Mr. Speaker. it must be understood why this bill goes farther than just declaring English to be the official language nf government. Yes. it does repeal the bilingual ballot requirement. yes it does require the Federal Government to conduct its written business in English and yes it does require the INS to hold its naturalization ceremonies in English. Do you know why? It is because America is composed of people who have for centuries pulled themselves up by their bootstraps with courage and a vision to pursue the opportunity that America has to offer. All of us at one time or another were immigrants. Our forefathers came here for the same reasons immigrants now come ashore. America is the land of opportunity and if the Government does not remove the impediments to assuring that these immigrants receive the keys to opportunity here. then I am afraid they will remain in what the New York Times called a bilingual prison. Bilingual ballots. and INS ceremonies and Government documents in other languages continue to uphold the untruth that you can live in America. you can have access to opportunity and you can achieve the American dream without being able to speak English. The Government can no longer mislead the citizenry.
Keywords matched
naturalization immigrants