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United States · Bill · S

S. 678 (115th)

English Language Unity Act of 2017

referredUnited States· United States Congress· EN

Introduced

21 March 2017

Last action

21 March 2017 · Introduced

Status

Read twice and referred to the Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs.

Sponsors

Sen. Inhofe, James M. [R-OK], Sen. Boozman, John [R-AR], Sen. Cotton, Tom [R-AR], Sen. Isakson, Johnny [R-GA], Sen. Rounds, Mike [R-SD], Sen. Perdue, David [R-GA], Sen. Strange, Luther [R-AL]

Subjects

Asylum, Rule of law

Source updated

11 August 2025

Asylum · Rule of law

Summary

English Language Unity Act of 2017 This bill establishes English as the official language of the United States. Naturalization ceremonies and official functions of the U.S. government, subject to exceptions, must be conducted in English. The bill declares that all citizens should be able to read and understand generally the English language text of U.S. laws. A person injured by a violation of this Act may obtain relief, including a declaratory judgment, in a civil action. English language requirements and workplace policies, whether in the public or private sector, shall be presumptively consistent with U.S. laws. Any ambiguity in U.S. laws  shall be resolved in accordance with the rights retained by the people and the powers reserved to states under the Bill of Rights. The Department of Homeland Security shall issue a proposed rule for uniform testing of the English language ability of candidates for naturalization based upon the principles that: (1) all citizens should be able to read and understand generally the English language text of the Declaration of Independence, the Constitution, and the laws of the United States; and (2) any exceptions to this standard should be limited to extraordinary circumstances, such as asylum.

This text is taken from the official record. PoliticalRepo does not editorialize.

Timeline

  1. 21 March 2017

    Introduced

    Read twice and referred to the Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs.

    Source: IntroReferral

  2. 21 March 2017

    Introduced

    Introduced in Senate

    Source: IntroReferral

Votes

No vote records are attached yet.

Versions

Documents

3 official files

Introduced in Senate (text)

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Leesvertaling

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  • Introduced in Senate (text)

    Introduced in Senate · EN · 21 March 2017

    ViewDownloadOpen at official source

  • Introduced in Senate (PDF)

    Introduced in Senate · EN · 21 March 2017

    ViewDownloadOpen at official source

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  • Introduced in Senate

    summary · EN · 21 March 2017

    Open at official source

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Sponsors

Related records

Sources

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