While responding to the most damaging wildfires in the history of California, FEMA employees received an order “for immediate compliance” this week that states they must immediately change their vocabulary to comply with the Trump Administration’s preferred terminology on gender and immigration.
For example, FEMA employees are no longer allowed to call undocumented immigrants “migrants” or “undocumented individuals,” they must instead call them “undocumented aliens or illegal aliens.” FEMA can no longer refer to the idea of “integration,” it must begin to say “assimilation.”
The subject line of the email was “For Immediate Compliance.”
“While the following chart presents examples of terminology that should be replaced, it should not be considered to be comprehensive, particularly in the immigration space. Please consult your program counsel for additional language if you are unsure,” the email says. It then includes this table:
The “terminology changes” were sent to FEMA employees in the recovery division of Region 9 of FEMA, which includes California, Arizona, Nevada, Hawaii, and U.S. Pacific Islands. The language changes mirror those required of ICE agents and Department of Homeland Security employees (FEMA is a part of DHS). Similar notices have gone out to huge parts of the federal government, including NASA. While the most devastating wildfires in the Pacific Palisades and Altadena neighborhoods of Los Angeles are no longer burning, FEMA is busy with recovery efforts as the city tries to begin planning how to rebuild. California governor Gavin Newsom has called the fires the “worst natural disaster in US history.”
But the email obtained by 404 Media indicates that Trump’s war on words extends to the federal workers tasked with helping, for example, people in Los Angeles recover from devastating wildfires. The mission of the recovery division is “to provide assistance to individuals and communities overwhelmed by all hazards, including acts of terrorism, natural disasters, or other emergencies.”
“This is the most 1984 email I’ve ever seen,” a FEMA employee told 404 Media. “For a group that hates political correctness—this contains politically correct terminology.”
“Folks are too busy with the fires, seems like everyone is trying to ignore [this] stuff,” the FEMA employee added. “We’re all just locked in to focus on response and recovery efforts.”
In a follow-up email, the employees were told that any FEMA forms that the agency uses to interact with people and contain forbidden words are forbidden from being used. Again, the Region 9 recovery division of FEMA is actively responding to the most devastating wildfire in Los Angeles history, which is a city that includes many immigrants.
“In the event that there is a FEMA pre-printed, standardized form that would cause a violation of the newly established expectations for compliance with EO 14168 Defending Women and DHS Memo re: Immigration Language, employees are directed to refrain from using the form,” the email says. “And to notify your immediate supervisor of the conflict for resolution.”
“Defending Women” is an executive order Trump signed that has caused the widespread deletion and editing of government websites to remove anything the administration perceives to be associated with “DEI.” The DHS memo regarding “immigration language” refers to the requirement to call undocumented immigrants “illegal immigrants” or “aliens.”
In the aftermath of the wildfires, Trump has proposed eliminating FEMA altogether. As Los Angeles gets rain, FEMA is now concerned about the possibility of flash floods and mudslides exacerbated by scorched wildlands.
