“English-only” proposals—restricting the use of languages other than English in government paperwork and signs—have passed in small cities and towns across the United States. Recently, similar proposals and legislation have been more widely introduced in larger cities.
On Tues., Dec. 5, Cherokee county, a fast-growing suburb of Atlanta, passed an English-only measure. The same day,
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In November 2006, Arizona voters reinstated an “Official English” constitutional amendment that had been overturned by the state supreme court in 1998. Twenty-seven states have passed laws declaring English as an official language and four others are considering such laws. This year, dozens of cities have approved or are debating English-only legislation. (Houston Tribune, Oct.15)
These proposals are all racist attacks on immigrants, who increasingly live and work in U.S. cities and towns. They have been pushed by right-wing, racist groups in recent months in response to the mass immigrant upsurge that gripped the United States last spring.
The majority of immigrants come to the United States from Mexico and Central America. Most are forced to come to this country because U.S. neoliberal economic foreign policies have devastated the economies of their countries of origin. Imperialist-backed and -funded military interventions and “dirty wars” also cause millions to come to the United States.
A key strategy to which the anti-immigration movement resorts is pushing English-only ordinances and policies as a way of dividing U.S.-born workers from immigrants—especially Spanish-speaking immigrants. This strategy is supported by groups that belong to what is known as the “English-only movement” or the “official English movement.”
Racists behind the movement
The English-only movement is a well-funded xenophobic movement that attempts to impose strict English-only laws on education and government. While arguing that the legislation is intended to “assist” immigrants, the movement is led by reactionaries who often intertwine the language legislation with anti-immigrant laws.
The movement claims it is a benevolent force advocating English-language learning for immigrants. But the true racist nature of the movement becomes clear when examining the people and groups behind it. Farmers Branch, Texas, city councilman Tim O’Hare, an English-only advocate, said, “English-only is one of the ways you can keep illegals from coming into your city and let them know ‘You’re not welcome here.’”
Thirty municipalities are currently considering legislation with English-only aspects that also denies immigrants the right to housing, education and other social services.
The main organization responsible for the movement is U.S. English, founded in 1983. Dr. John Tanton, the founder, also founded and was the chairman of the anti-immigrant organization Federation for American Immigration Reform. U.S. English is funded by Tanton’s foundation, U.S. Inc., the Pioneer Fund, which funded racist eugenics research in the 1970s. Another benefactor is Mellon heiress Cordelia Scaife May. Her foundation also sponsored the publication of “The Camp of Saints,” a racist, anti-immigrant fantasy novel.
The English-only movement, while it has garnered some support from backward portions of the working class, is not a grassroots movement. It is a racist propaganda machine that only benefits the U.S. ruling class by demonizing and attacking one of the most oppressed sectors of the working class.
The movement has clear ties to the U.S. ruling-class representatives. Since Tanton was forced to resign from U.S. English after a leaked memo detailed his openly racist positions, the late U.S. senator Samuel Ichiye Hayakawa (R-Calif.) is now listed as U.S. English’s sole founder.
The English-only movement has faced significant obstacles, both legal and popular. As Stephanie Bohon, assistant professor of sociology at University of Tennessee, said, “English-only and English-first language proposals have a history of going down in flames. They don’t hold up well in court.”
More importantly, popular resistance to the English-only movement has been great. The immigrant rights movement in California had significant mobilizations in both 1994 and 1998 in response to similar proposals. And Nashville was forced to defer voting on an English-only proposal on Dec. 5 because of significant resistance to the measure from immigrant rights and progressive organizations.
Regardless of their native tongue, U.S. workers are united by their common exploited position in society and their common enemy, the class of super-rich corporate owners and bankers. Recognizing the right of each community to speak in their language of choice, without fear of repression or discrimination, is an essential step to building class-wide solidarity among the multinational U.S. working class.
Already, the slogans of “el pueblo unido jamás será vencido” and “the people united will never be defeated” are becoming recognized as joint slogans of the new workers’ movement.
