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For a few years now, the United States has been marinating in a particular version of the American story. Specifically, we鈥檝e been awash in warnings about the country鈥檚 alleged vulnerability in the face of cultural change. 

In this conservative telling, America grows stronger when it is monocultural, wealthier when it goes it alone, and better when it has fewer immigrants. To make America once again 鈥済reat,鈥� we鈥檝e been told, the country must shelter itself from the world鈥檚 economy and diverse cultures.

Many have noted that this flies in the face of the entirety of American history; our extraordinary national story is, in fact, a tale of a community reliably made stronger, richer and more dynamic through increased diversity. But if the state of present U.S. politics makes this well-established fact seem like the province of soft-hearted left-wingers, that business leaders still know that diversity 鈥� particularly linguistic and cultural 鈥� is key to their bottom line.

In 2025, California nonprofit surveyed 56 Southern California businesses across a range of sizes and sectors to gauge their views on multilingualism at work. Fully 93% of them said they have bilingual staff 鈥� and 32% said that the majority of their staff are bilingual.

Nearly three-quarters of respondents said that bilingual staff allow them 鈥渢o reach more customers,鈥� and 70% responded that it helped them satisfy 鈥� and keep 鈥� the customers they have.

鈥淚n today鈥檚 global economy, language is not just a cultural asset 鈥� it is essential to doing business,鈥� the report states.

Nearly one-quarter of those surveyed conduct business in Latin America, with an additional 12% calling out Mexico specifically. One-fifth said they did business in Europe and the same share reported commerce in Oceania, the area that includes Australia, New Zealand and smaller Pacific islands.

Lead author A.J. Lucas published the results as last month.

鈥淟anguage, for the majority of our existence, has been seen as additional, as something that comes with who a person is, and how they represent ethnically or by place of origin,鈥� he told me. 鈥淚t鈥檚 been seen as surplus to someone鈥檚 identity, rather than being assessed, considered, and compensated 鈥� we should make it clear that if you have this added skill, you鈥檙e worth a lot more than someone who hasn鈥檛 gotten to this level of skill in learning a language.鈥�

UNITE-LA, Lucas explained, acts as an intermediary between schools and the business world to better prepare the future workforce and 鈥渃reate economic opportunities for underserved youth across California.鈥�

Those in-demand multilingual workers of the future exist in California schools today, the report notes, where 40% of the state’s K-12 students speak a non-English language at home and, among children younger than 6, that number grows to 60%.

But, as I鈥檝e noted recently, the Trump administration is determined to force the country along an English-only path as a way of punishing immigrants and their children. This is a path that can only make the United States smaller, weaker, less prosperous and less dynamic.

It鈥檚 also a path that sets the administration at odds with the preferences of American families, regardless of their proximity to the U.S. immigration experience and/or the languages they speak at home. That is, both English-dominant families and families who speak a non-English language at home are enthusiastic about giving their children opportunities to become multilingual. 

Demand for multilingual schooling has, with dual language immersion programs growing by the thousands across states like Texas, Utah, North Carolina, California, Georgia, Delaware, New York and others. All 50 states and the District of Columbia have launched their own versions of the, a credential that recognizes students who can demonstrate proficiency in at least two languages. But efforts to grow these programs are hamstrung by the United States鈥� . 

We should replace the administration鈥檚 current, sustained assault on linguistic and cultural diversity on K鈥�12 campuses with a serious effort to train enough linguistically diverse teachers to be able to meet families鈥� demand for multilingual learning and businesses鈥� need for multilingual workers. 

There are many ways for local, state and federal education leaders to do this. For instance, as the report notes, the Seal of Biliteracy is off to a good start, but is presently 鈥渕ore symbolic than functional in the labor market.鈥� Employers, colleges and universities don鈥檛 yet understand its value. By contrast, has led the way in linking the seal to 鈥� and corresponding cost savings for students. Business leaders and public officials should follow their lead.聽

Unlike so much else in education policy, this isn鈥檛 especially complicated. Businesses want multilingual workers. Families want their children to have access to multilingual schools. As Lucas put it in our recent conversation, 鈥淭here鈥檚 this connection between our education system and what our workforce currently needs 鈥� yet it feels like that gap is persisting for some reason.鈥� 

The views expressed here are Conor P. Williams鈥檚 alone, and do not reflect those of his employer or any other affiliated organizations.

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