We were only a few votes away from German as our official language in the first few decades of our country. That's why the idea of official language is silly. Now, I do agree that all legal documents should be in English, but I don't believe we should be trying to stamp out other languages in this country.
You know nothing about the area. The U of Miami main campus is about 5 miles or so south of the end of I-95. I I lived in Miami in the late 1980s. Back then, there was a lot of complaints among the older Cubans that their children weren't speaking Spanish correctly (they were speaking Spanglish), etc. Immigrants learn the language in a generation.
Permanent legal aliens (aka Green Card Holders) do have to register with the Immigration office, and report their residence every ten years. In addition, since they are paying federal income tax, it's easy to track them from that.
Wrong, when I became a citizen, which was at birth, I couldn't speak any language. Hence speaking English can never be a requirement for citizenship. It can be a requirement for naturalization, but that's a different matter.
This is about immigrants and my position they should only be required to speak English should be to gain citizenship.
Did the people who voted to require english even read the OP? Did they realize this was in the context of enforcing it legally and via deportation because if they did I am very disappointed in the results.
That is a myth. They were but a few votes away in the Senate for translation of certain documents into German. Source
Before you start to speak trash perhaps you would want to learn about that with which you speak, oh forgot to whom I was addressing. I lived in South Florida for 35 years and University of Miami was one of my clients so I do know where they are quite well. I can walk 5 miles, especially in that flat country, in a little over 30 minutes so go to the end of I-95 and you can't miss it. Personally I preferred the turnpike and coming in from the Gables. Cubans have never been able to speak castilian Spanish, they speak Cuban. A dialect not well understood by other Hispanics as they are made fun of throughout central and South America. But sweeping generalizations are seldom correct in any sense and yours is no different. I know any number of Cuban families that came over during the Muriel boat lift era where multiple generations, born on this soil only speak Cuban. And I would dare say that Texas, Arizona, New Mexico and California all have that same experience.
Reading is not the problem as most can read. Comprehension is the real issue as that is just more trouble than many want to endure.
From the first days of our separation from Britain we have permitted immigrants from all countries and English has NEVER been a requirement why should it be now??
Originally we had a ton of unused land and the government would sell it at insanely low prices. The federal government was small and any group of people could just go in the middle of knowehere and live by their own rules and standards. Now with such large populations and a powerful government other people dictate how you live and a changing population with different value system and different belief system can be a threat to that. Finally, we didn't need to regulate immigration so much because nature did it for us. Travel was long and dangerous back then.
For an immigrant to become a citizen of the U.S.A. they should be required to display an adequate ability to communicate in the English language. The language they speak at home or with friends is their business.
My point is that there has never been a requirement to speak English in order to be a U.S. citizen. That said, for citizenship, I agree that English should be required. For immigration, it shouldn't be required, but of course, should be encouraged. There is a difference between immigration and citizenship.
To become a naturalized citizen there is a requirement you speak English and someone born here is not going to make it through school very well without speaking English.
If immigrants couldn't speak English, how would they be able to file taxes or get driver's licenses? Marry an English speaking person? US currency is denoted in the English language, also. It would be pretty difficult to be able to survive in the US without the ability to speak English. Country or Area US Separate article on Country's Immigration Law United States nationality law Employer Sponsored Work Visa Through H1B lottery, many applicants failed to receive a settlement after 6 years and had to leave the country. Independent Work Visa EB-1 Extraordinary Ability – for internationally recognized scientists, sportsman etc Businessperson, Self-employed or Entrepreneur .... Investor EB-5: minimum investment of $500,000 Ph.D. or Scientist PhDs are generally allowed to apply for an employer-independent EB2 visa Spouse .... By birth while both of parents are foreign nationals Available Studying as a migration route .... Illegal Migrant ..... Citizenship After 5 years of permanent residence. Special arrangements Green Card Lottery https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Immigration_law Investor - EB-5: minimum investment of $500,000 So could an immigrant who invested a minimum of 500,000 dollars not need to speak English but still be considered 'legal'? So what occurs once a person invests a minimum of 500 thousand dollars, becomes a legal resident and wants to bring his or her family? - Family sponsorship is one of the most popular ways to obtain green cards. If you are a lawful permanent resident or a citizen of the US, one of the advantages of your status is that you can sponsor your family in order to bring them to the US. US immigration laws permit family sponsorship to allow families to be reunited in the US. If you are a citizen, you will have the ability to sponsor more family members. However, if you are a green card holder, you can still sponsor a spouse or child to come to the US to live. If you are a US citizen, you can sponsor a parent, spouse, sibling, or child. You can sponsor other relatives, as well. However, these relatives will be placed lower in priority than immediate relatives and may need to wait longer to secure their green cards. https://www.us-immigration.com/blog/bringing-your-family-to-the-us/ What is a sponsor? Affidavit of Support An affidavit of support is a document an individual signs to accept financial responsibility for another person, usually a relative, who is coming to the United States to live permanently. The person who signs the affidavit of support becomes the sponsor of the relative (or other individual) coming to live in the United States. The sponsor is usually the petitioner of an immigrant petition for a family member. An affidavit of support is legally enforceable; the sponsor's responsibility usually lasts until the family member or other individual either becomes a U.S. citizen, or