Park said, "We salute Senator Inhofe and the other Senators who co-sponsored his amendment for their courage and leadership in working to preserve our nation's historic unity in the English language. Support for this common-sense idea is building as the American public discovers that contrary to what they believe, their country is one of the few countries in the world without an official language."
         Park pointed to a recent national poll by Zogby International for ProEnglish that found 84 percent of likely voters favored making English the official language (see following story). He urged ProEnglish supporters whose Senators had not yet signed on to the Inhofe amendment, to contact their offices and make their feelings known. Park said "Something is seriously wrong when an amendment that enjoys the support of 84 percent of voters has the official endorsement of just 8 percent of the U.S. Senate."
         As the ProEnglish Advocate went to press the Senate was expected to continue working on an immigration bill with a goal of passing a bill by Memorial Day, May 29.

84 percent of voters favor official English
         Americans overwhelmingly agree that English should be the official language of the U.S., according to a new poll of likely voters by Zogby International. The survey was commissioned by ProEnglish to test public support for official English in view of legislation now before Congress.
         ProEnglish Executive Director K.C. McAlpin said, "Although an overwhelming 84 percent of voters agree we should make English our official language, the same survey found that slightly more, 85 percent, mistakenly believe English already is our official language. This is critical information because it shows that one of the biggest tasks we face is educating the American public," McAlpin added.
         Zogby found that when they were told the U.S. does not have an official language, voters supported making English the official language across the board with 86 percent of Whites, 71 percent of Hispanics, and 77 percent of African-Americans in favor. By party affiliation, 82 percent of Democrats, 91 percent of Republicans, and 77 percent of Independents agreed.
         McAlpin said, "This is a big boost for the English Language Unity Act, H.R. 997, the bill introduced by U.S. Rep. Steve King (R-IA) that would make English our official language and which now enjoys the bipartisan co-sponsorship of more than a third of the entire House of Representatives. If congressional leaders really want to improve Congress's standing with the voters," added McAlpin, "they should pass this legislation that 84 percent of all voters support."

ProEnglish Alabama members appeal driver's license ruling
         Five Alabama members of ProEnglish have appealed a judge's ruling that said Alabama could continue giving driver's license exams in as many as thirteen languages despite the state's constitutional provision that requires state officials to take all steps necessary to preserve and enhance the role of English. Because the appeal involves a constitutional issue, the case will go directly to the state supreme court.
         Invoking the bizarre argument that letting immigrants take driver's license exams in their native language encourages them to learn English by facilitating their integration into the community, Montgomery Circuit Judge William A. Shashy ruled that the word "official" has no meaning whatsoever. He wrote, "[The 9-1 voter adoption of official English] makes English Alabama's official language-not its only language." He then went on to cite ProEnglish's own website which has an article under the headline, "Official English doesn't mean English only."
         But had Judge Shashy actually read the article he would have discovered an important qualification. Here's what the article says:
         "…there are 29 states in the United States [with official English]. And none of those states, not a single one - prohibits the state government involved from using other languages for common sense, non-official reasons that serve the public interest."
         In other words, it's perfectly legitimate for an official English state to use another language for things like promoting tourism, protecting public health and safety, and for numerous public interest reasons that serve the common good. But although giving driver's license exams in foreign languages may serve the interest of non-English speaking immigrants and a few multinational corporations, it does not serve the broad public interest of all the people in a state.
         In fact, as the attorneys for the ProEnglish plaintiffs argued, it does just the opposite. It needlessly endangers public safety by allowing people to get driver's licenses that cannot read and understand warning signs on roads and highways or communicate with emergency personnel in the event of an emergency.

