Tri-Caucus opposes President Trump’s Executive Order declaring English as Official Language

WASHINGTON, D.C. – The Chairs of the Congressional Tri-Caucus—Congressional Asian Pacific American Caucus (CAPAC) Chair Rep. Grace Meng (NY-06), Congressional Hispanic Caucus (CHC) Chair Rep. Adriano Espaillat (NY-13), and Congressional Black Caucus (CBC) Chair Rep. Yvette Clarke (NY-09)—released the following joint statement in response to President Trump’s executive order declaring English as the official language of the United States.

“President Trump’s executive order is a thinly-veiled attempt to allow federal agencies to discriminate against immigrants and individuals with limited English proficiency. Under the new order, agencies would not be required to provide language access for services that these Americans have paid for with their taxes.

“What happens when a senior with limited English proficiency needs help accessing their earned Social Security benefits? Or when a non-native English speaker needs help enrolling in Medicare?

“Trump claimed he would fight for everyday Americans. He’s done just the opposite. This executive order is reckless and only serves to make life harder for working people.

“English remains the de facto language of our nation, but people who speak another language other than English are just as American as those who do. That’s been true since the founding of our country. We will not let President Trump change this fact, and we will fight to protect Americans’ right to access federal services in any language.”