can be credited with 40 quarters of work (usually 10 years). The law concerning affidavits of support is found in Immigration and Nationality Act (INA) sections 212(a)(4) and 213A. The provisions are codified in Title 8 of the Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) at 8 CFR 213a. https://www.uscis.gov/greencard/affidavit-support https://www.uscis.gov/tools/glossary/sponsor How long after I enter in through a sponsorship can I become a legal citizen? Citizenship After 5 years of permanent residence. So the Affidavit of support is a 'contract' that agrees to provide for the 'new arrival' for at least 5 years. In other words, sponsor a person until he or she can be self sufficient in The US. And 5 years, as an able bodied person, should be enough time to get things in order to become a self sufficient legal citizen. You also must meet certain income requirements (whether you are a sponsor, a joint sponsor, or a substitute sponsor). You must show that your household income is equal to or higher than 125% of the U.S. poverty level for your household size. (Your household size includes you, your dependents, any relatives living with you, and the immigrants you are sponsoring.) If you, the sponsor, are on active duty in the Armed Forces of the United States, and the immigrant you are sponsoring is your spouse or child, your income only needs to equal 100% of the U.S. poverty level for your household size. When you sign the affidavit of support, you accept legal responsibility for financially supporting the sponsored immigrant(s) generally until they become U.S. citizens or can be credited with 40 quarters of work. Your obligation also ends if you or the individual sponsored dies or if the individual sponsored ceases to be a permanent resident and departs the United States. Note: Divorce does NOT end the sponsorship obligation. If the individual you sponsored receives any "means-tested public benefits," you are responsible for repaying the cost of those benefits to the agency that provided them. If you do not repay the debt, the agency can sue you in court to get the money owed. Any joint sponsors or household members whose income is used to meet the minimum income requirements are also legally responsible for financially supporting the sponsored immigrant. https://www.uscis.gov/greencard/affidavit-support If a person is bringing over 'family', I guess to provide for the newly arriving would be 'normal', since they are 'family'. But if not 'family', then the sponsorship is something like a temporary 'adoption', I guess. And why would someone want to 'move' to another Country? They say home is where the heart is. But for a large proportion of the world’s population, home is where the work is. Or the food is. Or safety. 14% of the world’s adults – nearly 710 million people – said they want to permanently migrate to another country, according to analytics company Gallup. Conflict, famine and disaster are driving large numbers of people from countries such as Syria, South Sudan and Congo, while chronic high unemployment is at the root of people’s desire to leave Albania. And where do they want to go? The US primarily: one in five potential migrants named the country as their preferred destination. Meanwhile, Germany, Canada, the United Kingdom, France, Australia and Saudi Arabia appeal to at least 25 million adults each. Roughly 20 countries attract more than two-thirds of all potential migrants worldwide. https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2017/11/these-are-the-countries-migrants-want-to-move-to/ And to get 'gainful employment', a person should speak the National language. It would make their life easier. Where can a person learn the Language? Language schools. https://www.gooverseas.com/language-schools Language Schools Learn a foreign language and immerse yourself in local culture A language school is a school where one studies a foreign language. Classes at a language school are usually geared towards, for example, communicative competence in a foreign language. Language learning in such schools typically supplements formal education or existing knowledge of a foreign language. Students vary widely by age, educational background, work experience. Further, at language school students usually have the possibility of selecting a specific course according to their language proficiency. According to the CEFR.[1] there are six languages levels that define students language proficiency base on their speaking, writing and reading skills. Students will be then assigned to the course that matches their skills. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Language_school Accommodation Many language schools offer various kinds of accommodation to their students: host family (homestays), campus residences, shared housing, or hotels.
24,600 dollars to live in Japan for a year while learning the Language and living in the dormitory. Excluding leisure costs. https://www.akamonkai.ac.jp/english/aboutus/dormitory.html It's kind of a 'good' way to travel abroad. Even the Ukraine/Russian language(s) offer 'language schools' in their Country.
Had I written the OP for this thread, I would have worded it somewhat different as shown below. Some? members feel that the ability to communicate effectively in English language should be a requirement for immigrants to acquire citizenship in the U.S.A. Legal immigrant residency should require periodic reporting to an immigration office to be allowed to continue residency, with a fine and/or deportation for non-compliance with that or any other laws of our nation. Among the necessities for continued residency should be a requirement to show they are capable of providing for their own support or show that another assumes full responsibility for their needs during the time between reporting again. No government assistance should be allowed non-citizens. Legal immigrants should be denied applying for citizenship until such time they can communicate effectively in English. Those who were not born American citizens and/or those who were born having no American citizen parentage should be subject to deportation depending upon the severity of any crime they have been found guilty of committing.
It would be fair and just to require that anyone seeking permanent residence or citizenship to speak English, if they are only temporary it need not be required. Assimilation is the only way they can become productive Americans...
Their needs to be immigration reform. The current system has destroyed the finical well being of millions of Americans. So many unskilled and semi-skilled people have been allowed into our country that they have gutted the wage structures in these markets. In many of these jobs, the pay is less now than it was 20 years ago. Roofers and meat packers are examples of this. Immigration is fine but it should not be allowed to a point where it ruins the lives of existing Americans.
