Ten years ago this September the bipartisan U.S. Commission on Immigration Reform (USCIR) under the leadership of the late Congresswoman Barbara Jordan, issued its final report to Congress calling for a renewed focus on the "Americanization of new immigrants."

"Ten years after the USCIR issued its urgent call for a new Americanization policy, the President and Congress have yet to act on its most basic recommendations, especially those related to language, " said ProEnglish Chairman Bob Park. "Instead, under two successive administrations, the nation has lost ground and today is actually eliminating incentives for immigrants to learn English and assimilate," he added.

The USCIR was clear. "English is the most critical of basic skills for successful integration," the USCIR wrote. English skills are also the key for immigrants to achieve the American Dream. As the report pointed out, ". . . ability in spoken English markedly improves immigrants' earnings, especially for Hispanic and Asian adult immigrants."

And testifying to Congress USCIR Chair Barbara Jordan noted, "Cultural and religious diversity does not pose a threat to the national interest as long as public policies insure civic unity. Such policies should help people learn to speak, read, and write English effectively (Emphasis added)."

Park pointed to three examples to illustrate how language/assimilation policy has been stuck in reverse: the federal multilingual mandate known as Executive Order 13166, federally mandated multilingual ballots and election materials, and federal prosecution of employers with (legal) English language workplace rules.

The USCIR also specifically recommended strengthening the English test required for naturalization. "The English test should accurately and fairly measure an immigrants ability to speak, read, and write; the current practice of dictating English sentences for applicants to write is not an effective means of testing English proficiency," the Commission wrote (Emphasis added)."

But the Bush Administration has announced plans to introduce a redesigned citizenship test that still only requires applicants to read and write a single sentence in English to demonstrate English fluency. U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Service officers will continue to dictate sentences as part of the exam.

"Our government's policy seems aimed at Balkanizing our nation, not Americanizing immigrants," said Park. "We call on the Administration and Congress to stop pandering to interest groups who gain politically by keeping immigrants isolated, alienated, and poor, and heed the USCIR's call to Americanize new immigrants with an emphasis on learning our nation's language, English."

Senate amnesty bill stalls: Specter vows new effort

The Senate immigration bill appeared to be dead after an effort to end debate on it failed by a vote of 46-53 in June. The bill, S. 1348, would have given amnesty to millions of non-English speaking illegal aliens.

ProEnglish strongly opposed the bill because it would have accelerated the entry of non-English speaking immigrants to the U.S. and triggered huge new demands for multilingual government services. Although the bill's supporters claimed it required illegal aliens receiving amnesty "to learn English," a close examination of the bill's language revealed that claim to be false.

ProEnglish and thousands of its online activists worked overtime to derail the bill. ProEnglish sent numerous email action alerts during the Senate debate with information on upcoming votes, telephone numbers of Senators and talking points for callers to use. The activists responded, sending thousands of emails and making hundreds of phone calls.

"The Senate immigration bill would have been a catastrophe for English," said K.C. McAlpin, executive director of ProEnglish. "I want to thank our members and our online activist network that joined with many other organizations and individuals, to help stop this very, very harmful bill."

Undeterred, Sen. Arlen Specter (R-PA) said he plans to introduce another immigration bill as early as this fall. The Specter plan still would give amnesty to illegal aliens, but without a path to citizenship. It also would leave intact the family-based "chain migration" system for legal immigrants, and not replace it with the skills-based system that was part of the original bill.

To keep up to date with the latest developments on English related bills in Congress, sign up to receive ProEnglish email action alerts at capwiz.com/proenglish/mlm/signup.

Alabama supreme court hears driver's license appeal

The Alabama State Supreme Court heard oral arguments June 20 on an appeal by five ProEnglish members who challenged the state's policy of giving driver's license exams in foreign languages. ProEnglish members charge that the policy violates the state's constitution, which was amended to make English the official language in a 1990 statewide referendum that voters approved by a 9-1 margin.

