Donald Trump is expected to sign an executive order designating English as the United States’ official language, according to reports.
The U.S. has never had an official language at the federal level, but English is already the most commonly used language in the country.
This is apparently the basis the White House is using as justification for the move, claiming that making English the US’s official language unifies the country and its citizens.
“Establishing English as the official language promotes unity, establishes efficiency in government operations, and creates a pathway for civic engagement,” the White House wrote said in a statement, according to ABC News.
The executive order will rescind President Bill Clinton’s federal mandate that requires agencies and other recipients of federal funding to provide language assistance to non-English speakers.
Agencies, however, will still be able to provide documents and services in other languages.
On the campaign trail last year, Trump repeatedly complained about people speaking other languages entering the U.S.
“We have languages coming into our country,” he said at CPAC. “…These are languages — it’s the craziest thing — they have languages that nobody in this country has ever heard of. It’s a very horrible thing.”
Americans speak more than 350 languages, and many people don’t speak English as their first language. Other major languages spoken in the U.S. include Chinese, Vietnamese, Arabic, Tagalog, as well as Native American languages like Navajo and Cherokee.
