Friday, June 13, 2003
Why Congress Thinks America Has No Language Problem
Whenever John Miller of National Review writes about language and immigration matters, you can count on saying to yourself, "why didn't I think of that?" On June 12, Miller wrote:
Immigrants in the D.C. area are the most successful foreign-born people in America, in terms of their English-speaking ability and poverty rates, according to a new study. Is it possible that many lawmakers (and others) in Washington receive a distorted view of the situation?
I was reminded that during the drive for Puerto Rico statehood, the Puerto Ricans doing the lobbying for statehood were better dressed than any Congressman and spoke English better than I do. You wouldn't have guessed that they represented an impoverished island where 90% of the people spoke no English.
Thus, when the Republican leadership in Congress was told that a 51st state of Puerto Rico would certainly vote Republican, statistics which proved that the island would be a Democratic haven were ignored in favor of what they saw with their own eyes.
Assimilation and immigration also have little negative immediate impact on the life of the average Congressman.
The people who visit him speak English. His office is not required to offer translations because Congress remains exempt from the laws the rest of the country must obey, liker E.O. 13166. Parents with kids trapped in bilingual education programs seldom think of calling Congress to complain.
About the only time assimilation becomes an issue is when his campaign must pay for multilingual voting materials. So as far as Congress is concerned, there is no language problem.
Not far away, in Montgomery County, Maryland, just north of Washington, D.C., the local government is working overtime to encourage immigrants not to bother to learn English, as this report demonstrates.
|posted by Jim on 5:21 PM|
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