THE NATIONAL COUNCIL OF LA RAZA BLASTS PASSAGE OF INHOFE ENGLISH-ONLY AMENDMENT
Washington, DC – The National Council of La Raza (NCLR), the largest national Hispanic civil rights and advocacy organization in the U.S., today blasted passage of an "English-only" amendment offered by Senator James Inhofe (R-OK) which would deny a wide array of information and services to millions of U.S. citizens who are not fully English proficient.
"We were deeply disappointed that the Senate approved this mean-spirited, completely unnecessary amendment," stated Janet Murguía, NCLR President and CEO. "Supporters of the Inhofe Amendment claim that it will help people learn English and will unite our nation. The fact is, more than 90% of Americans already speak English. This amendment is so poorly conceived that it would cause serious harm to millions of Americans while not helping a single person to learn English."
The Inhofe Amendment could weaken the government's ability to provide information and services to immigrants and U.S. citizens alike. The amendment could make it more difficult for agencies like the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) to respond to a pandemic flu, another hurricane disaster like Katrina, or a terrorist attack. The amendment could make it more difficult for schools to provide language services to children under the No Child Left Behind Act. The amendment could also place patients and health care workers at risk due to unnecessary miscommunication.
"The Senate should be focusing on enacting legislation that solves our broken immigration system," continued Murguía. "Instead, the Senate has approved an amendment that has nothing to do with immigration or with helping immigrants learn English."
Murguía concluded, "The Inhofe Amendment jeopardizes the broad support this legislation has earned, especially in the Latino community. We call on the Senate to reconsider this ill-advised proposal and keep the immigration debate focused on responsible, effective immigration reform rather than on ill-advised policies that harm Americans."
Serrano Condemns Senate Action on Immigration Congressman Serrano denounced the Republican-led action on in the Senate this week on immigration reform. The Senate adopted one amendment on the floor that would designate English as the national language. He also objected to a portion of the Senate's draft which would use arbitrary time cutoffs to determine eligibility for citizenship or deportation.
Serrano has long championed his "English-Plus Resolution," which recognizes the value of multilingualism, rather than the English-only proposals by Republicans that seek to make English the official or national language of the United States.
"Giving in to linguistic isolationism does nothing more than further isolate us in this vast multi-cultural world," Serrano said. "We should be encouraging proficiency in other languages at the same time as we are offering opportunities to learn English. My bill would increase access to English as a second language classes-- a real solution to linguistic barriers rather than meaningless declarations. It would also recognize multilingualism as a national resource."
Serrano also expressed opposition to the Senate bill's time cutoffs for earned legalization. "If we base immigration status on date of entry, we will inevitably split families apart," Serrano said. "Ironically, the supporters of penalizing recent arrivals are the same folks who say that they care about family values. They should know better."
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THE NATIONAL COUNCIL OF LA RAZA BLASTS PASSAGE OF INHOFE ENGLISH-ONLY AMENDMENT
Washington, DC – The National Council of La Raza (NCLR), the largest national Hispanic civil rights and advocacy organization in the U.S., today blasted passage of an "English-only" amendment offered by Senator James Inhofe (R-OK) which would deny a wide array of information and services to millions of U.S. citizens who are not fully English proficient.
"We were deeply disappointed that the Senate approved this mean-spirited, completely unnecessary amendment," stated Janet Murguía, NCLR President and CEO. "Supporters of the Inhofe Amendment claim that it will help people learn English and will unite our nation. The fact is, more than 90% of Americans already speak English. This amendment is so poorly conceived that it would cause serious harm to millions of Americans while not helping a single person to learn English."
The Inhofe Amendment could weaken the government's ability to provide information and services to immigrants and U.S. citizens alike. The amendment could make it more difficult for agencies like the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) to respond to a pandemic flu, another hurricane disaster like Katrina, or a terrorist attack. The amendment could make it more difficult for schools to provide language services to children under the No Child Left Behind Act. The amendment could also place patients and health care workers at risk due to unnecessary miscommunication.
"The Senate should be focusing on enacting legislation that solves our broken immigration system," continued Murguía. "Instead, the Senate has approved an amendment that has nothing to do with immigration or with helping immigrants learn English."
Murguía concluded, "The Inhofe Amendment jeopardizes the broad support this legislation has earned, especially in the Latino community. We call on the Senate to reconsider this ill-advised proposal and keep the immigration debate focused on responsible, effective immigration reform rather than on ill-advised policies that harm Americans."
Serrano Condemns Senate Action on Immigration
Congressman Serrano denounced the Republican-led action on in the Senate this week on immigration reform. The Senate adopted one amendment on the floor that would designate English as the national language. He also objected to a portion of the Senate's draft which would use arbitrary time cutoffs to determine eligibility for citizenship or deportation.
Serrano has long championed his "English-Plus Resolution," which recognizes the value of multilingualism, rather than the English-only proposals by Republicans that seek to make English the official or national language of the United States.
"Giving in to linguistic isolationism does nothing more than further isolate us in this vast multi-cultural world," Serrano said. "We should be encouraging proficiency in other languages at the same time as we are offering opportunities to learn English. My bill would increase access to English as a second language classes-- a real solution to linguistic barriers rather than meaningless declarations. It would also recognize multilingualism as a national resource."
Serrano also expressed opposition to the Senate bill's time cutoffs for earned legalization. "If we base immigration status on date of entry, we will inevitably split families apart," Serrano said. "Ironically, the supporters of penalizing recent arrivals are the same folks who say that they care about family values. They should know better."
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