Language Access

The phrase "language access services" describes services that agencies use to bridge the communication barrier with individuals who cannot speak, understand, read, or write fluently in the host-country language. In the United States, federal law mandates compliance with language access requirements for any agency receiving federal funds, whether federal, state, or local. Explore MPI's research in this area and visit the Language Access: Translation and Interpretation Policies and Practices section for national and state-level data on LEP individuals, commentaries by service providers, and more.

Recent Activity

Multimedia March 11, 2026 State and Local Language Access Efforts Amid Federal Policy Shifts	Reports January 2026 New Frameworks for Language Access: Tracking the Expansion & Features of State & Local Laws & Policies By Jacob Hofstetter
Reports September 2025 All in for a Thriving Connecticut: Opportunities to Support Upward Mobility for the State’s Immigrant Families By Margie McHugh, Julia Gelatt, Colleen Putzel-Kavanaugh, Katherine Habben, Jacob Hofstetter and Julie Sugarman	Reports May 2025 Behind the Scenes: Mapping How State and Local Governments Implement Language Access Measures By Jacob Hofstetter and Alexis Fintland
Articles April 24, 2025 In First 100 Days, Trump 2.0 Has Dramatically Reshaped the U.S. Immigration System, but Is Not Meeting Mass Deportation Aims By Muzaffar Chishti and Kathleen Bush-Joseph	Short Reads March 2025 Shifting Priorities: How the Official English Executive Order Could Affect Language Access Efforts By Jacob Hofstetter
Multimedia December 16, 2024 Emerging and Established Efforts by States to Expand Language Access	Reports December 2024 Language Access in Colorado State Agencies: Existing Efforts and Opportunities for Expansion By Jacob Hofstetter and Margie McHugh

Reports January 2026 New Frameworks for Language Access: Tracking the Expansion & Features of State & Local Laws & Policies By Jacob Hofstetter	Reports September 2025 All in for a Thriving Connecticut: Opportunities to Support Upward Mobility for the State’s Immigrant Families By Margie McHugh, Julia Gelatt, Colleen Putzel-Kavanaugh, Katherine Habben, Jacob Hofstetter and Julie Sugarman
Reports May 2025 Behind the Scenes: Mapping How State and Local Governments Implement Language Access Measures By Jacob Hofstetter and Alexis Fintland	Reports December 2024 Language Access in Colorado State Agencies: Existing Efforts and Opportunities for Expansion By Jacob Hofstetter and Margie McHugh
Policy Briefs June 2024 Expanding Language Access in Federally Supported Programs: Practical Solutions for Persistent Problems By Jacob Hofstetter and Margie McHugh	Policy Briefs July 2023 ESSER: Moving the Needle on Equitable and Adequate Education Funding for English Learners By Jazmin Flores Peña, Julie Sugarman and Lorena Mancilla
Policy Briefs March 2023 Recommendations for the Task Force on New Americans By Margie McHugh, Jacob Hofstetter, Jeanne Batalova, Michael Fix, Valerie Lacarte, Maki Park, Delia Pompa and Julie Sugarman	Fact Sheets October 2022 Dual Language Learners: Key Characteristics and Considerations for Early Childhood Programs By Ivana Tú Nhi Giang and Maki Park

President Donald Trump and Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem in the Oval Office.

Policy Beat

April 24, 2025

In First 100 Days, Trump 2.0 Has Dramatically Reshaped the U.S. Immigration System, but Is Not Meeting Mass Deportation Aims

In its first 100 days, the Trump administration has issued a flurry of actions that represent the most sweeping immigration policy changes in decades, reshaping enforcement, border security, legal immigration, humanitarian protection, and foreign policy. This article provides an overview of the myriad changes in the first 100 days of the second Trump term and assesses the challenges ahead.

Feature

December 6, 2023

Often Shut Out of the Financial System, Refugees and Other Migrants Face Economic Integration Challenges

Credit cards, bank accounts, and other financial services are often critical in order to fully participate in the modern world. Yet many refugees and other forced migrants have trouble obtaining these seemingly simple tools, preventing them from full integration. This article outlines humanitarian migrants’ needs for financial services and the barriers that can arise.

Venezuelan migrants charge their phones and other devices at a power point in Boa Vista, Brazil.

Feature

July 27, 2023

Technology Can Be Transformative for Refugees, but It Can Also Hold Them Back

While smartphones and other technologies can assist decision-making, they do not always improve migrants’ journeys or lives. Forcibly displaced populations can face barriers in the form of limited internet access and low levels of digital literacy. Digital tools may also expose them to government surveillance and raise anxiety about social relations with loved ones. This article underscores refugees' complex relationships with technology.

Feature

March 21, 2023

Can Czechia Capitalize on High-Skilled Immigration amid Influx of Ukrainians?

High-skilled immigration represents a potential major benefit to Czechia, which has undergone rapid economic growth since the transition from communism. The arrival of hundreds of thousands of new Ukrainians, many of whom are well educated, marks a moment for the country to re-evaluate its integration policies, as this article details.

Feature

October 19, 2022

Spain’s Decentralized Immigration System Allows Local Integration Policies to Lead the Way

Spain has an unconventional immigration system. The national government is primarily responsible for border control, granting legal status to migrants, and other issues, but integration is mostly handled by regional and local governments, allowing for some pioneering policies at the subnational level. This article explores what this system has meant for Catalonia and its capital, Barcelona, which have been considered to be a model throughout Europe.