Alabamans reject driver's license ruling in statewide poll
         By a 68-26 percent margin Alabama voters disagreed with a judge's ruling that allows people to take driver's license exams in a foreign language if they can't understand an exam written in English, according to a recent survey by Tel-Opinion, a Lance Tarrance opinion research company.
         The statewide poll was commissioned by ProEnglish in the wake of the ruling against a lawsuit by ProEnglish Alabama members that challenged the state's current policy of giving the exam in multiple languages.
         The poll also found that most Alabamans (78 percent) were unaware that the state was giving driver's license exams in up to 13 different languages, including Arabic, Farsi, Russian, and Chinese. When told that was the state's current practice, 84 percent agreed that the policy threatened public safety because such drivers would not understand traffic signs written in English.
         And almost unanimously (93 percent), Alabama voters believe that requiring immigrants to pass a driver's license exam written in English would encourage them to learn the language. That sentiment repudiates an argument the judge used, that maintained giving the exams in foreign languages would help immigrants assimilate and learn English.
         The poll of 800 registered voters was conducted Feb. 9-13, 2006 and has a +/- 3.7 percent margin of error.

Driver's lack of English probable cause in bus fire fatalities
      According to newly released court records, a driver's inability to speak English well enough to tell bus passengers where emergency exits were, may have contributed to the deaths of 23 Hurricane Rita evacuees last fall.
         The crash and subsequent fire- the deadliest US transportation accident since a 2001 airplane crash- took place last September on Interstate 45, a major freeway just outside Dallas, Texas. The elderly passengers were being evacuated from Houston in advance of the hurricane.
         After the crash the driver, Juan Robles Gutierrez, produced what appeared to be a Mexican driver's license and there is some question as to whether or not he was in the country legally. The law allows Mexicans to drive with Mexican driver's licenses for thirty days although Robles had been in the country for seven months by the time of the accident.
         Because of Robles' inability to speak English he was unable to tell passengers about the availability and location of emergency exits on the bus prior to embarking on the trip, and he was unable to warn passengers about the urgent need to evacuate the bus after it caught fire. "The driver could not speak English, only broken English at best," wrote a police sergeant who interviewed Robles in Spanish after the accident.
         According to federal regulations, bus drivers must be able to speak English well enough to read and understand highway warning signs, and talk to police and the public in the event of an emergency.
         But while such regulations apply to bus drivers, similar regulations do not apply to the issuance of ordinary driver's licenses. That has left state officials free to neglect public safety in order to accommodate non-English speaking drivers by giving driver's license exams in a multitude of foreign languages.

Maine bureaucrats sign sweetheart multilingual services deal
         Ever happy to spend taxpayer money to accommodate non-English speaking immigrants, bureaucrats at Maine's Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) settled a complaint filed by a multilingual activist by capitulating to her demands to provide foreign languages services at no cost to the non-English speaking immigrants.
         Those paying the expensive costs of complying with the sweetheart deal hammered out between activist Kathy Poulos-Minott, DHHS Commissioner Brenda Harvey, and the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services will be the English-speaking citizens and residents of Maine, who of course were not represented in the negotiations.
         Professional translator associations are thrilled that the agreement requires state bureaucrats to actively discourage non-English speaking immigrants from using family members or friends they may prefer to have translate for them, in favor of using professional translators paid for by the agency they are dealing with.
         Maine DHHS defended the assault on English-speaking taxpayers. DHHS spokesman Lynn Kippax said, "As Maine grows in diversity, DHHS has to be responsive." As public health care costs and the taxes needed to pay them continue to skyrocket in places like Maine, taxpayers should know that one of the driving causes is the cost of catering to the language needs of non-English speaking immigrants foisted on them by bureaucrats in the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services and those at Maine DHHS.