After the amendment passed, Alabama stopped giving driver's license exams in foreign languages. Seven years later the English testing policy was challenged in court and then suspended when a U.S. district judge ruled that the policy violated federal civil rights laws. But Alabama appealed and the ruling was overturned by the U.S. Supreme Court in 2001.

Despite the victory, then Democratic Gov. Donald Seligman decided to leave the multi-language driver's license policy in place. After Republican Gov. Bob Riley replaced Seligman in 2002, ProEnglish members were disappointed that he too left the multilingual testing policy in effect. So in May, 2005 ProEnglish members in Alabama, represented by the Atlanta-based Southeastern Legal Foundation, filed suit.

A district court judge ruled against the ProEnglish members, who appealed to the State Supreme Court. An oral-argument hearing before the entire Alabama Supreme Court is very unusual and underscores the high stakes involved in the lawsuit. A decision in the case, which may not come for several months, could have national impact.

Bid to let California schools test in Spanish thrown out

English learners won a big victory in California this May, when a state court dismissed a lawsuit brought by eight California school districts demanding that Spanish-speaking students be allowed to take standardized state tests in their native language.

The issue arose because the No Child Left Behind law (NCLB) signed into law by President Bush in 2002, requires public schools to show academic improvement among their students in English and Math. Schools that fail to do so after a grace period can face sanctions and even closure.

The school districts argued that Spanish-language tests were a "valid and reliable" way to assess their English learners under the NCLB, and that tests written in English were not an accurate way to measure their student's academic ability.

But the judge disagreed and said it was appropriate to give tests in English since the state had a duty to make sure students could speak English. He cited the 1998 initiative known as Proposition 227, which California voters adopted by a wide margin that requires students to be taught in English.

LEP student population at 4.5 million and rising

A new report by the Federation for American Immigration Reform (FAIR) says that the population of limited English proficient (LEP) students enrolled in U.S. public schools K-12 stood at 4.5 million in 2005 after increasing 1.2 million between 1995 and 2005. The study estimates the total cost to the public of providing the special educational assistance these students need to learn English and manage in school is more than $4 billion a year.

According to the report 3.5 million or more than three quarters of all LEP students are the children of illegal immigrants. The number of LEP students is continuing to grow, putting a growing strain on state and local school budgets.

"Education is by far the largest cost associated with mass migration generally, and illegal immigration in particular," said FAIR president Dan Stein. Stein warned that the educational failure rate among LEP students is already alarming. He added that the cost to society will mushroom if large numbers of these students fail to learn English and acquire the skills they need to succeed in the high-tech U.S. economy. The report is available online at www.fairus.org.

"Sticky Rice" versus "Oh Bus Horse" in '08?

The Alice-in-Wonderland nature of bilingual ballot laws was on display in Boston, Massachusetts recently where controversy erupted over how to write candidates' names in Chinese. The problem began when Massachusetts Secretary of State William F. Galvin challenged a U.S. Department of Justice court motion to require the state to list the names of candidates on ballots in Chinese characters instead of the Roman alphabet.

The problem with using Chinese characters to reproduce the same sounds contained in a candidate's name, called transliteration, is that the characters themselves have distinct and sometimes awkward meanings that could influence Chinese speaking voters. Compounding the problem is that Chinese characters can mean different things depending on whether it is Mandarin, Cantonese, or other Chinese dialects.

Thus Mitt Romney's name in Chinese characters would be translated as "Sticky or Uncooked Rice." Barrack Obama's name would be "Oh Bus Horse" in Cantonese, while in Mandarin it might be interpreted as "Europe Pulling a Horse."

Galvin said that in addition to costing Massachusetts thousands of dollars, transliterating candidates' names into Chinese characters increased the risk of lawsuits from candidates and partisan challenges of election results.

In a rare outbreak of sanity a U.S. District Court ruled in favor of Galvin saying that candidates' names did not have to be transliterated. But the ruling appeared to leave Boston's policy of listing candidates' names in Chinese characters up in the air. So if frontrunner Hilary Clinton wins the Democratic nomination she still could appear on the ballot as "Upset Stomach" in Boston and several other cities.

