Vice President JD Vance criticized U.S. hospitals offering translators for patients, saying at a Fox News town hall on Thursday night that everyone should just speak English.
Vance was responding to a question about how to protect the “identity of the country” amid mass immigration when he recalled an experience he had in an emergency room while with his wife, who’s the daughter of immigrants.
“I’m sitting there in the emergency room and there are, like, nine different translators, for nine different languages, while I’m worried about a medical problem that my son has, and I’m just thinking to myself: How about if everyone spoke English and we could hire more doctors and less translators in our country?” he said to applause.
According to a U.S. Census Bureau survey, more than 8% of the U.S. population, or roughly 25 million Americans, have limited English proficiency, leaving them with limited ability to read, speak, write or understand English.
Studies have shown that adequate medical interpreter services improve patients’ quality of care while reducing health disparities and medical errors.
Vance’s comments followed him saying that anyone wanting to be an American should adapt.
“Learn our culture, learn our values, assimilate into American culture; that is the bare minimum that we expect of a newcomer in the United States of America,” he said.
The Trump administration has worked to impose an “America First” agenda, which has included President Donald Trump last year declaring English to be the “official” language through an executive order. He also revoked an executive order signed by then-President Bill Clinton in 2000 that expanded access to services for people who have limited English proficiency.
In doing so, he argued the benefits to the country and its people if everyone spoke English — something that an executive order doesn’t change overnight (some experts estimate it can take five to eight years to become fluent).
Despite Trump’s efforts, the U.S. has no statutory language at the federal level, and, as demonstrated by Trump, an executive order can be revoked by the next person in office. The U.S. does require English proficiency for citizenship, but there are exemptions for older applicants.