The AAAL Executive Committee Statement on the Executive Order Designating English as the Official Language of the United States

As leaders of a professional organization, the AAAL Executive Committee opposes the United States Presidential Executive Order issued on March 1, 2025, “Designating English as the Official Language of the United States.” In doing so, we reaffirm AAAL’s mission of building and sustaining just and equitable conditions for individuals, communities, and societies. A commitment to protecting linguistic rights, supporting multilingualism and multiculturalism, and promoting ethical and informed understandings of language-related processes and practices through evidence-based research lies central in this mission. 

In AAAL’s “Resolution Opposing the Labeling of English as National Language” (June 2006), AAAL recognized that “language, nationality, and citizenship are each distinct categories, neither mutually exclusive nor identical” and that the “use of English or any other language within the boundaries of the United States neither promotes nor inhibits patriotism, loyalty, or concern for country, community, and neighbors.” Designating English as an official language does not cultivate national values, shared American culture, or national unity. If anything, it could precipitate the direct opposite effect by creating a linguistic hierarchy among languages, which in turn could potentially be divisive. 

The new Executive Order revokes Executive Order 13166, issued in 2000, “Improving Access to Services for Persons with Limited English Proficiency,” which required federal agencies and other programs that receive federal funds to take reasonable steps to provide meaningful access to services for individuals who are not proficient in English. Although the new Executive Order does not mandate the elimination of existing multilingual services, rescinding Executive Order 13166 and revoking those requirements leaves unfettered discretion in the hands of local, state and federal government officials and private recipients of federal funds regarding interpretation and translation. It opens the door to linguistic discrimination. 

Committed to advancing linguistic justice, the AAAL Executive Committee will work with peer organizations to recognize the rich multilingual and multicultural heritage of newcomers to the United States and all linguistically and culturally minoritized individuals, and protect these individuals’ rights to accessing, using, and learning multiple languages.

Acknowledgement:
The AAAL Executive Committee would like to thank Rosemary Salomone for her initial input on this statement. 

Note: AAAL stands in solidarity with the organizations listed below that have issued statements at the following links:

American Council on the Teaching of Foreign Languages (ACTFL)
https://www.actfl.org/news/actfl-statement-on-designating-english-as-official-language

Center for Applied Linguistics (CAL)
https://www.cal.org/news/center-for-applied-linguistics-statement-on-the-executive-order-designating-english-as-the-official-language-of-the-united-states/

Linguistic Society of America (LSA)
https://www.lsadc.org/lsa-statement-against-designating-english-as-the-official-language

National Association for Bilingual Education (NABE)
https://nabe.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/45/2025/03/NABE-PressRelease-English-Only-Executive-Order-6Mar2025-1.pdf

Teachers of English to Speakers of Other Languages (TESOL)
https://www.tesol.org/news/tesol-statement-on-the-exec-order-designating-english-as-the-official-language-of-the-us