The bilingual ballot provisions of the Voting Rights Act, adopted as a "temporary" measure in 1975 to remedy a lack educational access among certain linguistic groups, were renewed for another twenty-five years in 2006 after the Bush Administration threw its support behind their renewal to overcome stiff opposition in Congress.

Presidential candidates reflect sharp party divide on official English

The '08 presidential candidates have weighed in on official English. The result: all the (declared) Republican candidates support making English the official language of the U.S.; while all the (declared) Democratic candidates except former Alaska Governor Mike Gravel, oppose it.

The candidates were forced to go on record during two CNN-sponsored presidential primary debates in June. During the first debate featuring the Democrats, news anchor Wolf Blitzer asked all the candidates on stage to raise their hand if they favored making English the official language. Only Gravel did so.

Sen. Hillary Clinton (D-NY) said that she thought official English would have negative consequences.

"That means in a place like New York City you can't print ballots in any other language. That means you can't have government pay for translators in hospitals so when somebody comes in with some sort of emergency there's nobody there to help translate what their problem is for the doctor," Clinton said.

But repealing the federal bilingual ballot law would not stop New York City from printing ballots in multiple languages. It would simply repeal the federal requirement to do so. It is true that some of the proposed official English bills in Congress would repeal the federal mandate known as Executive Order 13166, which forces federal fund recipients like hospitals to spend money to provide translators for non-English speaking patients. But repealing that order would not prevent hospitals from hiring translators. Instead it would once again give doctors and hospitals the flexibility to determine if there is a compelling need for such services, and provide them accordingly.

Sen. Barack Obama (D-IL) called the official English question a distraction and said that by even asking such a question "we do a disservice to the American people."

A week later when Blitzer asked the Republican presidential candidates if they supported official English, the difference was stark. Only Sen. John McCain (R-AZ) expressed any reservation, saying he was concerned that it might harm Native Americans in Arizona. But he said that he would support it nevertheless.

Senate votes 2nd time to make English "national language"

The Senate voted in June to designate English the "national language of the Government of the United States." The 64-33 vote marked the second time the Senate has voted to designate English as the "national language" in the last two years.

The action came on Sen. James Inhofe's (R-OK) "S.I. Hayakawa National Language Amendment" to the Senate immigration bill. In addition to declaring English the "national language," the amendment would have repealed the multilingual mandate known as Executive Order 13166 (E.O. 13166) that was issued by President Clinton and left in place by President Bush. That order requires federal agencies and recipients of federal funds to provide translations of documents and interpreters in potentially dozens of foreign languages on request - in effect creating an entitlement to such services.

The vote was virtually a repeat of last year when Sen. Inhofe offered a very similar amendment to a Senate immigration bill, which passed by a narrower margin of 62-35.

But just as he had done in 2006, Sen. Ken Salazar (D-CO) muddied the water by offering a conflicting amendment on language. His measure was meant to provide political cover to Senators opposed to making English the national language, but who nevertheless wanted to be on record voting "for English."

The Salazar amendment had a meaningless statement recognizing English as the "common language" of the U.S. and explicitly protected the "right" of non-English speakers to free translation and interpreter services under E.O. 13166. It also was adopted, but by a narrower margin of 58-39.

Had the underlying immigration bill passed the Senate and gone to a conference committee with the House, the conferees would have had to choose between the conflicting Inhofe and Salazar amendments. Since the Senate bill stalled, neither measure is likely to become law..

"ProEnglish worked hard to help pass the Inhofe amendment, and we are encouraged to see that Senate support is growing," said ProEnglish executive director K.C. McAlpin. "But it is strange that 33 Senators still oppose making English our official language when polls show it has the support of 85 percent of the American people," he added.

