Council favors making English official languageBy KATRINA A. GOGGINS
Associated Press
Thursday, July 24, 2008
COLUMBIA — Prompted by fears of illegal immigration and a lack of jobs, one of South Carolina's most conservative counties has joined a wave of communities across the country considering laws to make English their official language. Pickens County officials voted this week to require all business to be conducted in English except in an emer- gency. Another vote on the issue is slated for next month, and the requirement would become official if it passes. The law would apply only to companies doing business with the county and would not affect hospitals, schools or courts, said county council Vice Chairman Ben Trotter. "If we went to Mexico ... you do not dial one for Spanish or two for English. You learn theirs or you're out in the cold. They don't bend over backwards for us," Trotter said Wednesday. The plan to make English the official language in Pickens County is just part of the ordinance. Touted as a plan to curb the hiring of undocumented workers, the ordinance also says the county would not employ anyone who cannot document that they can legally work in the U.S. It also would require vendors working for the county to certify that they do not knowingly hire or employ unauthorized workers. Much of the ordinance closely mirrors a state law passed earlier this year that requires all businesses to verify their new workers are in the U.S. legally or face civil fines of up to $1,000 per worker. Workers who lose jobs to illegal immigrants can sue their former employers under the new law. But a bill that would have required all government paperwork and videos to use English only died in the state Legislature this year. Thirty states and dozens of municipalities have laws requiring that government communications be conducted in English, according to U.S. English Inc., a group supporting a federal move to make English the nation's official language. Trotter said he sponsored the ordinance because he wasn't satisfied with South Carolina's law, which will be phased in over the next two years. He said council members also were upset that a federal bill hasn't been passed. "We would not have to do this if the federal government would do its part," Trotter said. Critics say laws like the one being considered by Pickens County unfairly target Latinos and send a hostile message to newcomers. "It's so unnecessary because Latinos are going to learn English, especially the children, very quickly," said Myriam Torres, director of the Consortium for Latino Immigration Studies at the University of South Carolina. |
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Comments
This article has 16 comment(s)
Posted by joldham on July 24, 2008 at 6:59 a.m. (Suggest removal)
IT'S ABOUT TIME!!!!!!
We have pandered to the illegal immigrants long enough.. We have forfeited rights that are our birthright to please others. It is time for us AMERICANS to stand up and tell people wanting to become US citizens that we speak english in this country NOT Spanish or any other language. They can speak it all they want in their homes but in public the official language here to communicate is ENGLISH!!!!
Posted by RW on July 24, 2008 at 7:21 a.m. (Suggest removal)
Yay! Deport them all anyway! If you can't tell a MD whats wrong with little Pablo then learn the language! Then leave!
Posted by wpc3iop on July 24, 2008 at 7:34 a.m. (Suggest removal)
Send them all back...problem solved!
Posted by RTC on July 24, 2008 at 10 a.m. (Suggest removal)
I am tired of having to turn a product around several times to look for the directions in English.
I realize that this is not a state thing, so to all manufacturers in the US: Stop placing non-English directions on our products.
Posted by iceman1978 on July 24, 2008 at 10:32 a.m. (Suggest removal)
RTC, I agree. One thing that makes me very angry is when you call a customer service center and they say 'For English press one'..'Habla Espanol nueve dos' In my opinion that should be illegal. All it does is make it easier for people to live and function in our society and not know English.
I'm by no means anti-immigrant. My own background is mostly Norwegian so if my great-grandparents hadn't come here then I'd probably be on an oil rig or a fishing boat somewhere in the North Sea. If I wanted to move to Norway though I would be expected to speak Norwegian. (Bokmal and Nynorsk) Same story if I were to emigrate to France or Germany. They would look at me like I was a fool if I didn't speak their language.
Posted by farfallaspeaks on July 24, 2008 at 10:41 a.m. (Suggest removal)
You mean english wasn't the official language already?
If you don't want people to speak Spanish, quit hiring people who speak Spanish.
Problem solved.
Posted by lou9 on July 24, 2008 at 11:01 a.m. (Suggest removal)
We need to do this nationwide. Either learn to speak Engilsh or go back to wherever you came from. We also need to go back to rotary dial phones so there would be no more press 1 for English and 2 for Spanish.
Posted by Southernized on July 24, 2008 at 11:18 a.m. (Suggest removal)
Everything now has Spanish options, even job applications? My husbands identity has been stolen, not once, not twice, but 4 times by 4 different business. 2 in Penn, and 2 here in charleston. The 2 was a roofing companies that hire illegals KNOWINLY- We went to 1 of the buinesses and confronted the owner with the police, and we were able to see the persons picture using his information with the "Illegal" ss card, and illegal temporay visa..Yet we are still waiting for him to be found! They racked up over 14 thousand dollars of claimed taxes, under our name, and IRS took all of our refund! Send them all back! They should pass this law : NO habla english NO JOBS, NO SCHOOLS, NO HEALTHCARE, NO WELFARE, NO RIGHTS
Posted by suec on July 24, 2008 at 12:04 p.m. (Suggest removal)
What a waste of time.
Posted by bigwhip on July 24, 2008 at 2:42 p.m. (Suggest removal)
Suec.......your last name end in a vowel? Are you here legally? More communities across America need to be taking actions like this since the Feds are scared to death to do anything. Kudos to The Pickens bunch.
Posted by suec on July 24, 2008 at 3:30 p.m. (Suggest removal)
My name ends in "n" and my ancestors came here from Ireland and Germany. So there!
Posted by RW on July 24, 2008 at 5:15 p.m. (Suggest removal)
Ilegals should realize they are not wanted here! They should go back to their little bananna republics drink beer and go to bull fights! Drink all the water as well!
Posted by NativeSon on July 24, 2008 at 7:23 p.m. (Suggest removal)
It is about time
Posted by MMitchum on July 25, 2008 at 3:28 p.m. (Suggest removal)
I agree with this totally. We aren't treated equal there. So if they want to become US Citizens they need to come to our way of life not ours to theres.
In Augusta this week I watched on TV and advertisement on a Automobile Dealership in spanish. Needless to say it got under my skin that it was not for the US. I just sat and listened in astonishment...everything you pick up now has spanish on one side and english on the other. Are they taking our heritage from us? This is our country...not theirs. Come to our way and you may be excepted.
Posted by RW on July 25, 2008 at 3:54 p.m. (Suggest removal)
MMitchum,
That's just it.They have absolutely no intention of assimilating.They honestly wish to take over with their swarming numbers and the blatant cowardice of the democrats!
Posted by SCG3 on July 25, 2008 at 11:36 p.m. (Suggest removal)
Thank you Pickens County and Ben Trotter! I can only hope that more will follow. I'd be shot at if I was crossing any other border illegally and I wouldn't be hired by any employer if I didn't know their native language. Why should I accept the opposite just because this is the U.S.A!?
"But a bill that would have required all government paperwork and videos to use English only died in the state Legislature this year."
Why?