04-11-2009, 01:54 PM
I mean I was reading about the new Waukegan mayor and already some yahoo's are saying they will vote Spanish as the towns language....even though English is the official language of the state.
Someone from Joliet posted this on another site. I just pm'ed her to find out where she saw this.
And again, I'm so glad that Mayor-Elect came out and said he is the candidate for all of us, not one segment got him in. We all did. Again, I believe his first priority is our economic woes and the nearly one thousand abandoned homes in Waukegan.
Anyway, it's not inconceivable. Here is a city in Texas that did that. So good thing we've got these boards to track down rumors (not that I can forsee Waukegan ever doing this in the next year or so -but it's enough that some groups think they can now.)
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Monday August 16 8:14 AM ET
Texas Town Adopts Spanish As Official Language
EL CENIZO, Texas (Reuters) - The border town of El Cenizo, whose population is heavily Hispanic, has adopted Spanish as its official language and declared the community a safe haven for illegal immigrants, officials said Friday.
The ramshackle town of 7,800 people is located just south of Laredo, Texas, across the Rio Grande River from Mexico.
Mayor Rafael Rodriguez told Reuters that he and most of the town's residents speak only Spanish. Many are first-generation immigrants, both legal and illegal. Rodriguez himself crossed into the United States illegally from Mexico but became a U.S. citizen in 1995.
``In past administrations, the meetings were done in English and they did not explain anything,'' Rodriguez said.
The result, he said, was widespread apathy.
The City Council voted last week to make Spanish, not English, the town's official language. That means that town business will be conducted in Spanish, which then will be translated into English for official documents to meet the requirements of Texas law.
Rodriguez says the City Council's intent was not to usurp English or create divisions, but to make local government more accessible to the town's residents.
``What we are looking for is that the people of the community who attend the meetings and who only speak Spanish be able to voice their opinions,'' Rodriguez said.
The ``safe haven'' ordinance forbids city staff, which consists of one employee and two volunteers, from helping the U.S. Border Patrol find illegal immigrants or inquiring about any person's immigration status.
The intent was to avoid meddling in peoples' lives, Rodriguez said.
``We are not protecting them and neither are we turning them in,'' he said.
City Secretary Elsa Degollado estimated that the town's population currently includes 1,000 illegal immigrants.
Rodriguez said he did not expect any reprisals triggered by the new ordinances.
But Linda Evans, a spokeswoman for Texas Gov. George W. Bush, said his office has contacted ``relevant state and federal authorities to ensure that the laws, including illegal immigration laws, are being enforced.''
``As a general rule, Governor Bush believes that government business in America should be conducted in English,'' Evans said.
The measure drew a sharp response from English First, a group based in Springfield, Virginia that advocates making English America's official language.
The group's executive director, Jim Boulet, said El Cenizo may be the first U.S. town to have adopted Spanish as its official language -- a step that policy makers should take as a ''warning sign'' of things to come.
``Will we call this town 'America's first Quebec?''' asked Boulet, referring to the French-speaking Canadian province. ''Language divisions rather quickly lead to other divisions.''
``It proves we really need a national language policy sooner rather than later,'' he said.
<!-- m --><a class="postlink" href="http://englishfirst.org/elcenezo/elcenezoreuters81699.htm">http://englishfirst.org/elcenezo/elcene ... s81699.htm</a><!-- m -->
Someone from Joliet posted this on another site. I just pm'ed her to find out where she saw this.
And again, I'm so glad that Mayor-Elect came out and said he is the candidate for all of us, not one segment got him in. We all did. Again, I believe his first priority is our economic woes and the nearly one thousand abandoned homes in Waukegan.
Anyway, it's not inconceivable. Here is a city in Texas that did that. So good thing we've got these boards to track down rumors (not that I can forsee Waukegan ever doing this in the next year or so -but it's enough that some groups think they can now.)
***********************************************************************************************************88
Monday August 16 8:14 AM ET
Texas Town Adopts Spanish As Official Language
EL CENIZO, Texas (Reuters) - The border town of El Cenizo, whose population is heavily Hispanic, has adopted Spanish as its official language and declared the community a safe haven for illegal immigrants, officials said Friday.
The ramshackle town of 7,800 people is located just south of Laredo, Texas, across the Rio Grande River from Mexico.
Mayor Rafael Rodriguez told Reuters that he and most of the town's residents speak only Spanish. Many are first-generation immigrants, both legal and illegal. Rodriguez himself crossed into the United States illegally from Mexico but became a U.S. citizen in 1995.
``In past administrations, the meetings were done in English and they did not explain anything,'' Rodriguez said.
The result, he said, was widespread apathy.
The City Council voted last week to make Spanish, not English, the town's official language. That means that town business will be conducted in Spanish, which then will be translated into English for official documents to meet the requirements of Texas law.
Rodriguez says the City Council's intent was not to usurp English or create divisions, but to make local government more accessible to the town's residents.
``What we are looking for is that the people of the community who attend the meetings and who only speak Spanish be able to voice their opinions,'' Rodriguez said.
The ``safe haven'' ordinance forbids city staff, which consists of one employee and two volunteers, from helping the U.S. Border Patrol find illegal immigrants or inquiring about any person's immigration status.
The intent was to avoid meddling in peoples' lives, Rodriguez said.
``We are not protecting them and neither are we turning them in,'' he said.
City Secretary Elsa Degollado estimated that the town's population currently includes 1,000 illegal immigrants.
Rodriguez said he did not expect any reprisals triggered by the new ordinances.
But Linda Evans, a spokeswoman for Texas Gov. George W. Bush, said his office has contacted ``relevant state and federal authorities to ensure that the laws, including illegal immigration laws, are being enforced.''
``As a general rule, Governor Bush believes that government business in America should be conducted in English,'' Evans said.
The measure drew a sharp response from English First, a group based in Springfield, Virginia that advocates making English America's official language.
The group's executive director, Jim Boulet, said El Cenizo may be the first U.S. town to have adopted Spanish as its official language -- a step that policy makers should take as a ''warning sign'' of things to come.
``Will we call this town 'America's first Quebec?''' asked Boulet, referring to the French-speaking Canadian province. ''Language divisions rather quickly lead to other divisions.''
``It proves we really need a national language policy sooner rather than later,'' he said.
<!-- m --><a class="postlink" href="http://englishfirst.org/elcenezo/elcenezoreuters81699.htm">http://englishfirst.org/elcenezo/elcene ... s81699.htm</a><!-- m -->