On the Scene: Equal but Separate

ENGLISH is the language of most Americans, and for the last two centuries it has been the key to an immigrant’s economic success. Yet today we are on a path toward becoming an officially bilingual nation.

In Florida, Spanish-speaking residents are increasingly demanding government services in their native language. In California and Texas, Spanish-language advocates like to observe that this land was Spanish before it was English. Last year in Tucson, the Immigration and Naturalization Service swore in a batch of new citizens in Spanish. We spend $10 billion each year on bilingual education, with the bulk of it spent, not teaching English to immigrants, but teaching course work in native languages.

JM

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Jerry Mosier

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ENGLISH is the language of most Americans, and for the last two centuries it has been the key to an immigrant’s economic success. Yet today we are on a path toward becoming an officially bilingual nation.

In Florida, Spanish-speaking residents are increasingly demanding government services in their native language. In California and Texas, Spanish-language advocates like to observe that this land was Spanish before it was English. Last year in Tucson, the Immigration and Naturalization Service swore in a batch of new citizens in Spanish. We spend $10 billion each year on bilingual education, with the bulk of it spent, not teaching English to immigrants, but teaching course work in native languages.