On March 1, 2025, President Trump’s Administration issued Executive Order 14224, designating English as the official language of the United States of America and revoking Executive Order 13166, which promoted language access for individuals with Limited English Proficiency (LEP).
The Association of Translators and Interpreters of Florida (ATIF), as the Florida Chapter of the American Translators Association (ATA) supports the statement published by ATA, along with six leading associations from the language services sector in the United States of America, that addresses the potential negative impacts of Executive Order 14224. This statement aligns with ATIF’s commitment to promoting the translation and interpreting professions and language access protections.
Language barriers will increase significantly under the new Executive Order. LEP individuals are at higher risk for medical errors due to communication issues, potentially leading to misdiagnosis and inefficiencies. Language access in addition plays a crucial role in our judicial system, LEP individuals will not understand their rights and will be denied due process due to their inability to participate in court and administrative matters. Additionally, education would be negatively impacted, as approximately 5 million children in LEP households face challenges in school because parents will not be able to communicate with educators.
Interpreters and translators bridge language barriers through a variety of services. While this issue affects our profession, our ultimate goal is to ensure social rights for vulnerable populations—which have been understood as a civil right for everyone in the United States of America for over a quarter of a century—including Deaf, Deaf-Blind, and Hard of Hearing individuals, as well as speakers of other languages (LOTE), including Native American languages, and multicultural citizens.
March 20, 2025
Board of Directors of ATIF
ATA’s Joint Statement can be found here.
The Executive Orders can be found at the following links: 14224, 13166.