The Illegal Immigration and English-Only Debates Have Heated Up in Southwestern Ohio

BizzyBlog ^ | Ocbober 22, 2005 | Tom Blumer

[bizzyblog]

The Illegal Immigration and English-Only Debates Have Heated Up in Southwestern Ohio

The two issues (English as official language and illegal immigration) should be kept separate. If you speak perfect English and you're here illegally, the law says you should be deported. If you're here legally, struggling with English, and don't think the official language idea is a good one, it's your right as a citizen to speak out, vote, and even run for office.

You see? They're separate. But now, thanks to our local PC paper and a local legislator, the two will probably be joined at the hip around here for years (bolds are mine):

Butler Co. talks tough on illegal immigrants

Officials want state law to keep them out of Ohio

HAMILTON - Officials in this county with one of the region's fastest growing Hispanic populations are taking extreme measures to clamp down on undocumented immigrants.

(Aside: Extreme? Figuring out at the state level how to enforce laws on the books that the Feds refuse to enforce is "extreme"? The Enquirer usually isn't this obvious in their bias, but there it is.--Ed.)

[bizzyblog]

The state should definitely pass the trespass law mentioned later in the article. Whether English should be the official language of the state is a separate debate. I would favor it, but reasonable citizens can disagree.

The obvious right of a tavern owner to have a "For Service Speak English" at his establishment is NOT debatable. That debate ended in 1787 or 1788 (scroll to bottom), depending on whether you prefer when the Constitution was adopted or when it was ratified.

Mr. Fox, thanks for nothing. The sign is NOT an (illegal) immigration issue, it's a free-speech issue. The sign may be a smart or stupid idea, but that's HIS call, and none of the business of the Ohio Civil Rights Commission.