California Rep. Nanette Diaz Barragán is urging the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to take immediate action in modernizing the federal emergency alert system.
She is specifically advocating for the inclusion of multilingual alerts to better serve residents who may not speak English at home, especially in light of recent natural disasters.
The urgency of this request has been underscored by the deadly fires in Los Angeles nearly five months ago, which severely affected communities—particularly those with a significant proportion of Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders who often have limited English proficiency.
In a letter addressed to FCC Chair Brendan Carr, a Republican, Barragán expressed her “deep concern” about the FCC’s delay in implementing plans for multilingual Wireless Emergency Alerts intended for severe events such as wildfires, hurricanes, earthquakes, and tsunamis.
“This is about saving lives,” Barragán stated in an interview, emphasizing that around 68 million Americans use a language other than English and thus deserve a thorough understanding of emergency alerts.
She asserts that the alerts should not be politicized or made inaccessible due to language barriers.
While Barragán believes that multilingual emergency alerts need to be a nationwide standard, the necessity becomes particularly pressing in Los Angeles, given its susceptibility to disasters like wildfires, floods, mudslides, and earthquakes.
California’s diverse immigrant population includes many with limited English skills, making clear communication during emergencies all the more important.
“When you think about it, in California we have wildfires, we’re always on earthquake alert,” Barragán pointed out, noting that other regions may face hurricanes or tornadoes.
All families should receive the vital information needed during such emergencies, she stressed.
Four months ago, the FCC was expected to publish an order granting the capability for Americans to receive multilingual alerts.
In October 2023, they did take a step forward by approving new rules allowing Wireless Emergency Alerts in over a dozen languages beyond English, Spanish, and sign language, eliminating the need for a translator.
Following this development, the Public Safety and Homeland Security Bureau created templates for essential disaster alerts in the 13 most commonly spoken languages in the United States.
The commission heralded the January announcement as a “major step forward” in enhancing the language options for emergency alerts, which would require commercial mobile service providers to have the templates installed on cell phones within 30 months of the order being published in the Federal Register.
Then-FCC Chair Jessica Rosenworcel remarked, “The language you speak shouldn’t keep you from receiving the information you or your family need to stay safe.”
However, the situation changed when President Trump assumed office.
Under the leadership of Carr, the FCC has yet to publish the January 8 Report and Order in the Federal Register—an essential move in initiating the compliance process.
When questioned about the delay, the FCC did not clarify its reasons but noted that alert originators can currently issue multilingual Wireless Emergency Alerts.
An FCC spokesperson responded, “Alert originators can send out multilingual Wireless Emergency Alerts today,” dismissing the notion that federal mandates were necessary for these alerts.
In her letter to Carr, Barragán condemned the FCC’s inaction regarding multilingual alerts, alongside nearly two dozen of her congressional colleagues from the Congressional Hispanic Caucus, Congressional Asian Pacific American Caucus, and Congressional Black Caucus.
She stated, “This delay is not only indefensible but dangerous. It directly jeopardizes the ability of our communities to receive life-saving emergency information in the language they understand best.”
Barragán highlighted that Carr had previously endorsed the push for multilingual alerts while serving on the commission before his ascension to leadership.
“This failure to complete this ministerial step—despite having supported the rule itself—has left this life-saving policy in limbo and significantly delayed access to multilingual alerts for millions of Americans,” she asserted.
Addressing inquiries about the holdup, Barragán conveyed that her office had learned that Trump’s regulatory freeze was blocking all federal agencies, including the FCC, from publishing any rules until they receive approval from a designated official.
“It’s all politics,” she opined, expressing frustration over the lack of a clear explanation for the delay in moving forward with the alerts.
She continued, “It seems, like everything these days, they’re waiting on the president’s green light.”
Barragán also emphasized that multilingual alerts would assist first responders.
If communities fail to evacuate because they are unaware of an impending threat, it poses greater dangers to first responders and emergency teams attempting to manage the situation.
“This is a safety issue all around, not just for people receiving it,” she said.
Recent research conducted by UCLA and the Asian American and Pacific Islanders Equity Alliance revealed that, during the January L.A. County fires, numerous Asian communities struggled to obtain critical information regarding emergency evacuations due to language barriers.
Manjusha Kulkarni, executive director of AAPI Equity Alliance, characterized the FCC’s negligence in advancing alerts in multiple languages as a “real dereliction of duty.”
In Los Angeles County alone, over half a million Asian Americans are classified as having limited English proficiency, many of whom communicate primarily in languages such as Chinese, Korean, Tagalog, and Vietnamese.
During the January fires, residents lamented that fire alerts were issued only in English and Spanish.
This oversight impacted around 12,000 of the 50,000 Asian immigrants and their descendants living within four evacuation zones—Palisades, Eaton, Hurst, and Hughes—who required language assistance.
Kulkarni noted, “There were community members who didn’t realize until they were evacuated that the fire was so close to them, so they had little to no notice of it.”
The lack of timely information can mean the difference between life and death in critical situations, she argued.
Furthermore, community members have faced challenges not only from the threats of the fires but from federal and local officials’ failure to produce alerts in languages that are accessible to all residents.
“It is incumbent that the alerts be made available,” Kulkarni called for, insisting that all levels of government must do their part to ensure individuals can survive catastrophic incidents.
The situation continues to highlight the profound impact of language accessibility on community safety, especially in a profoundly diverse area like Los Angeles.
image source from：https://www.latimes.com/california/story/2025-05-26/multilingual-emergency-alerts-for-natural-disasters-have-been-delayed-la-lawmaker-demands-answers
