FCC Delays Multilingual Emergency Alerts

California Rep. Nanette Diaz Barragán has pressed the FCC to advance its stalled plans for modernizing the federal emergency alert system to include multilingual Wireless Emergency Alerts for non-English-speaking residents during natural disasters. 

This push follows deadly Los Angeles fires in January 2025, which underscored the urgent need for accessible alerts in communities with significant Asian American and Pacific Islander populations, many with limited English proficiency.

In a letter to FCC Chair Brendan Carr, Barragán (D-San Pedro) voiced “deep concern” over delays in implementing multilingual alerts for disasters like wildfires, hurricanes, earthquakes, and tsunamis, particularly under the Trump administration. “This is about saving lives,” Barragán told the Los Angeles Times. “With 68 million Americans speaking languages other than English, everyone deserves clear emergency alerts, regardless of immigration status or language proficiency.”

Barragán emphasized the critical need in Los Angeles, a region prone to wildfires, floods, mudslides, and earthquakes, and home to a diverse immigrant population. “California faces wildfires and constant earthquake risks; other regions deal with hurricanes or tornadoes. People need clear guidance on what to do,” she said.

In October 2023, the FCC approved rules to expand Wireless Emergency Alerts to over a dozen languages beyond English, Spanish, and sign language, eliminating the need for translators. By January 2025, the FCC’s Public Safety and Homeland Security Bureau had developed alert templates in the 13 most common U.S. languages, with a report and order mandating mobile providers to integrate these templates within 30 months of Federal Register publication. Then-FCC Chair Jessica Rosenworcel called it a “major step forward,” stating, “The language you speak shouldn’t hinder access to vital safety information.”

However, following President Trump’s inauguration, the FCC, now led by Carr, has not published the January 8, 2025, Report and Order, delaying the 30-month compliance timeline. The FCC did not address questions from the Los Angeles Times about the delay but noted that local officials can currently issue alerts in any language, though without mandated provider templates for automatic translation.