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Press Release

LULAC OPPOSES “ENGLISH ONLY” AMENDMENT.

May 19, 2006

Contact: Lizette Jenness Olmos
202-833-6130 ext. 14

Washington, DC – The League of United Latin American Citizens (LULAC) is extremely troubled by Sen. James Inhofe’s (R-OK) amendment to the immigration bill making English the “national language.” Should this become law, it would not require the federal government to use foreign languages in official communications unless required under current law. This amendment does nothing to help people learn English faster.  

Lessons learned from 9/11 and Katrina was that a failure to provide adequate multilingual services had a direct impact on minority communities. For example, FEMA, the Red Cross, and CDC were largely unprepared and unable to provide multilingual services in a time of urgent need. The ability to effectively communicate with minority and immigrant communities is a valid public safety and national security concern. 

“All Americans, including immigrants, understand fully the importance of mastering English in order to achieve the American dream.  The Inhofe Amendment distracts Congress into a debate on language at a time when there are other critical issues on the table such as the economy, rising gas prices, national security, immigration policy, and the current health care crisis,” said LULAC National President Hector M. Flores. 

Both the Inhofe and Salazar amendments passed clearing the way for the bills to be sent to conference and be sorted out in a final compromise. The Inhofe Amendment passed by a vote of 63 to 34 while the Sen. Ken Salazar (D-CO) Amendment calling English the “common and unifying language” would not make a change in public policy passed by a vote of 58-39.   

The Inhofe amendment could override executive orders currently on the books ordered by previous Presidents. It could erode multilingual services and communications by federal agencies. It could weaken court orders, civil service guidelines, and state and local laws calling for multilingual communications. There is concern that the Inhofe Amendment would lead to discrimination against foreign-language speakers, U.S. citizens such as Native Americans and Puerto Ricans. Furthermore, there are states that are constitutionally bilingual, such as:  Louisiana and New Mexico. 

English is already the language of government and changing the legislation is unnecessary. The GAO reports that the overwhelming majority of U.S. Government documents are printed in English only.  Just one percent of U.S. Government documents are published in a language other than English.  

The League of the United Latin American Citizen (www.lulac.org) is the oldest and largest Latino civil rights organization in the United States. It advances the economic conditions, educational attainment, political influence, health and civil rights of Hispanic Americans through community-based programs operating at more than 700 LULAC councils nationwide. 

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