Speech #1000132631

The article describes that adult education officials in Los Angeles were unable to serve roughly 40.000 adults seeking English language instruction in 1986more than twice the number turned away in 1985. My State of New Mexico reports that while there is greater opportunity for adult learners in urban areas. the rural communities are suffering from little or no English classes at all. The immigration law enacted by the last Congress will also increase the number of nonEnglish speakers seeking language instruction. Between 2.6 and 6 million undocumented aliens now residing in the United States will become eligible for naturalization if they entered the United States before 1982. Learning English goes handinhand with naturalization. and our current service providers do not appear to be equipped to handle the influx of these prospective students. It would be unfortunate if the lack of English classes becomes a barrier toward citizenshipa result contrary to the purposes of the immigration bill. Ironically. many individuals feel that the best way to address this situation is to declare that English is the official language of the United States. rather than advocating more English language programs. Recently. an "English only" constitutional amendment was introduced in the New Mexico State Legislature.