However, following the Mariel boatlift in 1980, which brought roughly 125,000 Cubans to South Florida, "Anglo resentment grew," as described in a 1993 Washington Post article.
This resentment resulted in the passing of a 1980 county ordinance that made English the official language of local government. This meant the county was required to conduct almost all government business in English only — and county funds couldn't be spent translating documents and offering non-emergency services in Spanish or any other language.
In 1993, following the election of new county leadership, which consisted of six Hispanic, three white, and four Black commissioners, voted to repeal the strict "English only" ordinance in a victory for the diverse Miami-Dade community.
At the time, Gregory Samms, an attorney and member of the Black Lawyers Association, asked rhetorically, "How can we be the gateway to the Americas and say, 'Come, but when you come, speak only English.'"
An Associated Press article published in the Ocala Star-Banner's May 19, 1993 edition about Miami-Dade repealing its "English only" ordinance.
Screenshot via Ocala Star Banner archives
As first reported by the Wall Street Journal, Trump plans to sign an executive order making English the official language of the United States. Although English is already the most commonly used language in the country, the U.S. has never had an official language at the federal level.
What will this mean, exactly?
According to CBS News, the executive order will rescind a federal mandate requiring agencies and other beneficiaries of federal funding to provide language assistance to non-English speakers. However, agencies will still be able to provide documents and services in other languages.
Trump has long decried the use of other languages in the U.S.
In 2015, during a televised Republican presidential debate, he chided former Florida governor Jeb Bush for speaking another language on the campaign trail.
"This is a country where we speak English, not Spanish," Trump said, claiming that conversing in English was essential to assimilation.
And on the campaign trail last year, he complained about other languages entering the country.
"We have languages coming into our country," Trump said at last year's Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) outside Washington, D.C. "These are languages — it's the craziest thing — they have languages that nobody in this country has ever heard of. It's a very horrible thing."
The plans for this executive order follow the new administration's recent removal of the Spanish-language section of the White House website.
The landing page for the White House's Spanish-language communications first went dark in 2017, during Trump's first term in office. It was restored in 2021, during former President Joe Biden's tenure.
