Should everyone take an English language test to become citizens -- even people born here?

Question

Lots of conservatives are preaching "English only" education in public schools..
Should Americans who embrace that philosophy get kicked out of the country for not knowing proper English? Where should they go?

Answer 1

If we did that the NAACP would be suing the US govt very soon.

AD

Answer 2

If someone is a recent immigrant, the offspring of illegal immigrants, or a child of legal immigrants, but not naturalized citizens, they should be required to learn English or be deported in general. If someone has been in this country for 10 years, and they haven't learned much English, well they should be deported. There could be some extenuating circumstances, but they should have to show strong effort to learn English. People should be required to speak English in order to become a US citizen.

However, US citizens should be free to speak whatever language they wish and should be free to teach whatever language they want to their children.

The US needs to modify the fourteenth amendment so that people born here to non-US citizens are not citizens automatically. Citizenship should have to be earned and effort and virtue should count more than a test grade. It would be fascist to deny someone citizenship based on mental inability.

The reason that the offspring of US citizens should also be US citizens isn't to reward the offspring. It is to reward the immigrants who became citizens, who sacrificed for their children. Hopefully, all offspring of US citizens would learn English; it would be discusting if they didn't. However, they should be free to speak other languages.

Polito, you learned English. My ancestors learned English. What is wrong with learning English? No racism attached to it. Immigrants from Italy, Poland, Russia, Quebec, Ethiopia, and China all learned English.

Answer 3

Well, I think that if English is made the official language of the US requiring knowing it to enter school and graduate, to shop, to call customer service lines, etc then the people that are born here would have to know English in order to get by. None of this 'prima el numero dos para hablar in espanol' so that we can accommodate the people that refuse to assimilate.

And in the same respect in order to become a citizen or legal resident, worker, etc you would have to take courses to learn the language if you already don't know it.

I know that I wouldn't move to a country and expect everyone to learn my language so that I can communicate.

Answer 4

If you are born here and they take you to another country and you are raised over there and then come back here, even if you dont know English you are an American Citizen, regardless !

To be a naturalized citizen you need to know the language and they give you a test if you fail, they wont give you citizenship.

Answer 5

I agree with that. Do you think you could go to Mexico, South America, France, China, etc and be able to get a job and have everything translated for you? I doubt it, I know I've asked Mexican's what would happen if I tried to get a job in Mexico without being able to speak Spanish, they told me I would be screwed. Why should we be any different? It used to be a requirement to become a US citizen you had to be able to speak English, I think it still should be.

Answer 6

Anyone coming to this country by legal channels is required to speak and write fluent English. People who are already citizens go to school and learn it. No we should not be paying to teach illegals English.

Answer 7

No because it is my right to have horrible grammar and spelling. At least when I do it it is in English. I do not care if you are bad at Communicating in English I just want people to try to speak it.

Answer 8

Unlawful Entry is a CRIME. America love it or leave it. Unlawful Entry is a CRIME. Leave it Now. Zero tolerance for immigration-law violators! No amnesty, no "stealth-amnesty." No "change of status," marriage fraud, "exceptional leave to remain," no "Temporary Protected Status." If you break the law, depart or be deported. Illegal aliens kill more US citizens each year than the war in Iraq has killed in four years. Apologists for illegal immigration like to paint it as a victimless crime. But in fact, illegal immigration causes substantial harm to American citizens and legal immigrants, particularly those in the most vulnerable sectors of our population--the poor, minorities, and children. Additionally, job competition by waves of illegal immigrants willing to work at substandard wages and working conditions depresses the wages of American workers, hitting hardest at minority workers and those without high school degrees. Illegal immigration also contributes to the dramatic population growth overwhelming communities across America--crowding school classrooms, consuming already limited affordable housing, and straining precious natural resources like water, energy, and forestland. Taxpayers are being forced to pay for the free health care, education, and other welfare programs being given to illegal aliens; Those tax dollars could be given back to U.S. taxpayers or used to keep our borders secure; They may be here illegally, but they sure know how to "work the system" to collect "free" medical care, "free" education, "free" food, Section 8 housing vouchers and other housing assistance, and hundreds of other social services. It costs citizens additional hundreds of billions of tax dollars at every level: local, state, and federal. It gobbles up billions of our charitable contributions. And much of that money ends up siphoned out of our economy and into offshore accounts. Illegal aliens, over half of whom work "under the table" with neither job nor income reported (nor taxed), are not counted as employed or unemployed. But some of those day-labor and off-the-books "job-lets" would be "real" jobs - available to American citizen job-seekers - if employment regulations were enforced. Illegal aliens can get away with tax evasion, et al., which citizens cannot. In short, we have too many workforce entrants and too few jobs created. The ratio works out to roughly 7-10 workforce entrants per job created. If all illegal aliens depart or are deported, all legal immigration halted, and all temporary employment visas abolished, we still have a problem with more US-born workforce entrants than new jobs created. Illegal immigration damages our country and our citizens every day at every level. And not even the attacks of 2/26 and 9/11 have awakened many Americans to the vast dangers illegal immigration poses to our selves, our families, our communities, our society, our values, our principles, our civilization. Zero Tolerance for Immigration-Law Violators! We must remember the lessons of 2/26, 9/11, and the costs we bear every single day. God Bless the U S A !

Answer 9

Absolutely,
We can start in Mobilhoma, formerly known as Oklahoma until they went english only.

Answer 10

That's a great idea. As for where they would go.... let them figure out which OTHER country they want to sneak into next.

Answer 11

Deported? No. High School diploma denied? You bet.