 of the nation’s largest immigrant and refugee rights organizations with reach across over 42 states. Together with our members, we advance immigrant and refugee equity and inclusion, build and expand immigration legal services and integration programming capacity, and drive campaigns that strengthen democracy through increased civic participation. See our website for more information at partnershipfornewamericans.org.