Residents of the United States who find it difficult to communicate in English will now have a harder time accessing services from the Department of Housing and Urban Development, as HUD transitions to providing materials and support in English only.
The shift in policy was announced on Monday, when deputy HUD Secretary Andrew Hughes informed employees in a memo. Mr. Hughes said the move is part of agency efforts to align itself with an executive order from President Donald Trump which declared English to be the official language of the United States of America. On Tuesday, HUD Secretary Scott Turner confirmed the news with a social media post. “We are one people, united, and we will speak with one voice and one language to deliver on our mission,” he wrote.
The agency had previously offered support to speakers of 222 languages, complete with a separate line offering interpretation services to those with low proficiency in English. Despite withdrawing support for languages other than English, Mr. Hughes told staffers that “HUD will continue to ensure that all persons have meaningful access to HUD programs and services.”
How the agency will accomplish this in places such as Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands is unclear. Spanish is an official language in Puerto Rico, and the 2019 American Community Survey indicates that over three-quarters of those with Spanish as the primary language spoken at home speak English less than “very well.” Meanwhile, the 2020 census found that in the Virgin Islands, almost 30% of those who don’t speak English at home cannot speak the language “very well.”
Proponents of the policy argue that standardizing services in English will streamline HUD’s operations, reduce administrative costs, and ensure consistency across its programs. Supporters also frame the move as a step toward national unity, pointing to surveys showing that a majority of Americans favor English as the official language for government services. They argue that while translation can be helpful, requiring agencies to provide services in hundreds of languages creates inefficiencies and slows the delivery of aid.
The president’s March 1 directive explicitly states that “nothing in this order…requires or directs any change in the services provided by any agency.” It goes even further to say that “agency heads are not required to amend, remove, or otherwise stop production of documents, products, or other services prepared or offered in languages other than English.” Even so, HUD leadership evidently felt that eliminating the provision of services in any language other than the one President Trump deems official was necessary to “fulfill their…mission and efficiently provide Government services to the American People,” as the executive order allows.
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