Trump Is Demanding English — While Defunding ESL  🔗 **Source:** [Trump Is Demanding English — While Defunding ESL](https://share.snipd.com/episode/f0d7ea4e-aa4a-4b4a-9b28-98828ca335f6) ## Highlights - **Official English Paired With Funding Cuts** - The Trump administration declared English the official language while proposing to zero out federal funding for adult English programs. - The executive order also repealed a 25-year rule requiring agencies to help non-English speakers interface with government services. Transcript: Xavier Lopez So let's go back a bit to March 2025. Pretty fresh into Trump's second term when he signed an executive order declaring English the official language of the U.S. Gene Demby Yeah, I remember that. And, you know, the argument was the assimilation argument, right? One country, one language, right? Xavier Lopez Mm-hmm, yeah. The executive order says that this would empower people to achieve the American dream. Gene Demby Okay, we're going to shelve any debates about the existence of the American dream, whether that's even an achievable thing, but leave that aside. With English as the official language, which has always been a controversial prospect, right? When you said we're talking about adults learning English, right? So does that mean that after this executive order, there are more English classes? See, Gene, you would think that, right? But no. Oh, my God. Okay. Xavier Lopez Yeah, it's actually the opposite of that. The administration's budget proposed zeroing out money for adult language education. And on top of that, the executive order repealed a 25-year rule that required federal agencies to help people who don't speak English. Gene Demby Okay, wait, wait, wait, wait. So they're basically like, y'all got to learn English, and y'all got to interface with the government. Even if you don't speak English, we're not going to try to meet you halfway and have options for non-English speakers. ([Time 0:02:39](https://share.snipd.com/snip/1112fa4f-42d3-4034-b4fa-d1e0ad365831)) - **System Serves Less Than Five Percent Of Need** - Federally funded adult English programs serve about 600,000 people annually out of roughly 25 million adults with limited English. - That meets less than 5% of national need and creates long waitlists for classes. Transcript: Xavier Lopez There are about 25 million adults in this country with limited English. Gene Demby Hmm. Xavier Lopez But the federally funded programs only serve around 600,000 of them a year. Gene Demby Okay, so just doing some quick back of the envelope math here. 600,000 out of 25 million. I mean, I'm going to mess up the calculations here, but the point is, the backlogs must be bananas if you want to take a class. Oh, my God. Xavier Lopez Yeah, bananas indeed. There are long wait lists for people. Gene Demby So even before this executive order, if you wanted to do the thing Trump is asking for, which is to speak English, you were going to have to wait to learn how. ([Time 0:04:20](https://share.snipd.com/snip/cab10947-5d20-474e-95fd-0bca4359565b)) - **Immigration Status Checks Shrink Access** - The administration pushed strict immigration-status verification for federally funded adult education, excluding many legally present learners. - Providers face chaos implementing requirements and some states have sued to block them. Transcript: Jacob Hofstetter Federally funded adult education programs now are intended to have really strict verification requirements related to immigration status. Gene Demby Right, because we've seen the administration already do similar things like this when they ask for, you know, verification for other programs like SNAP, which a lot of people will Know as food stamps, right? Or healthcare programs, Medicaid, Medicare. They've already been checking people's immigration status for things like that. Xavier Lopez Right. And a number of states have sued the federal government to try to stop the implementation of these restrictions more broadly. But some states have already begun implementing those requirements, which has made it harder for English learners, even those who are documented. Jacob Hofstetter Obviously, they've excluded a large number of learners, many of whom are actually legally present in the country. They just don't have as settled of a status as is required by these really strict requirements. It's also caused chaos for a lot of providers who have had to implement these restrictions. ([Time 0:10:30](https://share.snipd.com/snip/fa4ff588-1a6a-4e9d-9fa8-39387fc8cfaf)) - **Enforcement And Messaging Reduce Class Attendance** - Enforcement and anti-immigrant messaging have chilled