Proposed "Americanization Movement" Targeting Immigrants Is Flawed

In 2006, President Bush established the Task Force on New Americans. The Task Force's objectives are "to help immigrants learn English, embrace the common core of American civic culture, and fully become American."

Alfonso Aguilar, USCIS Chief of the Office of Citizenship and Chair of the Task Force's Technical Committee, discusses first-year initiatives during a press conference at the U.S. Department of the Treasury in Washington, DC, June 12, 2007
(Source: dhs.gov)

In align with their objectives, the Task Force released a report this week that advises the federal government to take a leadership role in an "Americanization movement." What they want to see happen is an aggressive effort to teach immigrants English and U.S. History. Otherwise, Task Force officials feel:

"If this "Americanization" fails, the nation could see major problems in 20 or 30 years, with foreign-born populations detached from the larger society and engaging in anti-social behavior."

There's no disputing that both of those doomsday predictions could come to pass but before the government begins their aggressive efforts, there are two things they need to know. Before teaching U.S. History to classes comprised of new immigrants, it would be a good idea to revise those history books once and for all.

While the main stories are the same, it's time to include everyone else (read: other ethnicities) who contributed to the greatness of this country. It's time to include the roles played by Latinos, African Americans and Asian Americans in the creation of this country.

History classes that truly reflect the diverse contributions that grew this country would be lessons that could also aspire a new generation of Americans to achieve what others, who looked like them, achieved. In the process, this history would resonate more loudly and foster a greater sense of pride and connection to this country.

Secondly, it's long been known by those who service the immigrant population that there are not enough English classes for all the people who want to learn it. Over the years, the fallacy has been perpetuated by those, who enjoy spreading false rumors about immigrants, that they don't want to learn English.

Again, there not enough classes or convenient times for someone who is tired from working 2-3 jobs to sit and stay awake in class. The Task Force recommends that state governments develop Internet-based electronic learning tools for adults to learn English but the problem with that is that not all immigrant families have Internet access in their homes -- the place most likely where they would access English-learning sites.

One possible solution to the English class crunch is for cities to delegate some of their public cable access channels to nothing but televised English classes -- 24/7. While the solution is not ideal because it doesn't allow for the teacher/student interaction, it's a lot better than nothing at all.

Another solution has to do with cell phones. The Centers for Disease Control released the report Wireless Substitution: Early Release of Estimates From the National Health Interview Survey, January-June 2008 where the author discovered that more Latinos, than Anglos or blacks, carry a cell phone.

It's an interesting acknowledgement because of something that Nokia has recently developed for their Chinese customers -- mobile English classes.

Nokia has created a new learning application software for their mobile devices; they call it mobiledu.cn.

BBC Learning English is the international content provider for the service which features a number of English tests and practice questions for learning survival English and business English.

"Nokia Mobiledu brings users a truly seamless English learning experience by integrating learning with life; learning English on the go, anywhere and anytime. I believe Mobiledu will help English learners realize their dreams," said Angela Long, Nokia Sales and Marketing Manager of Mobiledu.cn...

Using the platform, it's possible to learn the English language at one's own pace and when they need it - whether it is to study abroad or to improve career development. The mobile learning platform also helps users to learn the English language inexpensively and without having to hunt the Internet to find translations.

If this kind of application is available in China, there's no reason why it can't be made available in the United States. With cell phones so ubiquitous among Latinos in the United States, this alternative easily enables immigrants to achieve the goals of the Task Force's recommendations.

For some reason, there is an assumption that it will be an uphill battle to get immigrants to assimilate. That's not the problem. It's when the federal government attaches exorbitant fees to the process that creates resistance.

If the government was truly sincere about wanting to help immigrants assimilate, then they should make the process affordable and as convenient as possible. It's one thing to make people work to receive their citizenship but it's quite another to make them suffer for it.

Comments

[obamagirl1968]

There are a lot of good points made in the article as well as the comments, so let me put my 2 cents in:

1) It is a known fact that it is harder to learn a language as an adult than as a child. Witness that fact that immigrant children are fluently bi-lingual whereas their parents struggle. Making Englsh learning available in multiple forms would be more cost effective than printing things like ballots and directions in multiple languages.
2) We definitely need to ensure that American history is accurately disseminated in our schools. I find myself having to correct and supplement my children's education in this area, in particular. I didn't learn comprehensive world or American history when I was in grade school in the 80's but I expected my children to learn it in this so-called multicultural society in which we live.
3) Someone touched on ballots. I believe that we need to comprehensively overhaul the registration, election and voting process. ALL citizens should be housed in a single database that verifies citizenship and voter eligibility. People should not have to 'register' to vote. If they have a license, get public assistance, or even receive state services, they should already be in the database. This whole voter verification process in Indiana, for example, or the registration questions brought up by ACORN are quagmires that should not occur.