A Social Security flyer highlights the availability of interpreters in different languages

Short Reads

March 2025

Shifting Priorities: How the Official English Executive Order Could Affect Language Access Efforts

By Jacob Hofstetter

Photo of a preschool teacher reading to students.

Short Reads

November 2022

Apprenticeship Programs Are a Promising Solution to Bring More Multilingual Workers into Early Childhood Field

By Jacob Hofstetter, Alexis Fintland and Maki Park

Image of masked woman with a clipboard speaking with another woman outside her home.

Short Reads

May 2022

Schools Should Engage Diverse Community Stakeholders to Promoting Equitable Allocation of Historic Funding to Reimagine Education

By Jazmin Flores Peña

Short Reads

March 2016

Federal WIOA Plan Requirements Ignore Opportunities to Support Equitable Access for Immigrant/LEP Adults

By Margie McHugh

A group of older Korean adults sitting in chairs at a Med-Cal event at the Korean Resource Center

Short Reads

October 2015

It is Time for Federal Agencies to Do More to Improve the Provision of Language Access Services

By Margie McHugh

Video, Audio

March 11, 2026

State and Local Language Access Efforts Amid Federal Policy Shifts

This webinar focuses on the ever-greater relevance of state and local language access policies in today’s rapidly changing federal policy context, highlighting findings from a recent MPI report.

Video, Audio

December 16, 2024

Emerging and Established Efforts by States to Expand Language Access

Government officials from Colorado, Michigan, and New York discuss how their states’ language access efforts have evolved, how they are structured, and what innovative approaches they have undertaken to reduce linguistic barriers for the more than 25 million U.S. residents who have limited proficiency in English.

Video, Audio

June 26, 2024

Next-Generation Strategies to Improve Language Access in Federally Supported Programs

Speakers discuss research from MPI’s National Center on Immigrant Integration Policy that details next-generation strategies the federal government can use to support state and local programs in effectively operationalizing and sustaining meaningful language access.

Video, Audio

October 11, 2023

Improving Language Access in Federal Programs: What Is the State of Play?

White House and Department of Health and Human Services officials join a leading language access advocate and MPI's Margie McHugh in a conversation exploring executive-branch efforts related to language access provision, upcoming actions, and opportunities to improve the provision of information and services in languages other than English in federal programs.

Video, Audio

October 12, 2022

Ensuring Effective Language Access Services and Policies in Early Childhood Programs

Language access policies and services are critical to promoting the equitable participation of Dual Language Learners and their families in early childhood programs, yet there are persisting participation gaps. This webinar outlines federal and state efforts to implement language access policies in the early childhood field, along with opportunities to improve language services.

Recent Activity

Video, Audio, Webinars

March 11, 2026

State and Local Language Access Efforts Amid Federal Policy Shifts

This webinar focuses on the ever-greater relevance of state and local language access policies in today’s rapidly changing federal policy context, highlighting findings from a recent MPI report.

Reports

January 2026

New Frameworks for Language Access: Tracking the Expansion & Features of State & Local Laws & Policies

U.S. states and localities are increasingly enacting policies to make sure that language barriers do not prevent people from accessing government information and services, boosting service effectiveness and the ability to connect with residents. This report examines this trend, and the role of state and local policies against the backdrop of a changing federal policy landscape.

Reports

September 2025

All in for a Thriving Connecticut: Opportunities to Support Upward Mobility for the State’s Immigrant Families

Immigrants comprise 15 percent of Connecticut’s population, and nearly 30 percent of children in the state are part of immigrant families. Having driven all state population and workforce growth over the last 15 years, immigrants are an important part of Connecticut’s present and its future. This report examines state policies and systems that aim to support upward mobility for all families, highlighting ways in which they could better meet the needs of low-income immigrant families.

Reports

May 2025

Behind the Scenes: Mapping How State and Local Governments Implement Language Access Measures

Language barriers create challenges not only for individuals with limited proficiency in English but also for state and local governments that need to be able to effectively communicate with all members of the communities they serve. This report offers one of the first in-depth examinations of how U.S. states, counties, and cities have designed and implemented language access measures to address these challenges.

Articles

April 24, 2025

In First 100 Days, Trump 2.0 Has Dramatically Reshaped the U.S. Immigration System, but Is Not Meeting Mass Deportation Aims

Short Reads

March 2025

Shifting Priorities: How the Official English Executive Order Could Affect Language Access Efforts

President Trump’s executive order proclaiming English the country's official language marks a major shift in federal language access policy—revoking longstanding mandates and leaving federal agencies with broad discretion in provision of information and services in other languages. The action raises questions about how federal, state, and local agencies administering federally funded programs will adapt to ensure language barriers do not impede public access to essential services.

Video, Audio, Webinars

December 16, 2024

Emerging and Established Efforts by States to Expand Language Access

Reports

December 2024

Language Access in Colorado State Agencies: Existing Efforts and Opportunities for Expansion

Ensuring people with limited proficiency in English can access government services for which they qualify and receive important public information is critical to the effectiveness and accessibility of state programs. This report analyzes the state of language access measures in Colorado state agencies and identifies opportunities to strengthen these efforts.

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