Unfortunately, the town board of the small town rescinded the year-old English ordinance by a vote of 4-1 last Wednesday evening after receiving threats of legal action from NY Attorney General Eric Schneiderman. Town councilman Roger Meyer (speaking last week on FoxNews in the video below) was the only official who opposed rescinding the ordinance and cast the lone "Nay" vote.

About two dozen local residents and a representative from the New York Civil Liberties Union (NYCLU) were in attendance at the meeting when the ordinance was repealed. SEIU (the Service Employees International Union) also joined in to oppose the English policy.

The ordinance simply stated that all business and town hall meetings were to be conducted in English. Other neighboring towns such as Easton and Argyle passed similar nonbinding resolutions. However neither town has been urged to repeal their ordinances.

Jackson should have followed the precedent set by Hazelton, Pennsylvania in 2006. Hazelton's ordinance stated that city documents or documents from residents to city officials must be written in English. It also required the use of E-verify (a database which verifies the immigration status of those applying for a job to ensure they reside legally in the U.S. and are eligible to work).

After Hazelton amended its English ordinance and adopted ProEnglish's language which has proven to withstand numerous legal challenges,  the ACLU withdrew its complaint against the town's English policy, and yesterday, the U.S. Supreme Court voided a lower court ruling that had blocked the city from requiring businesses to use E-Verify and from targeting landlords who willfully house illegal aliens. The Supreme Court has now officially upheld the Hazelton ordinance and refuted every one of the ACLU's bogus claims!

TAKE ACTION!
 

Please take a moment to THANK Jackson town board member Roger Meyer for standing up for official English when no one else would!

Write to him:

The Honorable Roger Meyer

Town of Jackson

2355 Rt-22

Cambridge, NY 12816