[tgood]

There is a media slant of illegal aliens, and then there's the reality. Texas is overrun by illegal aliens, with over one half million estimated living in the Houston area alone. They do not want to become American nor respect the American culture. The demands of illegal aliens are pushed by LaRaza, a racist group that made no bones about the fact they wanted to convert the U.S. to Mexico for many years.

We have a federal judge, William Wayne Justice, who made demands on Texas schools to provide bilingual education over 20 years ago. Now, he's decided there has been an adequate job done in the grade school levels but has now demanded Texans be held responsible for the drop out rates of Hispanics. These huge dropout rates trace directly back to illegal aliens, whose resident stability is shaky at best ,but taxpayers now have the responsibility that belongs to the parents of these children. While we are paying 600 million a year just for the health care of illegal aliens, we are now being told hundreds of millions have to be spend providing bilingual education from grade 8 through senior high school. In other words, 12 years of bilingual instruction for Latino children.

Accomodating the Spanish language instruction for 12 years of a Latino student is wrong and a luxury this struggling economy cannot continue to support.

[dubster]

Wow, where do you get your news from Fox news channel? Your La Raza facts are completely mendacious.

[nee]

First we need to deport all ILLEGAL ALIENS. They need to go back to their own countries. We need to have a common language and that must be English. We shouldn't print anything in any other language. If you choose to come to this country legally then you must learn the language period.

[Independent voter]

It's time for immigrants to stop whining and learn the language. How much money is wasted by printing nearly everything in multiple languages.

And what about non-Spanish speaking immirants? When was the last time you saw an ATM machine that displayed it's message in Jpanaese or Hmong?

Would someone please explain why election ballots have to be made available in Spanish? Don't you have to be a citizen to vote - and don't you need to know a LITTLE English to become a citizen.

[nee]

You are so right!

[1murillo]

Independent

Besides missing one of the main points of the article, your entry relies on the simple, over-used, ill-thought argument that "whining" is the problem. Articles and comments are addressed to perceived issues, this is one of the ways we communicate. If someone's whining, complaining, arguing, demanding, pleading or begging bothers you, then don't listen, or work to create a solution of your choice.

Trevino points out that xenophobic arguments to the contrary, there is a great demand for English-language classes, but class numbers and accessibility are extremely limited.

There is no "the language." American English is spoken in the same way that many other languages are spoken here. The wide use of English makes it popular, but that doesn't mean it's a barometer for citizenship. Thousands of people speak other languages.

"Basic English" is a requirement to become a citizen - but it's not required if one is already a citizen. There are many exceptions due to the impossibility of regularly measuring whether 300,000,000+ people speak basically.

You: "Don't you have to be a citizen to vote[?]" Yes, but no one is saying non-citizens should be voting.

[larry278]

The history texts used in American RC elementary schools once gave Spanish speaking people in the South West of the USA as being the 1st to settle there & IberioAmerica credit for having the 1st cities & universities in the new world. Francophones were formerly mentioned in RC texts.
Newer texts mention black contributions to the USA. I wonder if Hispanics are mentioned in US texts any more.

[apoyo]

The rise of the rest so to speak.

It would be nice to know that Haiti helped out in the revolutionary war in the battle of Savannah in 1779 and that Haiti was the second country in the Americas to declare it's independence in 1804.

That would be so neat to teach History and English. Sounds like my cup of tea.

[MagisterLudi]

Illegal immigration is like the oldest profession, it can slowed but not stopped. But it CAN be managed.
Some ideas:
1."Guest worker" visas -- strictly enforced, no right of appeal, summary deportation for violations.
All deportations to the country of origin,with education stipend and some job assistance.
2.Continue to deport all felony illegal immigrants.
3. Prosecute more employers who use workers w/o guest worker visas.
4. Easy immigration to all with at least Masters degree. Must be legit. from recognized college.
5. Automatic citizenship for those with a PhD from top 100 world universities: Sorbonne, Xinhua, Beijin, Moscow State U. etc.

[AngelaQuattrano]

Much simpler than that. Enforce the labor laws we have, and increase wages paid to living wage levels. Americans will take the jobs and the illegal aliens will go home. Americans won't work for less than minimum wage.

[1murillo]

Only responding to your #1 (guest worker): The US/Mexico tried this in the 1940s, 50s. There are still open cases because the US didn't fulfill its side of the bargain.

