Sen. Inhofe To Introduce Official English Amendment in the Senate

Assimilation remains key part of immigration debate

Sen. James Inhofe today announced his intention to introduce an amendment that would make English the official language of the United States. The amendment, to be introduced in the debate on immigration reform legislation, follows along the same line as H.R. 997, popular House legislation which would accomplish the same purpose. H.R. 997, the English Language Unity Act, was introduced by Steve King and is one of the most widely supported bills in the House with nearly 150 co-sponsors.

“Any discussion of immigration reform must contain measures that will help assimilate newcomers into our society,” said Mauro E. Mujica, Chairman of U.S. English, Inc. “We are not a better nation today simply because of immigration, we are a better nation because past immigrants learned English and became productive members of our society. Congress must emphasize the most important link in the assimilation process – the ability to communicate in our common language – English.”

Sen. Inhofe’s amendment continues a long history of pairing immigration reform with an accent on assimilation. During the 1980s, when the House last considered such measures, making English the official language of the United States was an enthusiastically supported component of three different bills.

• In the 97th Congress, Sen. S.I. Hayakawa introduced an amendment to comprehensive immigration legislation in the Senate, S. 2222. The amendment, which declared that it was the sense of Congress that English is the official language of the United States, passed by a margin of 78-21, including 40-4 by Democrats and 38-17 by Republicans. The immigration reform legislation passed the Senate, 81-18 on Aug. 17, 1982. The House and Senate did not work out the differences in their separately passed bills before the conclusion of the 97th Congress.

• Comprehensive immigration legislation in the 98th Congress contained a provision expressing that English is the official language of the United States. This bill, S. 529, was passed by the Senate by a margin of 76-18 on May 18, 1983. Again, the House and Senate were unable to work out their differences before the conclusion of the 98th Congress.

• In the 99th Congress, Sen. James McClure introduced an amendment to comprehensive immigration legislation in the Senate, S. 1200. The amendment, which declared that it was the sense of Congress that English is the official language of the United States, passed by voice vote on Sept. 12, 1985. A week later, the entire bill passed the Senate 68-31. Unfortunately, the amendment was dropped in conference committee with the House and was not contained in the final version that passed both chambers and was signed into law on Nov. 6, 1986.

“Without a knowledge of English, immigrants are relegated to the fringes of society, eking out a living and struggling to survive,” continued Mujica. “Sen. Inhofe’s amendment is the right thing to do for our immigrants and for our society. I urge the Senate to approve this measure.”

U.S. English, Inc. is the nation's oldest and largest non-partisan citizens' action group dedicated to preserving the unifying role of the English language in the United States. Founded in 1983 by the late Sen. S.I. Hayakawa of California, U.S. English, Inc. (www.usenglish.org) now has more than 1.8 million members.