participation, pushing some learners to virtual classes or to stop attending. - Research shows formal programs meet less than 5% of demand and waitlists indicate pent-up need. Transcript: Xavier Lopez And remember, there are nowhere near enough classes for the people out there who want to take them. And that was true even before the Trump administration cut federal support. Jacob Hofstetter Our research indicates that the formalized system meets less than 5% of the need for adult English instruction in the country. We also hear from providers and from states all the time that there's a huge waitlist in many cases for these English services and for English instruction. ([Time 0:12:19](https://share.snipd.com/snip/d2383964-fa0a-4815-8a41-4be2457418e1)) - **Kao Kalia Yang's Family Night School Story** - Kao Kalia Yang recalls teaching English tutors in middle school and watching her parents learn through night classes and picture books. - Her mother took three years of night school to earn a diploma while raising children. Transcript: Kao Kalia Yang My father and my mother, they understood that in America, they would have to provide for us using their hands and their feet. So they both became assemblers. And at work, every time my dad had a question, he tried to talk. Gene Demby His supervisor would say, B, here to talk to the machines not to us yo i i hope that i hope that boss never knows peace what the oh my god yeah it's messed up um although her mother had a different Kao Kalia Yang Response my mom who has a stubborn stubborn heart she'd been one of the only girls in her village to go to school before the bombs fell in life as she knew it ended. She wanted a diploma. My dad told her, you should take the competency test and you'll be okay. But my mother insisted that she should get a diploma. So she went to night school. So my childhood, I remember my mom going to Central High School in St. Paul and coming down those stairs. She was always the last person coming out. And her big thing was she was scared of meeting the football players after school in the hallways because it was their school. And she never felt like it was her school, but she was just part of the night classes. It took her three years to get her diploma. ([Time 0:13:41](https://share.snipd.com/snip/7d9fd183-afa8-4f9c-918d-5335ca6a621e)) - **Lincoln Literacy Serves Thousands Amid Refugee Drop** - Lincoln Literacy serves about 3,000 students a year from many languages and backgrounds, including large Spanish, Arabic, and Yazidi communities. - The city saw refugee arrivals drop to near zero but still has longstanding learners needing services. Transcript: Xavier Lopez So Jean, those were the voices of the English language learners who we heard from earlier. I met them all through Lincoln Literacy, an organization in Nebraska that serves some 3,000 students each year, students from all over the world. Gene Demby So, okay, 3,000, that's a lot more students than I would have expected. Is Lincoln, Nebraska a big hub for immigrants? Yes, actually. Xavier Lopez It's no Miami or Houston. But Brian Seck, who is the executive director at Lincoln Literacy, told me that up until recently, the city was receiving a pretty large number of immigrants, a lot of humanitarian Parolees and refugees. Gene Demby Lincoln's about 10% foreign-born overall, and we've been a refugee community since 1975 when the Vietnam War ended. And that really kind of changed the face of Lincoln. And then that fast-forwards all the way today. Speaker 4 We were a large receiver for many waves of refugees coming to the United States. Xavier Lopez That's Julie Greaves. She's a director of adult skills and workplace programs at Lincoln Literacy. Speaker 4 The largest number of people, of course, are Spanish speakers here. That's still very strong, but we have a large Arabic-speaking population. I believe the largest group of Yazidi that's in the United States lives here. Xavier Lopez One of the people I spoke with is a Yazidi refugee, Shireen Yardo. She came here back in 2016 after being chased out of Iraq by ISIS. And she told me that some of her family back home is still missing, actually. Speaker 5 This is now, my family is 15, it's stay missing. Sometimes people ask me, talk about my story, talk about my family. It's hard because it's my family missing. Xavier Lopez Shireen works two jobs, full-time at a meatpacking plant and then at a McDonald's. Speaker 5 Because I have a two job, I'm very busy. I'm working. Everything is expensive. Oh, my family is hard for me. I can't sleep. I too much think about my family. Xavier Lopez Shireen came to the U.S. 10 years ago as part of a refugee