US Senate votes English as 'National Language'

Washington, May 19: The US Senate has voted to make English the ''national language'' of the United States, declaring it to be the medium for federal communications and services with some exceptions.

According to the ''English only'' amendment, sponsored by Republican Senator from Oklahoma, James M Inhofe, English is labeled as the ''national language'' rather than the ''official language'' of the country. Current laws and ordinances allow bilingual education or multilingual ballots.

The measure, approved 63 to 34 yesterday, directs the government to ''preserve and enhance'' the role of English, without altering current laws that guarantee some government documents and services to be provided in other languages, like Spanish.

Opponents, however, said it could negate executive orders, regulations, civil service guidances and other multilingual ordinances not officially sanctioned by acts of Congress.

The vote, considered a defeat for immigration-rights advocates, was followed last night by an important victory- 58 to 35, the Senate killed an amendment that would have blocked eventual citizenship for future immigrants who arrive under a temporary work permit, according to the Washington Post.

There are about 12 million illegal immigrants currently in the United States, mostly from neighboring Latin American countries, who have little or no knowledge of the English language.

The amendment would require more thorough testing to those who apply for citizenship to demonstrate English-language proficiency and knowledge of US history and elements of US culture such as the Pledge of Allegiance and the National Anthem. Every one who applies for US citizenship has to demonstrate this ability even under current laws.

The English-language debate has roiled US politics for decades and, in some quarters, has been as controversial and important as an amendment to ban flag burning. The impact of the language amendment was unclear even after its passage. It sets requirements that immigrants seeking US citizenship know the English language and US history.

The Senate action came hours after President Bush, who visited the border town of Yuma, Arizona, asked Congress to approve a 1.95 billion dollars budget request to deploy National Guard troops and 1,000 additional enforcement agents to the US-Mexico border. Bush also endorsed for the first time the construction of 370 miles of southern border fences to cut down on illegal immigration.

But pro-immigration groups and some Democrats said the amendment would obliterate executive orders issued by President Bill Clinton that mandated multilingual services and communications in a variety of federal agencies, and could undermine court orders, agency regulations, civil service guidances, and state and local ordinances that call for multilingual services.

With approval of a triple-layered border fence on Wednesday, the capping of the annual number of guest-worker visas at 200,000 and the English-language amendment yesterday, Republicans say the bill is tougher than the original version and comes closer to what is needed to satisfy many conservatives.

The Democrats called the amendment ''racist'', and dismissed it as divisive and anti-American.

The immigrants-rights groups are also not happy. ''This is devastating,'' said Raul Gonzalez, legislative director of the National Council of La Raza, after the English-language vote. ''For us, this is a tough issue to bring back to the community'' (a majority of them are Spanish-speaking immigrants).

UNI