S.1348 drops all English requirements

Remember President Clinton’s Executive Order 13166 (left in place by Jorge Busheron), which requires all entities receiving federal funds to provide their services in whatever language a person may request? Perusing the immigration bill, Jim Boulet of English First has uncovered this:

Section 702 Declaration of English

(b) … The Government of the United States shall preserve and enhance the role of English as the language of the United States of America. Nothing herein shall diminish or expand any existing rights under the laws of the United States relative to services or materials provided by the Government of the United States in any language other than English.

(c) Definition: For the purposes of this section, law is defined as including provisions of the United States Constitution, the United States Code, controlling judicial decisions, regulations, and Presidential Executive Orders. [Italics added.]

As Boulet reads it, this means that Executive Order 13166 has now been piggybacked into federal legislation, presumably making it more difficult to repeal. But the meaning of the includion of EO 13166 in the bill seems more particular than that. Since services must be provided in languages other than English if the aliens request it, and since the government in giving them the Z visas is certainly performing a service for them, the aliens obviously have the right to demand that their entire legalization procedure be conducted in Spanish. Any requirement that they demonstrate proficiency in English in order to be legalized would be a violation of their rights.

But my perhaps imaginative reading of the bill’s meaning is not necessary. According to Boulet, Sen. Clinton has clearly stated that any amnesty must include the requirement that aliens learn English. But the bill, sounding like one of today’s dumbed down schools, says that aliens must merely “demonstrate an attempt to gain an understanding of the English language.” [Italics added.] An example of what constitutes an “attempt” under the law is “being on a waiting list for an English class.”

For any New Yorkers who are planning to call the office of Sen. Former First Lady this week, this might be a good point to make. Ask her why, given her firm position that illegal aliens must learn English in order to legalized, she is supporting a bill that requires no such thing.

Posted by Lawrence Auster at May 21, 2007 01:34 PM | Send