Our anthem now sung in Spanish
         U.S. Spanish language recording artists have recorded a Spanish-language version of "The Star Spangled Banner" which is being broadcast on Spanish-language radio stations and media outlets in the U.S.
         The translated song, dubbed Nuestro Himno ("Our Anthem"), features the voices of 20 Spanish-language recording stars and is being distributed in the U.S. by Urban Box Office, a New York-based entertainment company.
         Although the translation of hit songs into other languages for sale and commerce is standard practice in the recording industry, the translation of a country's national anthem into a foreign language for broadcast within the same country is considered an affront by many people. Coming in the midst of a national debate over immigration policy which has seen millions of mostly Spanish-speaking illegal immigrants marching with foreign flags in many US cities, the translation of the U.S. anthem from English into Spanish seems certain to inflame passions on all sides.
         "There are some things you just shouldn't touch, like "The Star Spangled Banner," said Raymundo Chavez, of Placentia, California.
         "This is a perfect illustration of the dangers and conflicts that are sure to arise when a country stumbles blindly down the path toward multilingualism," said ProEnglish Chairman Bob Park. He added, "The President and Congress have it in their power to minimize this kind of conflict in the future by making English our official language. They are failing our country if they fail to act."
     

Votes on bilingual ballots expected to end in June
      The Senate Judiciary Committee started hearings on renewing the bilingual ballot provisions and as well as other expiring provisions of the Voting Rights Act at the end of April. The schedule calls for hearings to conclude in May with full Senate consideration and passage likely in June. The House is expected to debate and pass its reauthorization bill in May.
         Any reauthorization bill is likely to extend the bilingual provisions, originally adopted as "temporary remedies," for 15-25 years. Sothe current congressional action provides a rare opportunity to repeal or reduce the scope of these politically divisive provisions.
         ProEnglish urges its supporters to contact their U.S. Senators and make their views known on this important issue. Those who use the Internet can send a pre-written fax message directly to their Senators' offices with a few clicks of their mouse by visiting the Fax Center page on ProEnglish's website: www.proenglish.org.
         People can also call or write their Senators using the contact information under "What you can do" below.
         Some arguments against bilingual ballots are:

• They are divisive. Americans overwhelmingly want to remain linguistically united as an English-speaking country
• They are unnecessary. Federal law says citizens have the right to take an interpreter into the voting booth if they can't understand a ballot in English.
• They are redundant. Immigrants are required to learn English to become citizens and have the right to vote.
• They are wasteful. Two separate GAO reports to Congress found that bilingual ballots are expensive and are hardly used.
• They are unpopular. According to a March 2006 Zogby poll, voters oppose bilingual ballots 2-1.

What You Can Do
To call your U.S. Senators or U.S. Representative, call the Capitol switchboard at (202) 224-3121 and ask to be connected to their office. To express your views on official English to President Bush, call (202) 456-1414. To send a free fax via the Internet to your congressional representatives and get information about bills in Congress, visit ProEnglish's website, www.ProEnglish.org.

"There is no political agenda here. We are not talking about getting rid of Spanish. We are talking about an additional tool to reach the American Dream."
- Santa Ana Chamber of Commerce vice chairman Alfredo Amezcua

Legislator introduces Ohio official English bill
         State Representative Courtney Combs (R-Hamilton) introduced the "Ohio English Unity Act," H.B. 553, a bill to make English the official language of Ohio. If passed by the Ohio legislature and signed into law, Ohio would join the twenty-seven states that have already made English their official language.
         ProEnglish Chairman Bob Park said, "ProEnglish commends State Rep. Combs for his leadership and wisdom in seeking to add Ohio to the growing list of states that have enacted this common-sense measure. I strongly urge ProEnglish members and supporters in Ohio to contact their state legislators to express their views on H.B. 553 as soon as possible."
         In introducing the bill, Rep. Combs said, "It makes us, in my opinion, all Americans if we speak the same language." Ten other members of the State's House of Representative joined Combs as co-sponsors of the legislation.
         Interestingly Hamilton, Ohio the city that Rep. Combs represents is located only a few miles from Mason, Ohio, where ProEnglish has been engaged in helping defend bar owner Tom Ullum. The Ohio Civil Rights Commission is charging Ullum with 'discrimination' for having a sign in his bar window saying, "For Service Speak English."

