December 26, 2008

‘English only’ measure is still the wrong approach 

The culture war over immigration in Nashville moves to a new battlefield next month when voters will decide the fate of an amendment to the Charter of the Metropolitan Government of Nashville and Davidson County that would require all city business be conducted only in English.

There have been skirmishes over the issue before, but in the past the measure has been knocked down. However, with the help of Metro Councilman Eric Crafton, this issue keeps getting back up. That’s a sign that the issue resonates deeply with Nashville’s residents, but also that a majority recognize that refusing to communicate in the most effective and efficient manner possible with a large segment of the population is not an answer to the problem of illegal immigration.

The vote on the referendum is scheduled for Jan. 22, and early voting will take place from Jan. 2 through Jan. 17. If it passes, the amendment would stipulate that English is the official language of Metro government, all official actions of the government must be taken in English, all government communications and publications are required to be in English only, no one will have the right to government services in any other language, and all official meetings of Metro government must be conducted in English only.

There are two caveats included in the amendment: Metro Council can make exceptions to protect the public health and safety, and nothing in the amendment shall be interpreted to conflict with federal or state law. Those are two fairly large loopholes, which begs the question: what is the point of this amendment other than to punish all immigrants, illegal or not?

Is that anger at immigrants the best foundation for sound public policy? Is it how we should treat other human beings, no matter where they were born? Our faith says no.

The questions surrounding illegal immigration and the impact of undocumented residents on our society are much too complex to address with such a narrow, vindictive approach. That is why the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops and the Catholic Public Policy Commission of Tennessee, which represents the three dioceses of the state, have called for comprehensive reform of our immigration laws.

The bishops’ position is based on Scripture and the long tradition of Church social teaching. We are obliged to follow Christ’s call to welcome the stranger with love.

To meet our obligation, the Church bases its teaching on migration on three principles:

• People have the right to migrate to sustain their lives and the lives of their families.

• A country has the right to regulate its borders and to control migration.

• A country must regulate its borders with justice and mercy.

With those principles as a foundation, the U.S. bishops have called for reforms to the country’s immigration system that include: policies to address the situations that create refugees and migrants, such as war and global poverty; reform of our immigration system, including an earned legalization program and a temporary worker program with appropriate worker protections; and restoration of due process for immigrants.

At the core of such a reform program is seeing immigrants as people, worthy of being treated with dignity, rather than simply as threats to our livelihood.

You can’t treat immigrants with dignity, justice and mercy if you refuse to use the most obvious option to communicate with them, which is to talk to them in a language they can understand. Some might argue that if immigrants want to be understood, let them learn English. Well, that’s just what generations of immigrants to this country have done over the more than 200 years it’s been in existence and there’s nothing that says it won’t happen with the immigrants living amongst us now or in the future. But no one learns English overnight, it takes time. In the meantime, they might need help paying property taxes or getting a birth certificate for their newborn child, or enrolling their children in school.

Immigration is not an easy question. It is fair to debate exactly what is the best way for Nashville, Tennessee and the rest of the United States to integrate migrants into our workforce, our economy, our culture. But we will never find an answer to that dilemma if we refuse to talk to our neighbors. In fact, finding a way to communicate is our only hope.