Attorney General James Demands FCC Expand Multilingual Emergency Alerts

NEW YORK – New York Attorney General Letitia James today led a coalition of 18 other attorneys general and New York City in demanding that the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) immediately publish a long-delayed rule that would substantially expand language access for critical government emergency alerts sent to cell phones. The emergency alerts, which are currently only sent in English and Spanish, can be lifesaving during disasters such as the floods in New York City that claimed two lives last week. A new rule, finalized and unanimously adopted by the FCC in January 2025, plans to expand the alerts to 13 additional languages. However, for the last ten months, the FCC has refused to move to implement it. In a letter to the FCC, Attorney General James and the coalition warn that if the rule is not submitted for publication within 30 days, they are prepared to take legal action. The rule is the result of a years-long advocacy effort led by Attorney General James to ensure that everyone can receive and understand potentially life-saving emergency alerts.

“Language should never be a barrier to life-saving information,” said Attorney General James. “Every New Yorker, regardless of language, deserves to know what to do when danger strikes. The FCC’s failure to publish this unanimously adopted rule is unacceptable and puts people at risk. We are demanding immediate action by the FCC to ensure that no community is left in the dark during future hurricanes, wildfires, or floods.”

Wireless Emergency Alerts (WEAs) are short, text message-like alerts sent by government agencies through cell carriers to warn the public of imminent threats such as severe weather, natural disasters, missing persons, or public safety emergencies. These alerts are among the most widely used and effective public warning tools in the United States, but have historically been issued only in English, with Spanish alerts being supported only in recent years.

Following Hurricane Ida in 2021, which claimed 13 lives in New York City – most in neighborhoods with low rates of English proficiency – Attorney General James brought the disparity in emergency alerting to the FCC’s attention and later led a coalition of states urging the FCC to expand multilingual access to emergency alerts. In 2023, the FCC voted to move forward with the expansion, and in January 2025, it formally adopted the Multilingual Alerts Order, which requires the implementation of pre-translated alert templates in the 13 most commonly spoken non-English languages and American Sign Language. The order dictates that once the rule is published in the Federal Register, wireless carriers will have 30 months to update their systems to support multilingual alerts.

Nearly ten months after adopting the order, however, the FCC has yet to officially publish it, an unexplained delay that has prevented the new multilingual system from taking effect. Because the 30-month implementation period begins only upon publication, the FCC’s inaction has stalled nationwide efforts to modernize the emergency alert system and ensure that more non-English-speaking communities receive timely, life-saving information during disasters or other emergencies. Without expanded language accessibility for WEAs, immigrant communities nationwide, including an estimated 1.3 million New Yorkers statewide who have limited English proficiency and do not speak Spanish, lack access to critical information to protect themselves and their families from severe weather and other emergencies.

Attorney General James and the coalition note that the Administrative Procedure Act and the FCC’s own regulations require the agency to publish adopted rules in the Federal Register. By refusing to do so, the coalition argues, the FCC is violating federal law. The demand letter notes that the agency remains obligated to perform this non-discretionary duty even during the ongoing federal government shutdown.

WEAs remain the most critical method of alerting residents to emergencies. The New York State Office of Emergency Management and New York City Emergency Management (NYCEM) both send emergency alerts for severe weather and other emergencies via automated text messages, phone calls, e-mails, and social media. NYCEM’s alert system NotifyNYC can deliver messages in 13 languages in addition to English, but its opt-in design limits reach compared to WEAs, which automatically reach about 75 percent of all active cell-phone users in the United States.

Attorney General James has long championed language access in emergency communications. Her outreach to the FCC built on prior advocacy urging the National Weather Service (NWS) to expand multilingual alerts. When NWS leadership replied that the FCC would need to adopt new rules to make such expansion possible, Attorney General James wrote to the FCC’s Chair and the wireless industry urging them to work together to swiftly expand language accessibility. After a draft rule was proposed, Attorney General James led a multistate coalition calling on the FCC to increase the number of supported languages and to rely on human translation rather than machine translation.

“All communities, including those who rely on American Sign Language (ASL), will benefit from wireless alerts that reflect our diversity,” said Christina Curry, Commissioner of the NYC Mayor’s Office for People with Disabilities. “We applaud Attorney General James for her leadership in organizing this coalition, and believe equal access to critical life-saving information for our immigrant neighbors and those of us who rely on ASL is essential for public safety.”

“With almost 1 in 5 individuals in the United States speaking a language other than English at home, multilingual wireless emergency alerts are crucial to providing the public with actions they can take to protect lives and property,” said NYC Emergency Management Commissioner Zach Iscol. “Every day of delay is another day that millions of Americans are at risk.”

“Diverse communities like Queens understand firsthand just how important multilingual emergency alerts can be,” said Congresswoman Grace Meng. “When Hurricane Ida hit, New Yorkers would have been safer if people had received alerts in languages beyond English and Spanish. No community is immune to emergencies or natural disasters, and the threat of dangerous storms only continues to grow. I have fought to ensure that federal agencies, like the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) and the National Weather Service (NWS), have the capability to reach people who speak languages other than English, and I’m proud to stand with Attorney General James as she holds the FCC accountable to this critical language access rule.”

