On March 1, 2025, President Trump signed Executive Order 14224, designating English as the official language of the United States. The order also rescinded Executive Order 13166, issued in 2000 by President George W. Bush, which directed federal agencies to improve access to government programs for people with limited English proficiency (LEP). On April 15, 2025 DOJ rescinded its 2002 Limited English Proficiency (LEP) Guidance document consistent with Executive Order 14224.
On July 14, 2025, DOJ announced guidance to comply with President Trump’s Order 14224 by:
- temporarily suspending LEP.gov and all accompanying materials related to language access,
- reviewing all existing non-English services to “phase out unnecessary multi-lingual offerings,” and
- rescinding previous LEP guidance and committing to issue new guidance within 180 days.
DOJ also provided guidance to other agencies for implementing Order 14224. DOJ encouraged other agencies to review prior LEP guidance, “consider English-only services” where allowed by law and use technology like AI and machine translation to save costs. DOJ encouraged agencies to direct any cost savings to “research and programs that improve English proficiency and assimilation.” Where agencies decide it is “mission critical” to provide information in a language other than English, DOJ recommended including a disclaimer that the English version is the “authoritative version.”
DOJ’s guidance was to agencies and not to program recipients, but further guidance for program recipients is likely to follow. DOJ said the new guidance will be available for public comment.
Legal Background
LEP programs are based in Title VI of the Civil Rights Act, which prevents federal programs or recipients of federal funding from discriminating on the basis of race, color, or national origin. In 1974, the Supreme Court issued a decision in Lau v. Nichols, 414 U.S. 563, holding that if language assistance was necessary for meaningful engagement with a federal or federally funded program, Title VI required provision of language access services. In DOJ’s guidance on EO 14224, DOJ argued that Lau was overruled by a subsequent Supreme Court case, Alexander v. Sandoval, 532 U.S. 275,285 (2001). However, Sandoval did not address language access nor alter the underlying rights or protections afforded by Title VI. In Sandoval, the Court ruled that people cannot bring a disparate impact claim under Title VI in court. DOJ also argued in its guidance that language access is distinct from national origin and only national origin is protected under Title VI, therefore the federal government is not required to provide broad access to programs in languages other than English.
For more on language access requirements under Title VI, see DOJ’s 2022 explainer Fifteen Questions for the Fifteenth Anniversary of Executive Order 13166.
Biden Administration Language Access Initiatives
On Nov. 3, 2024, EPA released an updated Limited English Proficiency (LEP) order in compliance with Executive Order 13166 (“Improving Access to Services for Persons with Limited English Proficiency”), issued in 2000, to improve “meaningful access to EPA programs, activities, and services for individuals with LEP.” EPA’s updated order included a plan to convene a Language Access Working Group, designation of responsible parties within programs and regions to serve as a point of contact on LEP access, and an affirmation that “upon determining the need for language assistance services, the EPA will take reasonable steps to ensure that all communication is conducted with the use of a qualified contract interpreter or translator, through telephonic or virtual/video interpretation with qualified interpreters, or with the use of a qualified multilingual staff member.”
On Dec. 19, 2022, DOJ launched a new Language Access Law Enforcement Initiative to help law enforcement agencies provide meaningful language assistance to members of the public with limited English proficiency. The initiative was overseen by the Civil Rights Division’s Federal Coordination and Compliance Section with U.S. Attorney’s Offices.