On March 1st local time, the US White House announced that US President Trump signed an executive order on that day, designating English as the official language of the US.
This executive order revoked a requirement from the era of former US President Clinton. That requirement stipulated that agencies and recipients of federal funds must provide language assistance to non - English speakers. However, it allows agencies to retain existing policies and continue to provide documents and services in other languages.
Reports indicate that although more than three - quarters of Americans speak only English at home, there are still approximately 42 million Spanish speakers and 3 million Chinese speakers in the US. Previously, more than 30 states in the US had already designated English as the official language.
A White House document stated: "Designating English as the official language can promote unity, improve the efficiency of government operations, and open up avenues for citizen participation."
This executive order has sparked huge controversy. Conservatives expressed their support, while it also triggered strong opposition from groups supporting immigrants and leaders of the US Democratic Party.