English will not be spoken in here in response of reform proposals
A mainstay of immigration reform proposals and the pro-legalization rhetoric brewing in Washington is that any path to citizenship must require prospective citizens to learn English. This is a convenient operating procedure for those who oppose amnesty, and legislators will most certainly circumvent an English literacy prerequisite, perhaps by a compromise in their final immigration reform bill stating that English must be the primary language taught in schools, and that all teachers must be literate in English.
If this sounds like right wing fantasy, remember that a Democratic Congress passed the Bilingual Education Act of 1968, and that we are already a multilingual nation. The emphasis on English notwithstanding, both the White House and Harry Reid's websites post Spanish translations. The home page of Whitehouse.gov/espanol highlights Felipe Calderon's visit, during which President Obama stumped for immigration reform with references to our "broken" immigration system, and criticized Arizona's SB 1070.
Unlike their Republican predecessors, our Democratic Congressional majority has established a legislative track record. Health care reform is a reality, and the president has transferred the word "broken" from his description of our health care system to his denigration of our immigration system.
The ongoing Deepwater Horizon disaster is developing into a massive stumbling block for this administration, and voter condemnation over issues as disparate as health care and the failure of the stimulus to offset our shameful unemployment numbers will weigh heavily on incumbents this fall. President Obama has told us that we have an estimated 12 million illegal immigrants within our borders. Their supporters represent a huge voting bloc. The administration's insistence that the Justice Department intervene in Arizona, the president's condemnation of our nation's laws, and our "pass everything" Congress are good indicators of how the immigration issue ultimately will be resolved.
Bob Prokop
Wheeling