OKLAHOMA CITY – A Washington, D.C.-based organization, U.S. English, heralded the passage of Senate Bill 163 in the Oklahoma House of Representatives this week with a press statement on its main Web page. The organization has more than a passing interest in Oklahoma’s legislation.
U.S. English is part of a network that shares goals of limiting immigration and ensuring U.S. residents speak English in their legal and business transactions. State Rep. Randy Terrill, R-Moore, who introduced the current language of SB 163, said the bill was drafted with the help of U.S. English affiliate ProEnglish, based in Arlington, Va.
Though efforts to declare English the official language may put states and local governments in conflict with federal policies requiring them to make official documents available in other languages, U.S. English and its affiliates have seen a measure of success in a majority of states.
“S.B. 163 would make English the official language of Oklahoma, requiring the majority of state business to be conducted in English and minimizing the use of government multilingualism that may discourage assimilation,” reads the posting at U.S. English’s Web site. “The legislation is carefully drawn to comply with federal law and legal precedent, and leaves agencies the flexibility to address public health concerns, the needs of the justice system, and the rights of Native American tribes.”
The chairman of U.S. English Inc., Mauro E. Mujica – who immigrated to the U.S. from Chile – thanked Terrill and state Rep. George Faught, R-Muskogee, and the majority of state representatives for approving the legislation.
“In a state where residents speak more than 100 languages, government agencies should promote the common language of English, not separate groups along linguistic lines,” said Mujica.
Oklahoma is one of a handful of states where U.S. English and its affiliates are working either to pass a new declaration of English as the official language or a measure to strengthen a past declaration. For instance, Colorado’s lawmakers are currently considering a constitutional amendment also praised by U.S. English and similar to the one under consideration in Oklahoma.
Colorado declared English its official language in 1988, though the law appears symbolic in nature; in 2002, Colorado voters rejected a proposal to do away with bilingual education in its schools in favor of an English-immersion program. U.S. English is also working with members of Congress to pass similar legislation on the national level.
In describing its own history, U.S. English names its founder as the late U.S. Senator S.I. Hayakawa, an immigrant, but does not mention co-founder John H. Tanton, with whom the organization parted ways in the late 1980s. Tanton also serves on the board of directors for the Federation for American Immigration Reform, or FAIR, which helped Terrill draft 2007’s House Bill 1804. HB 1804 implemented new requirements for state agencies and employers to check the immigration status of new hires and applicants for state services, among other provisions.
Tanton has been credited with founding FAIR, ProEnglish, U.S. English, Center for Immigration Studies, NumbersUSA, and The Social Contract Press. The Press brought back into print the controversial novel The Camp of the Saints by French writer Jean Raspail, which describes a world where western nations are overrun by mass migrations of dark-skinned people.
Many of the organizations affiliated with Tanton have been labeled hate groups by the Southern Poverty Law Center. Based in Montgomery, Ala., the SPLC describes itself as an organization “internationally known for its tolerance education programs, its legal victories against white supremacists and its tracking of hate groups.” The organization has named 888 organizations as hate groups, reporting a 48 percent rise since 2000.
K.C. McAlpin, executive director of ProEnglish, said SPLC will call just about anybody a hate group. ProEnglish, just like the states where an official language declaration has been approved by voters, is comprised of a diverse group of people who share the common goal of promoting the use of English.
“It’s pretty common sense that if we are to break down barriers, we have to have a common language,” said McAlpin.
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