The United States has huge foreign-born and first-generation citizens and immigrant populations, legal and otherwise, who face immense challenges in complying with the rules and regulations of the federal government. For many years, assistance has been funded and supported to make these herculean tasks more doable for them. That has changed, and with it, the country’s reputation is diminishing.
One example is requiring fluency in English. Let me explain.
On March 1, 2025, President Trump issued Executive Order 13166, which designated English as the United States’ official language. This Executive Order is no longer theoretically in effect, and existing federal civil rights laws and regulations require language access for individuals with limited English proficiency in programs and activities receiving federal financial assistance.
Nonetheless, numerous federal entities are pursuing policies prioritizing English as the only language, effectively reducing or eliminating Spanish. In the past four months, these entities have included:
Most recently, as a result of guidance from U.S. Attorney General Bondi, the Treasury Department notified the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) that it needs to reevaluate its “Commitment to assist non-English speaking taxpayers understand their tax obligations,” a policy that currently requires it to serve “those who lack a full command of the English language.”
Should the IRS proceed with implementing this decision, it would create significant and far-reaching hurdles and harm, including possible legal vulnerability, affecting the lives of millions of American citizens and noncitizens who live and work in the country and rely on these services to navigate legal, financial, and social systems.
The United States has one of the largest Spanish-speaking populations in the world, with approximately 41 million people speaking Spanish at home, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.
Approximately 15.7 million Latinos in the United States who speak Spanish at home do not speak English proficiently, meaning they speak English “less than very well” or not at all, according to Pew Research Center. (This does not include non-citizens or those with uncertain immigration status.)
This is a growing demographic; providing language services is more crucial than ever.
Language services ensure that non-English speakers have access to essential information and services.
For federal agencies, providing such services in Spanish is highly important in fulfilling their mission to serve the public, and for the IRS, in collecting taxes effectively. These include tax forms, guidance, and customer support for the IRS.
When the IRS and other agencies eliminate language services, they create barriers that hinder effective communication, equal access, and compliance with the law by those who want to comply.
There are various negative consequences to failing to provide such services:
Eliminating such federally supplied services means looking elsewhere, and some organizations, to an extent, fill the vacuum left by reducing or eliminating federal support.
One example is the Court Appointed Special Advocates (CASA), which was created in 1977 as a national organization providing human services, community organization, and advocacy to assist, inter alia, Latino and immigrant communities.
CASA and other such organizations provide:
In sum, these are the instruments in a democracy that protect and provide support for the less fortunate and more vulnerable. And while they are invaluable in assisting these vulnerable populations, they cannot fully substitute for the federal government.
Despite the work of other organizations, the elimination of Spanish language services by U.S. federal government agencies poses a significant handicap to millions of Spanish-speaking individuals.
They need access to information essential for their economic mobility, health outcomes, and legal rights, which are all jeopardized without such support, fostering exclusion and marginalization.
The costs of providing such services are minimal and assuredly so, compared to the direct and indirect benefits.
Further, depriving essential language services to roughly 13% of the population affects how other countries, particularly in the Western Hemisphere but also worldwide, view the United States and its treatment of those who come or live in the country.
Decency and fairness are principles most Americans hold out as what makes the country “exceptional.” The federal system needs to be reminded and embrace such values now.
Editor’s Note: The opinions expressed here by the authors are their own, not those of Impakter.com — In the Cover Photo: US President Donald Trump signs S.1852, The GENIUS Act, July 18, 2025, in the East Room of the White House. Cover Photo Credit: White House / Daniel Torok.
Richard Seifman is a former World Bank Senior Health Advisor and U.S. Senior Foreign Service Officer, and Honorary Diplomate of the American Veterinary One Health Sociery (AVOHS). He has a Juris Doctor degree from Columbia University Law School and is a Senior Columnist at Impakter.
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U.S. Government Agencies Eliminating Spanish Language Services Is Self-Inflicted Harm – Impakter
