No Habla Spanish: Why are more cities legally making English the offical language?
Filed Under Category: Political & Social CommentaryHow many times have you gone to an office building or to a store and noticed instructions in English and Spanish? If you go to Mexico, wouldn’t you have to learn Spanish to live and function in that country? Have you ever wondered why more jobs are requiring employees to be bilingual? Why should we provide services in Spanish and allow workers that do not speak English to be employed in a country where English is technically the official language? There are more city governments now pushing legislation that legally defines English as their official language. Why? They argue it is because they are tired of having workers that can not communicate with the general public. Is this fair?
In the city of Friendswood, a suburb of Houston, Friendswood city council member Chris Peden is trying to push a measure that will make English the official language of the city. If this measure is passed, all city employees will be required to speak English. Friendswood is not the only city headed in this direction. Farmers Branch, a suburb of Dallas has pushed similar legislation. Why is there outrage over this? Why are people offended by cities that recommend all people use the national language? It is causing a lot of debate. What is the real purpose of the ordinance?
Council-member Peden stated, “We do not have in my opinion an illegal immigration issue in the city of Friendswood, but I don’t want to pass legislation after we get one.” He went on to compare the illegal immigration problem with the city’s ordinance prohibiting sex offenders from living within 2,000 feet of places where children gather according to the Houston Chronicle. On the surface, it looks like they are simply trying to define what the official language of the city should be, but there is more to it. This is really an indirect means of discouraging illegal immigration. LULAC’s Houston-area director, Rick Dovalina, has cautioned Friendswood that it will cause “negative publicity.”
In my opinion, “negative publicity” is exactly what they want. The Councilmemeber’s goal is to push legislation that will discourage illegal immigrants from coming to the city. Will this strategy work? Is it a fair strategy? LULAC thinks that the measure is discriminatory. I wonder how a measure can be discriminatory when it simply seeks to define what is already in place. English is already the official language in all cities in America. It is not the cities that make concessions for Spanish speaking people, it is everyone else. As long as businesses, public offices, grocery stores, etc. have information in English and Spanish, no legislation can stop the usage of the language.
The implications from this proposed legislation is speaking Spanish is unfavorable. Being bilingual is not really the issue. The issue is whether Spanish speaking immigrants should be forced to learn English. This is the real debate behind all of the politics. Immigration can not be stopped by governmental legislation as long as companies are hiring immigrants. The usage and acceptance of the Spanish language is not a political issue, it is a social and economic issue. Immigrants should be forced to learn English, but they should not be forced to forget about their native language and heritage. America has allowed other cultures to utilize their native language for years, as long as they communicate with others in the dominant language of English.
Three things are for sure:
1. Politics is clouding the real issue
2. Spanish as a language is not the problem, faulty policies and procedures to deal with illegal immigration is the problem
3. Until corporations quit hiring illiegal immigrants, one and two don’t matter!
Immigration is here to stay and we as a nation have to devise viable action plans to address the issue. It can not be addressed through arbitrary politics. The pressure must be placed in the hands of the individuals that fuel the problem, corporations. Corporations cater to Spanish consumers and Spanish speaking employees. This is an economic and social issue that cannot be stopped simply through city ordinances. To discourage illegal immigration, you have to address the reason they come to America…jobs.
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Well said. I never really thought that was good legislation either. I also think that businesses (unless they choose to) should not have to make concessions for Spanish-only speaking people. While you can survive without knowing English, getting around would be easier if you did. That would apply in any country you visit.
On the whole illegal immigration issue, I feel both sides are not taking the time to see each other’s point of view. They’re so busy trying to be right, they miss the whole point. As long as businesses provide jobs to illegal workers, nothing will change.
America is the land of opportunity and everyone should be able to have a chance to participate. But let’s do it legally. I have friends from other parts of the world and they had to go through the full process of becoming a U.S. citizen. Is it fair to them when someone comes here illegally? If I were to sneak into any other country (including Mexico) and ask for the same rights as citizens, would I get them?
The U.S. is a country of immigrants and that will never change. Both sides need to understand that and come together to work out a solution to end illegal immigration. It can’t be as difficult as we’re making it.
1. Address the supply and demand issue of jobs in America. That means cracking down on businesses.
2. Help Mexico invest in and develop its infrastructure. There will always be immigration here but it’s just ridiculous how rampant it is from south of the border. That means there are serious problems where they are coming from. Penalize the Mexican government or something. Whatever will encourage them take some action.
3. Drop the stupid fence idea. Those billions of dollars that will only make the already rich defense contractors even richer could go towards #1 and #2. Fences were made to get around, over, under, through, etc. That won’t stop anything. Border security is one thing but if they’re going to put one down south, they’ll need to keep out those Canadians too. There a rowdy bunch.
4. These policies by Friendswood and Farmers Branch are laced with prejudice and classism. If you look at the intent behind those laws, it’s easy to see what they really want. It’s all about keeping certain people out. As pluralistic as our American society is, certain people want everyone to fit a certain mold because everything else is just scary or threatening.