Contesting violations isn't appealing yet. For example, one way that many owners saved on wages was to have Immigration deport workers (at the end of the season). Getting the owners to admit that they owed wages if the worker is in Mexico very rarely happened.

[slemay]

We need immigrants in this country--more now than ever. Where do you think our markets will come from in the future? Where will our workers come from? Not here. Baby Boomers chose not to have that many children, so we won't be replacing ourselves. So who will pay for our Social Security? Who will buy our stuff? Without immigrants, our population will decline--drop, fall, get smaller.

We need legal immigration, and far fewer mechanics to the process. One official at the Atlanta Fed estimated that we would need 235 million immigrants between now and 2050 to maintain the current ratio of workers to retirees. We won't get that many, but those who think our economic future lies in banning immigration or in making it more difficult, those who would set up more roadblocks at the border, need to recognize that the future they envision is much poorer than our present--e­conomicall­y, as well as culturally and socially.

[Overd0g]

Yes. But we need educated immigrants, not third world poverty.

[Tituba]

My dear Overdog:

How sad that we now accuse those immigrants of something WE, THE PROUD AND ARROGANT AMERICANS created. Let me show you: remember those days where the "in" thing was a dictator in every Latin country? There you have it, i.e. we supported Somoza in Nicaragua with money, armament, MERCENARIES, and my neighbor for good measure. The Nicaraguan rebels raided "Jose's" farm and took the 2 cows, 4 chickens and the only hen he had for their food. Then after that the army "visited" and took the land "Jose" had because "he was feeding the guerilla". Now Jose doesn't have his land, his animals or an education, but he does have, a family to feed, dress, an shelter and no other way to do this but tempting faith and comming to the US; you know, the country of the opportunities where everything is possible!

One cutsy detail you may not know, my dear Overdog, is that all of us Latinos are not uneducated, poor, gang bangers criminal immigrants. Some of us are very educated; with two, three or even four degrees. Some of us speak more than two languages and can read Garcia Lorca and Sabato in Spanish; O'Henry and Hawtorne in English, Amado and Machado de Assis in Portuguese; Beccaria and della Mirandola in Italian; Camus and Baudelaire in French. How many Americans can say the same thing? A lot; I wouldn't dream of even imagining all Americans as ignorants just because some are.

[MagisterLudi]

"the future they envision is much poorer than our present--e­conomicall­y, as well as culturally and socially."

Ah, but the present...­. the present!

[ADVOCATE4ZPG]

This among the lamest excuses for giving the U.S. away to Third World, demographic licensciousness; the U.S. DOES NOT need an additional slice of the world's high breeding tribalists bent on lowering the U.S. closer to their version of single "identity" politics.

Most Hispanics are not assimilating, have access to cable satellite television BUT keep it glued to Hispanic-language stations! They are STUFFING the schools with their very numerous offspring to the point that "white flight" ensues--in search of standards required for university matriculation!

[AngelaQuattrano]

We don't need to import immigrants to take jobs that pay lousy wages and no benefits. We need to make honest work respectable again by paying living wages. Americans would take those jobs. Wages are artificially depressed by both illegal immigration and guest worker programs. Who benefits? Fat cats.

[NationalTreasure]

+Marisa:

don't hold your breath too long waiting for honesty and accuracy in American history
the contributions of slaves have not been accurately accounted, nor of Native Americans, Mexicans post-slavery African-Americans and children ar still being taught that that Columbus discovered America

[MagisterLudi]

Your conhten tion is based on outdated narrative.

Few courses teach the old style history. The African American contributions are abundantly represented in modern history texts. Open one at your leisure.
Hispanic Americans somewhat less.
The problem with Hispanic immigrant lack of mastery of ESL is based on 4 factors:
1.Limited basic literacy in their native Spanish, and/or their own indigenous language.
2. Incidence of limited cognitive development due to lack of schooling in their native countries. For adults, language acquisition is a laborious and cognitively challenging process.
3.Low socio-economic status.
4. Living in self-contained communities where mastery of English is of a secondary concern.

[CFAmick]

It always seems like the most virulent anti-immigration activits and bigots aren't capabeleof contributing much themselves.

[dubster]

Excellent post!

[Rimser]

My daughter (age 7 at the time) and I lived for about 1 year in Germany. Neither of us spoke the language. I could not afford the very expensive American school, so she attended the local German school. There were no German-as-­a-second-l­anguage classes. She was expected to learn the language. She did very well. After we returned to the States, she was able to attend a German School for two years. In 7th grade, she took freshman German and aced the Regent's exam. She also assisted a local author with translations and composition of magazine articles and wrote several articles on her own (using her own German translations).