“Extreme weather events are no longer anomalies—they are becoming regular occurrences that New Yorkers wake up to every day.  When flash floods, wildfire smoke, snowstorms, or dangerous heat hit our communities, emergency alerts are not a courtesy, they are a lifeline. And a lifeline only works if you can actually understand it,” said Murad Awawdeh, President and CEO, New York Immigration Coalition. “Lack of language access is one of the biggest obstacles immigrant New Yorkers face in accessing vital government services and information. We stand firmly with Attorney General James in demanding the Federal Communications Commission immediately publish its long-delayed rule expanding multilingual emergency alerts. Once implemented, nearly 2.5 million New Yorkers and millions more across the nation would finally receive critical updates when weather emergencies strike, keeping every New York family safe and informed.”

“Access to timely information and clear directions in an emergency is a fundamental public safety issue and can be the difference between life and death. We are grateful to Attorney General James for her advocacy, and we urge the FCC to release the rule,” said Yversha Roman, Director of Strategic Partnerships and CASH at Empire Justice Center. “All New Yorkers – including the deaf and hard of hearing -- must have access to the information that will help them keep themselves, their families, and their communities safe, especially in an emergency.” 

“New York State has one of the largest Deaf, Deafblind and Hard of Hearing communities in the United States,” said Steve Lovi, President of the Empire State Association of the Deaf. “Therefore, it is imperative to have emergency alerts made available in American Sign Language to ensure the safety and well-being of its residents in their native language. The Empire State Association of the Deaf (ESAD) greatly appreciates the multistate efforts towards improving such critical communication accessibility through the leadership of New York State Attorney General, Letitia James.”

“Language access can be the difference between life and death," said Catherine Chen, Chief Executive Officer of the Asian American Federation. “Nearly 38 percent of Asian American New Yorkers have limited English proficiency — and for Asian older adults, that number rises to more than 65 percent. The FCC’s delay in publishing the multilingual emergency alert rule is leaving millions without life-saving information to protect themselves and their loved ones. It’s heartbreaking and unacceptable that so many in our communities could be left in the dark during emergencies. We stand with Attorney General James in demanding action — because no one’s safety should depend on the language they speak.”

“CACF fully supports the Attorney General’s office's call for weather warnings in the languages spoken by our diverse AAPI and immigrant communities,” said Anita Gundanna and Vanessa Leung, Co-Executive Directors at the Coalition for Asian American Children and Families. “New York State has tragically seen what happens when immigrant and non-English proficient New Yorkers do not have clear, timely guidance during extreme weather events and the results have been both tragic and preventable. Enhancing language access and improving communications systems will be key to creating a safer New York State for us all.”

“The Chinese-American Planning Council (CPC) urges the FCC to implement the rule that would expand language access for emergency alerts,” said Wayne Ho, President and CEO of the Chinese-American Planning Council. “As the nation’s largest Asian American social services agency, CPC was at the center of the Hurricane Ida response, which disproportionately hurt AAPI and immigrant families that could not get key information in their languages. By implementing this key language access measure, the FCC will ensure that all New Yorkers get critical and timely information to stay safe.”

“Asian (often immigrant) health care workers are overrepresented among the staff at ERs and trauma centers, yet Asian and other limited English proficient communities are neglected in emergency responses, which can translate to delayed evacuations and late notice of critical resources and services,” said Niji Jain, Legal Director at the Asian American Legal Defense and Education Fund. “The FCC must urgently implement the Multilingual Alerts Order to ensure that Asian and other marginalized communities receive the same critical communications as everyone else.” 

“We know that more than a million New Yorkers are living in low-lying areas, vulnerable to flooding and other natural disasters,” said Thomas Yu, Executive Director of Asian Americans for Equality. “It’s critically important that they receive emergency cell phone alerts no matter what language they read and speak. It’s not merely a convenience but a matter of life and death. We urge the federal government to publish this important rule without further delay.” 

“Language cannot be a matter of life and death, ”said Angelica Perez-Delgado, President & CEO of Ibero-American Action League Inc. “Our communities rely on clear, reliable, and multilingual emergency alerts to stay safe. We urge the FCC to ensure these life-saving messages are accessible in every language our communities speak.”

“Language access in emergency alerts is a matter of life and death. When Limited English Proficient (LEP) residents don’t receive alerts they understand, they can’t act to stay safe, putting both them and first responders in danger,” said Marlene Cortés, member of the Rochester Latinx Roundtable. “Every day of delay endangers LEP communities and those who protect them. We applaud Attorney General James for demanding swift action to keep all New Yorkers safe.”

Joining Attorney General James in sending today’s demand letter are the attorneys general of Arizona, Connecticut, Delaware, Hawaii, Illinois, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Nevada, New Jersey, New Mexico, Oregon, Rhode Island, Vermont, Washington, and Wisconsin, along with New York City.

This matter is being handled by Assistant Attorney General Max Shterngel, Affirmation Litigation Section Chief Yueh-Ru Chu, and Environmental Scientist D Pei Wu under the supervision of Environmental Protection Bureau Deputy Bureau Chief Monica Wagner and Bureau Chief Lemuel M. Srolovic. The Environmental Protection Bureau is a part of the Division for Social Justice, which is led by Chief Deputy Attorney General Meghan Faux and overseen by First Deputy Attorney General Jennifer Levy.