Over half of Americans say making English the official US language is important

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SALT LAKE CITY — Just over half of Americans think it's important to make English the country's official language, according to results of a survey released last week.

The Washington, D.C.-based Pew Research Center found that 51% of respondents to a survey think it's "extremely" or "very" important to make English the official U.S. language of the United States. Another 21% say it's "somewhat" important and 27% percent say it's "not too" or "not at all" important.

President Donald Trump on March 1 signed an executive order naming English the official language of the country after the Pew survey data was gathered. The order rescinds a prior mandate under President Bill Clinton that requires federal agencies and recipients of federal funds to provide language assistance to non-English speakers. But it allows agencies to keep providing services in other languages.

"A nationally designated language is at the core of a unified and cohesive society, and the United States is strengthened by a citizenry that can freely exchange ideas in one shared language," Trump's order reads. "In welcoming new Americans, a policy of encouraging the learning and adoption of our national language will make the United States a shared home and empower new citizens to achieve the American dream."

The Pew results — coming amid a big push by the Trump administration to detain and deport immigrants here illegally — vary depending on political leaning, race and ethnicity of respondents.

Among Republicans and those leaning Republican, 73% say making English the official U.S. language is extremely or very important compared to 32% of Democrats and those leaning Democratic. The figures, by racial or ethnic group, are 57% among white people, 47% among Asian people, 45% among Black people and 36% among Hispanic people. "Notably, 38% of Hispanic adults say it is not at all or not too important to make English the national language," reads the March 17 report, based on survey data from last August.

Even without Trump's executive order, English is easily the most spoken language in the United States, with 78% of those 5 and older speaking only English at home, according to U.S. Census Bureau estimates from 2023. Another 13.4% speak Spanish at home, but regardless, 91.6% of people speak only English or, if it's their second language, speak English "very well," according to the figures.

In Utah, 84.3% of those 5 and older speak only English at home. Another 10.7% speak Spanish at home while 95.1% of people in the state speak only English or speak the language "very well," even if they also use another language at home.

A Pew analysis of the Census Bureau figures, estimates from the agency's American Community Survey, shows that 53% of immigrants 5 and older speak English proficiently.

As for attitudes toward non-English speakers, 60% of those who have contact with immigrants who speak little to no English say their limited English skills don't bother them. Along partisan lines, 56% of Republicans or those who lean Republican say the limited English of some immigrants bothers them while 76% of Democrats or those leaning Democratic say they're not bothered. By race and ethnicity, the breakdown of those not bothered is white, 50%; Black, 64%; Hispanic, 83%; and Asian, 76%.