Habla usted Inglés

I have no problem with immigrants - illegal and otherwise - coming here in search of a better life.
The fact you can't speak english isn't a concern (IMO) in the private sector,
But if you can't speak proficient English, you can NOT serve in government of an English-speaking nation.

Apparently, someone disagrees.

http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2012/01/30/woman-fights-to-run-for-city-council-despite-not-speaking-english-proficiently/#ixzz1l0QC5y3C?test=latestnews

If this has already been through a judge I'm guessing this woman's English skills are really poor. Too poor to serve in government.

 

Isn't that a decision the voters are qualified to make?

 

How dare she.

 

How can a law require something without defining it?

 

If someone is elected, a law preventing them from serving for reasons other than actually being in jail seems patently unconstitutional to me. But of course, the fear of crabby old white people that the U.S. is becoming a more multicultural society outranks the right of voters to elect who they damn please. I bet that if this woman spoke Swedish, there'd be no issue here.

 

Of what use could a proficient Spanish speaker possibly be to a town along our border with Mexico? Dígame, por favor.

 

*looks in Constitution for something outlining English as the official language of the United States. Doesn't see it*

 

While I understand why it would be important to be proficient in the language being used in meetings, etc., I tend to agree that the decision is best left to the voters.

I would be against additional measures, say providing her with a translator, but I don't see a reason to keep her off the ballot.

 

Someone mentioned on one of the other threads about how the kids who are older than 16 who don't drop out are such a drain on teachers. Growing up in California, it was the same thing with the kids who didn't speak English, who were frequently the children of the migrant workers who would show up for a few months and then leave.

All the schools had ESL (English as a second language) classes, but they were only for about an hour a day. For the other 6-7 hours of school the teachers basically just had to babysit these kids.

If you live in or are from a border state, you know what a real problem illegal immigration is.

And yeah, if you're running for a government office, you had better speak the language.

 

I could deal with her having a translator as long as she was actively trying to learn English.

 

Note please the location and demographics of San Luis, Arizona.

www.city-data.com/city/San-Luis-Arizona.html

94.2% Hispanic

 

That's fine. But since that city is in the United States, those who govern for that area should speak English or be learning English. I would make the same argument about that region that the person representing them should speak Spanish or actively be learning it as well.