Michigan mulls official English bill
         Michigan State Representative Jack Hoogendyk (R-Kalamazoo/Portage) is trying to add Michigan to the 27-state majority that has made English their official state language. Hoogendyk has introduced HB 5633 that reads simply, "The English language is designated as the official language of this state." Eight other legislators joined Hoogendyk in cosponsoring the bill.
         Although ProEnglish supports the enactment of HB 5633, our experience has shown that unless such state laws contain provisions that specifically give citizens the right to sue to have them enforced, and spell out the meaning of an official language in more detail, government bureaucrats will largely ignore the law and continue spending taxpayer funds to provide government services in foreign languages. As if to confirm this concern, the Michigan House Leadership classified Hoogendyk's bill under the category of "state; symbols," and referred it the government operations committee.
         For these reasons ProEnglish has posted a "model" state official English bill on our website, www.proenglish.org that draws on our extensive experience defending and seeking to enforce such laws in court. Hopefully, Michigan legislators will recognize the problem and add strengthening amendments to the bill as it is being considered.

TN Senate guts driver license exam bill
         A bill requiring all written driver's license exams to be taken in English passed the Tennessee Senate in April, but not before being gutted by amendments from lawmakers who opposed the measure.
         Sen. Roy Herron (D-Dresden) succeeded in amending the bill to require that driver's license applicants only be required to understand road signs in English, which is already required by law.
         "Sheriffs in my district tell me that [bad driving by non-English speakers] is a huge problem . . . especially in rural areas," said Bill Ketron (R-Murfreesboro), the Senate bill's sponsor, according to The Tennessean newspaper. The bill as amended "doesn't do anything" to deal with this safety issue.
         The Tennessee Department of Safety currently provides driver's exams in Spanish, Japanese, and Korean, in addition to English in spite of the fact that English is the state's official language.
         "The Senate bill, as amended, does nothing to protect the public safety of Tennesseans," said ProEnglish Executive Director K.C. McAlpin. "It's obvious that drivers who cannot read English well enough to pass a driver's exam written in English will have difficulty reading warning signs and are a serious safety risk on our roads and highways."
         In the House the bill was introduced by Rep. Tom DuBois (R-Columbia). It still has to pass the House and be signed by Tennessee Governor Phil Bredesen (D) to become law.

New English immersion teaching guide for school districts
         Responding to an urgent need to teach the growing number of non-English speaking students in public schools, the Arlington, Va-based Lexington Institute has published a new guide designed to help teachers and administrators implement proven immersion-style teaching techniques in the classroom.
         The study entitled, "Immersion Not Submersion," reports on the lessons learned from three school districts in California where the scores of English language learning students on English acquisition tests have skyrocketed since 1998, when the state's voters voted overwhelmingly to do away with failed bilingual education programs.
         In the report, officials and teachers from each of the three school districts - Los Angeles Unified, Long Beach Unified, and Grant Joint Union High - explain exactly how their programs are designed and what works and what doesn't work from their own experience. Lesson number one is that districts have to make English the language of instruction in the classroom.
         The complete study is available in PDF format at the Lexington Institute's website, www.lexingtoninstitute.org, or by calling the Institute at (703) 522-5828.

Test scores show more CA student success via immersion
       Since 2001, when California schools began switching English language learning (ELL) students from bilingual education programs to English immersion classrooms in the wake of a statewide voter initiative that forced the change, the test scores of the English learners have soared.
         The initiative's opponents led by the taxpayer-funded bilingual education industry, had predicted educational disaster if the initiative passed. Instead, just the opposite occurred. In 2001, only 25 percent of ELL students scored in the top two categories of statewide English fluency tests: "advanced," and "early advanced." But by 2005, according to recently released test scores, fully 47 percent of ELL students were scoring in those groups.
         Although progress is continuing, the results represent a sea change from decades in which millions of California children were left to languish in bilingual education classrooms. And during all those years the bilingual education industry was rewarded with ever larger subsidies for its failure to teach ELL students to speak English.
         The life-long economic consequences of that failure are reflected in data from the Census which shows that immigrants who speak fluent English e.g. "very well," earn twice as much on average, as those who can't speak it well.