[lg policy] White House meets with group urging English as official US language

Thu Mar 8 15:25:33 UTC 2018

 White House meets with group urging English as official US language
[image: President Donald Trump speaks at the Latino Coalition Legislative
Summit, Wednesday, March 7, 2018, in Washington. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)]
President Donald Trump speaks at the Latino Coalition Legislative Summit,
Wednesday, March 7, 2018, in Washington. (Evan Vucci/AP)
By Debra J. Saunders Review-Journal White House Correspondent
March 7, 2018 - 2:05 pm
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Updated March 7, 2018 - 7:39 pm

*WASHINGTON —* Advocates to make English the official U.S. language met
with White House staffers recently, before President Donald Trump’s
re-election campaign posted an online survey that asked supporters if they
back the idea.

“We’ll take Trump’s question seriously when he learns to speak English,”
responded Latino Victory Deputy Communications Director Monica Garcia.

Stephen Guschov, the executive director of ProEnglish, told the
Review-Journal that he and ProEnglish Director of Government Relations Dan
Carter have met with staffers who work under Trump and Vice President Mike
Pence.

An official from Pence’s office confirmed that a staffer met with
ProEnglish “for an informational meeting to hear out their policy
priorities,” while an official from Trump’s press office confirmed that “a
mid-level staffer from domestic policy met with (Guschov) as a courtesy
measure.”

During a GOP primary debate, Trump famously chided former Florida Gov. Jeb
Bush for speaking a foreign language on stage. “This is a country where we
speak English, not Spanish.”

As a congressman, Pence was a repeat co-sponsor of legislation to make
English the federal government’s official language. Proponents frame the
English Language Unity Act as a common-sense law that would codify English
as the official language, but still allow the federal government to use
other languages in areas such as international relations, trade, tourism,
public safety, health and to protect the rights of victims and criminal
defendants.

Indiana, where Pence was governor when he joined the Trump ticket in 2016,
is one of 31 states for which English is the official language.

Guschov told the Review-Journal his group is “particularly urging” aides to
advise Trump to repeal an executive order signed by President Bill Clinton
in 2000 that directed federal agencies to offer translation services for
residents with limited English proficiency.

Guschov said the group wants to change the rules only for U.S. government
operations – not in the home or private businesses. “I encourage people to
learn other languages,” he said.

ProEnglish also wants Trump to sign the English Language Unity Act — Sen.
James Inhofe, R-Okla., and Rep. Steve King, R-Iowa, have introduced bills —
if a measure makes it to the president’s desk.

In addition, the group supports the Reforming American Immigration for
Strong Employment (or RAISE) Act, promoted by Trump aide Stephen Miller,
because it favors would-be immigrants who are fluent in English.

Guschov would not reveal the names of aides with whom he met, other than to
stipulate, “It was not Stephen Miller.” Guschov added that he and Carter
talked to an aide whom they believed passed on their material to Miller.

Trump’s re-election campaign has posted a 32-question online survey that,
among other things, asks if supporters think English should be recognized
as the official language of the United States.

“This is disgusting,” Democratic strategist and CNN contributor Maria
Cardona reacted, “but not surprising from the most anti-immigrant, bigoted,
and racist president who listens to his white nationalist advisers. This
questionnaire is clearly political crack for his base whom he must maintain
the support of since he is losing support left and right and from
independents.”

Cardona said the campaign survey’s English language question, and a
question asking supporters if they are concerned about the spread of Sharia
law, are “designed to distract and remind his base that Trump still
believes in the divisive issues he talked about during the campaign.”

Hector Barajas, a Republican political consultant whose parents immigrated
from Mexico, thinks that the ProEnglish approach makes sense. When he was
young and his mother saw that he had been enrolled in bilingual education,
she told the school she wanted her son in English language classes. She
said she’d teach her kids Spanish; schools should teach them English.

If Trump pushes the idea, will it hurt him with Latino voters? “I think the
problem has been with his whole discussion on immigration,” said Barajas.
“The damage is done. This adds more fuel to the fire.”

Guschov rejected critics who frame ProEnglish as anti-immigrant. Immigrants
fare better in the U.S., he argued, when they speak English. When he lived
in Peru, Guschov added, he spoke Spanish.

Contact Debra J. Saunders at <dsaunders at reviewjournal.com>
dsaunders at reviewjournal.com or 202-662-7391. Follow @DebraJSaunders
<http://www.twitter.com/DebraJSaunders> on Twitter

*Trump campaign survey*

Questions 27 and 31 from the Trump campaign’s survey

*27. Are you concerned by the potential spread of Sharia Law?*

Yes

No

No opinion

Other, please specify:

*31. English is currently not recognized as the official language of the
United States. Do you think it should be?*

Yes

No

No opinion

Other, please specify:

-From Trump Pence Make America Great Again! survey

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 Harold F. Schiffman

Professor Emeritus of
 Dravidian Linguistics and Culture
Dept. of South Asia Studies
University of Pennsylvania
Philadelphia, PA 19104-6305

Phone:  (215) 898-7475
Fax:  (215) 573-2138

Email:  haroldfs at gmail.com
http://ccat.sas.upenn.edu/~haroldfs/

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