DOJ tells federal agencies: English only. Millions get shut out.

On Nov. 12, 2026, the Justice Department published guidance telling federal agencies to “strive to operate solely in English.”

That cuts off neighbors who pay taxes and still need to reach their government.

DOJ issued its English-only guidance to agencies on Sept. 1, 2026. It revised it on Oct. 22. It published it in the Federal Register on Nov. 12 with a public docket (OLP188). A DOJ spokesperson told The Washington Sun the memo is “final” and “in effect,” even as comments stay open through Jan. 11, 2027.

The guidance carries out Trump’s March 2025 order naming English the official language, and goes further than that order did. It lists what should be in English only: correspondence, regulations, public announcements, forms and applications, websites, educational materials, internal messages and AI tools. The Washington Sun reported the Spanish version of USA.gov was taken down. It reported the change affects how more than 27 million Americans with limited English proficiency deal with their government. A language-access analyst told the Sun he expects more agencies to strip translations. That is his assessment, not a court finding. A civil-rights attorney told the Sun that nondiscrimination rules under the 1964 Civil Rights Act still bind anyone taking federal funds, and that language access also helps government do its job, like taking crime tips.

This took effect before the new Congress can weigh in.

Instead of fixing costs or services, the administration picked who gets left out. This hits people least able to hire a lawyer or a translator. You do not have to be a Democrat to see this is bad for public safety, tax filing, and basic fairness.

Do something simple and concrete. Post a public comment at regulations.gov on Docket OLP188 before Jan. 11. Ask your current members why tax forms, benefits applications, and safety alerts should be harder to read. Tell your member-elect what to restore on day one, starting with USA.gov en Español.

• Submit a public comment on DOJ’s guidance at regulations.gov, Docket OLP188, by Jan. 11, 2027
• Call your current House and Senate offices and ask them to keep tax forms, benefits applications, and safety alerts available in multiple languages
• Email your member-elect with one day-one fix: restore multilingual federal sites, including USA.gov en Español
• Check your voter registration at Vote.gov

Countdown

The government funding deadline is in 26 days.

The scheduled end of this session of Congress is in 33 days.

The swearing-in of the new Congress is in 49 days.

References

DOJ tells federal agencies to ‘strive to operate solely in English’. Nov 12, 2026
DOJ tells federal agencies to ‘strive to operate solely in English’. Nov 12, 2026
DOJ tells federal agencies to ‘strive to operate solely in English’. Nov 13, 2026