resettlement program, back when the United States was still taking refugees. Gene Demby Right. We've talked about this before on the show, about how the Trump administration completely scaled back the number of refugees that the U.S. Takes in from the rest of the world, with the notable exception of white South Africans. Xavier Lopez Yeah, exactly. And this is something that has been felt in Lincoln. Gene Demby Even with refugee arrivals down to, I would call, functional zero, we are getting a few white Afrikaners who are coming into Lincoln. But those folks, largely speaking English, they don't need us. So functional zero in that they're refugees that don't need us, which that's what it is. And we were supposed to get 1,000 in 2025 and got zero when the program ended. Xavier Lopez Wait, so they were supposed to get 1,000 refugees last year and they got none? Yeah, zero. What? Brian says that he still expects around 3,000 new students this year, but there'll be people who've been in Lincoln for a while, not any recent arrivals. ([Time 0:23:39](https://share.snipd.com/snip/18a40bbb-810d-4e6c-b91e-756a70fecdcd)) - **A Yazidi Refugee Juggles Work And Missing Family** - Yazidi refugee Shireen Yardo arrived in 2016 after ISIS chased her family; some relatives remain missing. - She now works two jobs in meatpacking and fast food while carrying trauma and worry about family. Transcript: Xavier Lopez One of the people I spoke with is a Yazidi refugee, Shireen Yardo. She came here back in 2016 after being chased out of Iraq by ISIS. And she told me that some of her family back home is still missing, actually. Speaker 5 This is now, my family is 15, it's stay missing. Sometimes people ask me, talk about my story, talk about my family. It's hard because it's my family missing. Xavier Lopez Shireen works two jobs, full-time at a meatpacking plant and then at a McDonald's. Speaker 5 Because I have a two job, I'm very busy. I'm working. Everything is expensive. Oh, my family is hard for me. I can't sleep. I too much think about my family. ([Time 0:24:55](https://share.snipd.com/snip/bb25d7f0-9caf-4d96-a544-23b26bdced2a)) - **ESL Classes Provide Practical Community Support** - Lincoln Literacy's ESL work extends beyond language: classes connect students to food, health, child care, and other basic services. - Maria Cruz de Pesina progressed from student to director of transportation and child care at the program. Transcript: Xavier Lopez And Maria can testify to this. Speaker 7 ESL classes has a big role because in ESL classes, it is not like teaching English. We also learn about the community programs that the community has places where they can go if they are in need of food or other services, like health services, if they are in need of some Of the basic things. Xavier Lopez Maria started out as a student, but is now one of the directors of transportation and child care. Speaker 7 I never thought that I could be in this place and coordinate child care and transportation. Xavier Lopez Maria told me that when she was first offered the job there, she turned it down. Speaker 7 She said, oh, no, I don't feel confident about my English. No, I won't be able to do it. I said, it doesn't matter. So I think you can do it. I can communicate with you. ([Time 0:28:26](https://share.snipd.com/snip/b9db30e4-9669-4c86-b51d-05fdb949e945)) - **Confidence Is The Hidden Outcome Of ESL Classes** - Teachers say the biggest benefit of ESL is building confidence and a safe space to make mistakes, which unlocks participation and independence. - Classroom permission to be imperfect helps learners speak up in high-stakes real-world interactions. Transcript: Gene Demby So much of what we do actually isn't technical knowledge, teaching English, or teaching the skill sets. It's actually increasing the confidence of our students and their own abilities. So many times people know what you're saying, but they don't have the confidence to respond. They're afraid they're going to make a mistake. And I think our classes just provide that safe space to say the words out loud, say it wrong. And what we find is we are definitely teaching people, but so much of it is helping them feel that they can get their point across, that they're not afraid to speak up and that they're able To actually use their skills. Like, I can't quantify it, but I've taught a lot of English in my life. And so much of it is just giving people the permission. So the value is that you're in a room where getting it wrong doesn't hurt you. Nobody's going to clown you, right? Like you can make mistakes. ([Time 0:29:43](https://share.snipd.com/snip/1f9b844a-d3e6-448f-b40e-459b83b1d864))