Politico
By Burgess Everett
June 25, 2013
Seven years ago, 62 senators voted to make English the official language of the United States. A year later, 64 senators did the same.
Times have changed.
Sen. Jim Inhofe, the Oklahoma Republican who sponsored the previous amendments to comprehensive immigration bills that would make English the official language, filed a similar amendment this year but hasn’t gone to the floor to demand a vote on it as the debate enters what is expected to be its final week. And fellow senators say they haven’t heard a peep about it from him or anyone else until asked by Politico.
Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.), who supported the Inhofe amendment in the past, said “every other damn thing” besides English as the official language has come up during the back-and-forth over immigration this year.
“Last time it was amnesty, this time it’s border security,” McCain said when asked why the issue has died down. “I don’t know, but they haven’t brought it up.”
In the years since the Inhofe amendment was approved and previous attempts to pass an immigration bill failed, the Senate has become more Democratic as dozens of those who supported the amendment have left the chamber. Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) has opposed the language, and Barack Obama and Joe Biden opposed the amendment as senators.
The late Sen. Ted Stevens (R-Alaska) voted twice in favor of making English officially the language of the United States. The man who now holds his seat said it’s a proposal of a bygone era.
“People learning English, which is the big issue on the immigration bill, seems reasonable,” said Democratic Sen. Mark Begich. “But making it the official language? I don’t sense that it’s a hot topic. Maybe it was eight or nine years ago.”
For conservative senators fighting the bill, priorities have included border security, costs and the length and design of the Senate debate. But while some tea party advocates have called for a stronger focus on assimilation, making English the official language hasn’t been on the radar screen.
The Gang of Eight bill does address the concept of English education; the bill would require registered immigrants 16 or older must demonstrate proficiency or at least be enrolled in an English-proficiency course to pursue a green card.
Gang of Eight member Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.) is pushing for a stricter requirement that would eliminate the course provision, something a Democratic leadership aide said could pass if it got a vote.
But the aide said an English as official language amendment would attract the support of perhaps three to five moderate Democrats from red states, leaving the amendment short of 60 votes.
“I don’t think it has any chance of passing,” the aide said.
At least one moderate-minded Democrat said he would “probably” support the Inhofe amendment again if it came up, but it certainly hasn’t been top of mind for him.
“It’s funny, I’d forgotten all about that. There was a big brouhaha,” said Sen. Mark Pryor (D-Ark.), remembering past votes on the topic.
Indeed there was. One senior GOP reminisced that debate over the official language of the country in past years “wasn’t a thing, until it was,” sapping up several days of the Senate’s bandwidth. Perhaps the climax of the controversial Inhofe amendment came in May 2006, when Reid blasted the legislation.
“This amendment is racist. I think it’s directed basically to people who speak Spanish,” Reid said, adding later: “Even though I feel this amendment is unfair, I don’t in any way suggest that Jim Inhofe is a racist.”
Years later, Inhofe says he still doesn’t understand what the fuss was about.
“I fail to see why it is controversial, because I’ve always felt it should not be controversial,” he said. “We have opposition out there that I just don’t think is real.”
In the six years since the amendment was last voted on, the Hispanic population of the United States grew from about 45 million to 52 million, according to the most recent estimates available from the Census Bureau. And according to the Pew Research Hispanic Center, English use and proficiency increases the longer families stay in the United States: About 95 percent of third-generation Latinos say they speak and write English proficiently, and 80 percent say they “think” primarily in English.
In tune with those demographic shifts are political considerations, explained David Leopold, former president of the American Immigration Lawyers Association. He said the Inhofe amendment has gotten little visibility because Republican senators pushing legislation that could be construed as negatively targeting a growing portion of the United States isn’t going to win the hearts and minds of voters, he said.
“The calculus now is so much different,” Leopold said. “There’s a much more respected Latino voting bloc; respected by the Republican Party.”
Inhofe says he hasn’t been lobbying fellow senators on the amendment but hasn’t given up, either.
“It’s something that I believe strongly in and enjoys a lot of support,” Inhofe said in an interview. As to whether the measure would pass today’s Senate, Inhofe said “there’s only one way to find out” — a vote on the floor.
And there’s no guarantee the issue has gone away; Inhofe introduced a standalone version of his “English Language Unity Act” in March, with Rep. Steve King (R-Iowa) sponsoring a sister bill in the House.
An aide for King wouldn’t say whether the congressman would push the idea when the House takes up its own immigration legislation — but Leopold said someone will.
“Oh, I think you could see it over there,” he said.
For more information, go to: www.beverlyhillsimmigrationlaw.com
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