President Donald Trump was expected to sign an executive order on Friday to make English the official language of the United States, according to a White House official.
The action had not been announced as of Friday evening, pushing back any potential impacts.
In Arizona, English has been the official language since 2006 after the passing of Proposition 103. This followed years of litigation in state and federal courts after an amendment to the Arizona Constitution in 1988.
The amendment was challenged because of the language, stating the state must conduct official actions in English and no other language.
State workers questioned if this violated the First Amendment of the U.S. Constitution. In 1997, a decision from the U.S. Supreme Court resulted in a non-ruling, finding federal courts unable to determine the constitutionality.
In 2006, Proposition 103 ultimately declared English as the official language of Arizona. The proposition stated official action must be conducted in English, but doesn't exactly prohibit the use of other languages.
Arizona is one of 32 states that currently has English as the official language. It's unclear what may happen once the order is signed in states without an official language, nor states like Arizona.
Many local organizations noted they're bracing for the specific impacts, but aren't exactly sure without knowing what's in the executive order. An official under Governor Katie Hobbs stated they will be looking at the language of the executive order before providing comment.
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Reyna Preciado is a reporter for KGUN 9, she joined the KGUN 9 team in July of 2022 after graduating Arizona State University. Share your story ideas with Reyna by emailing reyna.preciado@kgun9.com or by connecting on Instagram, or Twitter.
