DOJ instructs its agencies to ‘prioritize’ English over all other languages
~Rebecca Beitsch/THE HILL; Fri, November 13, 2026 at 8:03 AM PST
The Department of Justice (DOJ) on Friday published a memo designating English as the official language of the agency.
"Though not officially designated in the past, English has been our common language since before this Nation's founding," the Justice Department wrote in the document posted to the Federal Register, offering public comment over the next 60 days.
"Consequently, agencies should prioritize the English language over all other languages."
Memo comes in response to an executive order from President Trump signed in March 2025 seeking to designate English as the official language of the United States.
The Justice Department already conducts most of its official business in English and has across administrations run by Democratic and Republican presidents, without a nudge from an executive order.
But the memo argued that agencies should not provide multilingual assistance unless it was required to do so or necessary.
"Moving forward, agencies should promptly identify and review all multilingual assistance programs. Agencies should then determine whether multilingual assistance is required by law or necessary to accomplish an agency's mission," the DOJ wrote in the memo."
The Justice Department, through its Civil Rights Division, plays a role in ensuring that multilingual assistance is available as part of the voting process.
The DOJ's website points to Section 203 of the Voting Rights Act and its obligation to hold election administrators to account for meeting language requirements.
"The United States is a diverse land with a government selected by the votes of its citizens," the site states.
"Federal law recognizes that many Americans rely heavily on languages other than English, and that they require information in minority languages in order to be informed voters and participate effectively in our representative democracy."