My point is that ESL classes hinder rather than help. Children are remarkably quick to pick up a new language, but it has to be through full immersion - the playground, school recess, tv, and, yes, classes. By staying within their own cultural network, immigrants miss out on the economic opportunities that assimilation affords. Learning a new language as an adult is not easy. I never mastered German. I learned enough to get through the grocery store, meat market, read a menu, and generally get through the day.

Conversational German still evades me, but I'm grateful for my experience living in a different country. Just watching my daughter absorb a new language helped me to understand what my ancestors must have gone through coming to this country and watching their children become Americans.

[MagisterLudi]

Das ist richtig, Herr Ramirez :-)
Yet, in American school many American born Hispanic children persist in ESL classes primarily due to low reading/writing scores. One of the factors is low SES and frequent lack of educational traditions within Hispanic culture. Anyone who doubts that cultural influences play no part should peruse the names of the honor students and winners of spelling bees and honors students. A large percentage-- first generation Asian Americans ( ABCs).

[KRAZYHORZE]

I became fluent in English in 3 months because i was forced to interact with diverse communities.

My parents on the other hand still have trouble with English because they felt (rightfully so in certain ways) rejected by the white community and so they mostly interact with fellow immigrants.

As most recent immigrants know, one can live in the States without having to interact in English

[ADVOCATE4ZPG]

Your revelation points to the CORE of the U.S. immigration problem: Overall LEVELS (COUNTS, NUMBERS, ETC.) are egregiously HIGH. Accordingly, immigrations (both legal and ILLEGAL) are insufficiently dispersed for large-scale, rapid assimilation!

[Rule Of Law]

My grandfather immigrated to this country in 1897--legally. He spoke only an Eastern European language. He worked 16 hour shifts in steel mills, before unions, before fair labor practices, and before any sort of social welfare programs. He didn't have a cell phone. He didn't have cable TV. He found the time to attend classes on his own and learn English, as nearly every other immigrant of that time did. And he taught it to his 8 children!

[FearlessFreep]

Ah, the myth of the Melting Pot!

[Rule Of Law]

I've got your melting pot right here for you!

[deaniac83]

This is pretty stunning. In no other country would you be able to argue that you be given a citizenship without being able to speak that country's common language. You think you can be a French citizen and ask for a ballot in English? You're dreaming.

And as for the "myth" of the melting pot, it is no myth. As I said, I'm an American by choice (and of color). I have a group of friends that are gay (myself included) and straight, American born and foreign born, Anglo, Latino and Asian, male and female, young to middle aged. We don't consider ourselves defined by our ethnicity or linguistic/national origin or sexuality or gender. We consider ourselves friends and human beings first and foremost and part of the great melting pot that is OUR country.

[roald]

Let's drop the Melting Pot for the Salad Bowl. We became great through our diversity and need to maintain diversity to work with all of the nations of this world. We do need a common base of language, laws, and respect for each other to be able to take advantage of all that diversity offers.

[dunhill]

And third decide once for all what to do with the rest of the immigrants, the ones that live in the shadows. Close the borders, legalize, later on punish, put everybody under the same rules and conditions. A shock policy, fix everything at once, is not going to please everybody, but the way it is right now does not please anybody anyways. Can you do that? Can you?

[ADVOCATE4ZPG]

NEVER, grant another AMNESTY! The last MAJOR amnesty in 1986 merely raised the expectation that there would EVENTUALLY be another...­...because those not amnestied were not pursued and prosecuted­....

A self-fullfilling prophecy had been laid out.....an­d now the apologists want it reified...­.!

[1murillo]

The 1986 Simpson-Rodino Act is an example of why we should allow immigrants to become legal citizens. If anything, it was too weak to absorb more people into our polity.

(If anyone is still arguing that underpaid workers are killing the economy, pay closer attention to what $700,000,000,000 can do for Wall St but so far not for the rest of us.)

It's lunacy to think that we will ever live in a strictly national world again. Example, the products you use to read and write on this blog were made in many countries, by people speaking many languages. The difficulties we face have nothing to do with "English."

Arming our borders and ports with walls and guns is an inward-looking, unimaginative way to respond to issues.

(sarcasm)
Arguing for a closed border should go all the way. No languages - especially not acronyms - should be allowed. No publications, soft or hard, should be allowed within our 50 states (what do we do with Guam and PR?) - that aren't inspected by and passed by our Board of English Language. Nothing, whether it's wwi intructions, or nuclear shelter signs, highway signs, language classes, should be in anything other than American English.

Maybe, no products should be allowed in America that are produced in factories where the workers speak a language other than English.