Dole gears up on immigration
On the heels of joining up with an enforcement-first immigration caucus in the Senate, Sen. Elizabeth Dole filed a couple immigration-related bills this week:
- The first would repeal an executive order that requires government services to be provided in languages other than English. From the release:
"Hundreds of different languages are spoken by people in this country, and it is fiscally irresponsible and impractical for our government to provide services in all of these languages," said Dole. "Moreover, proficiency in English should be encouraged, as it is not only required for citizenship but also is essential for maximizing opportunities in this country."
- The other would make drunk driving a deportable offense. From a release:
"In North Carolina, we have had a number of fatal automobile accidents caused by an intoxicated person who was in the United States illegally," said Dole. "In several of these incidents, the illegal alien has a record of DWI, but has been caught and released. My bill would help ensure that undocumented aliens who have self-identified themselves by drunk driving are removed. Likewise, individuals who abuse their legal status in the United States by repeatedly breaking our drunk driving laws should lose their privilege of living in our country."
I have argued before that immigration will be a big factor in the upcoming election. It has slipped in the polls as of late, although remains big with conservative voters.
And while not EVERY legislative action is a piece of an upcoming campaign, and these moves are consistent with Dole's approach to legislating, but they do seem a good way to keep supporters happy.
Comments (1)
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Will the press {ahem} ask her if she knows how many people speak Spanish versus the next most common languages? From wiki:
"Spanish is the second most-common language in the United States after English. There are more Spanish speakers in the U.S. than there are speakers of French, Hawaiian, and the Native American languages combined. Per the 2000 United States Census, most frequently, Spanish is spoken at home by about 28.1 million people aged 5 or older.[13] The U.S. is home to more than 40 million Hispanics, making it the world's fifth-largest Spanish-speaking community after Mexico, Colombia, Spain, and Argentina.[14][15] Roughly half of all U.S. Spanish speakers also speak English "very well", based on the self-assessment Census question respondents.[13]"
Posted on March 10, 2008 12:47 PM