Immigrant named U.S. poet laureate

Yugoslav-born Charles Simic, who was 16 years old when he and his mother moved to the U.S. in 1954, has been named the new U.S. Poet Laureate. The Poet Laureate is appointed by the U.S. Librarian of Congress and works to "raise the national consciousness to greater appreciation of the reading and writing of poetry," by advising the Librarian on "the poetic impulse of Americans."

Although he has worked as a translator, Simic's eighteen books of poetry were all composed and written in English, testifying to his mastery of the language and to an amazing American success story. A naturalized citizen for the past 36 years, Simic has won numerous prizes and awards for poetry from the American Academy of Arts and Letters and the National Institute of Arts and Letters. He was elected Chancellor of American poets in 2000.

Administration to standardize weak English naturalization test

The Bush Administration announced plans to introduce a new citizenship exam in September. It will include a redesigned English test that only asks applicants to read and write a single sentence in English.

"The reading and writing portion of the proposed new English test is similar to the existing test. Applicants will still have up to three chances to read and write a sentence correctly in English (emphasis added)," according to the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services website. "The English speaking portion of the test will still include the questions normally asked in the naturalization interview."

Ten years ago this month the U.S. Immigration Reform Commission (USCIR), chaired by the late Barbara Jordan, urged Congress to end the government's practice of dictating sentences for applicants to write as part of the citizenship test, stating that doing so was "not an effective means of testing English proficiency." The Commission also urged Congress to consider "separating the English reading, writing, and comprehension components from the personal interview." Both practices remain part of the redesigned exam.

"This new test is watered down, just like the last one," said Ben Piper, director of government relations for ProEnglish. "It is inexcusable that ten years after the USCIR report we still are not asking those seeking to naturalize to demonstrate they have the English skills necessary to exercise the responsibilities of citizenship and succeed in America."

Administration offers immigrants Internet help learning English

The Administration announced in August that it will "launch a free, Web-based portal to help immigrants learn English, and expand this model over time."

"Knowledge of English is the most important component of assimilation," the White House said in a statement. "An investment in tools to help new Americans learn English will be repaid many times over in the contributions these immigrants make to our political discourse, economy, and society."

ProEnglish national advisory board adds members

ProEnglish Chairman Bob Park announced three new additions to ProEnglish's national advisory board. They are: decorated WWII and Vietnam veteran and community leader Col. Albert F. Rodriguez U.S. Army Ret. (Scottsdale, AZ), businesswoman and naturalized U.S. citizen, Claudia Spencer (Vista, CA), and economics professor and naturalized U.S. citizen Nicolas Sanchez, PhD (Worcester, MA.).

Park said, "The members, staff, advisory board, and board of directors of ProEnglish are very pleased to welcome these three distinguished Americans to our national advisory board. They bring with them the wisdom of their experience and individual perspectives on the crucial role that English plays in unifying and strengthening our great nation, and their participation will strengthen ProEnglish for the challenges we see ahead," he added.

Park also announced that noted author and former editor of the Augusta Chronicle, Phil Kent, had been elected to replace Gerda Bikales as chairman of the national advisory board. Mrs. Bikales stepped down after many years of distinguished service both as a founding member of the organization's board of directors and chair of the national advisory board.

Bikales retires from ProEnglish board

Gerda Bikales, a founding member of ProEnglish's board of directors, announced her retirement from the board this June. Mrs. Bikales is a naturalized U.S. citizen who came to the U.S. as a 16-year old not able to speak a word of English. But she learned the language and went on to earn a Master's degree and pursue a successful career as a writer, civic leader, and homemaker.

In 2004 she published the harrowing story of her childhood as a young Jewish girl who grew up and later fled Nazi Germany during World War II. Entitled Through the Valley of the Shadow of Death, the book is available on Amazon.

ProEnglish Chairman Bob Park said, "Gerda Bikales has been one of the most influential leaders in the official English movement for an entire generation. Few people know of the selfless devotion she has shown to her adopted country. All of us at ProEnglish will miss her greatly."

Mrs. Bikales simultaneously resigned her post as chair of ProEnglish's National Board of Advisors, though she will remain a member of the advisory group.