WHY DO BUSH AND GONZALES RETREAT FROM PRO-ASSIMILATION LANGUAGE POLICY?
“Congress passed, and President Theodore Roosevelt signed, legislation requiring people seeking to become naturalized citizens to demonstrate oral English fluency. In 1950 the requirement was strengthened to require people to demonstrate an understanding of the English language, including an ability to read, write, and speak words in ordinary usage in the English language. “Hence, if someone needs a ballot written in a language other than English, that need proves the person obtained citizenship only because the law was not enforced when he or she sought citizenship. So one reason for ending ballots in languages other than English is that continuing them makes a mockery of the rule of law, including even the prospective McCain-Kennedy law that pro-immigration groups favor. “It contains several requirements that those aspiring to citizenship demonstrate a knowledge of the English language or English fluency in order to promote the patriotic integration of prospective citizens into the A
