L.A. Mayor Dislikes English Edict

Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa criticized the Senate on Sunday for voting to declare English the “national language,” calling it an unnecessary addition to immigration legislation that provides no money for teaching nonnative speakers.

His comments came as key congressional figures continued a House-Senate stalemate that threatens enactment of immigration legislation this year. The dispute is over a provision of the Senate bill, approved last week, that would create a path to citizenship for most of the estimated 12 million illegal immigrants in the United States. The House bill solely addresses enforcement.

Villaraigosa, a Democrat, reiterated his general support for the more moderate Senate bill, but said there was no reason to declare English the national language, as an amendment calls for.

“We already know it’s the language of commerce and success,” he told CNN’s “Late Edition.”

“I can tell you that here in Los Angeles there are lines, thousands of people, waiting to learn English in our adult schools.”

The measure contains no additional funding for local governments to teach English and shows that some Washington lawmakers are out of touch with the rest of the United States, Villaraigosa said.

“It’s probably why this Congress and its majority is doing so poorly with the American public right now,” he said. “With all of the things they have to do right now, they’re going to pass amendments like this.”

It was the first time Villaraigosa, one of the country’s most visible Latino elected officials, had spoken to the national media about the language amendment, which the Senate approved May 18. He has been trying to avoid becoming too identified with the illegal immigration issue, staking out a moderate position of support for both tougher border enforcement and a pathway to citizenship for those already in the United States.

The largely symbolic national-language amendment passed the Senate easily after it was scaled back from a broader designation of English as the country’s “official language.” It would continue to allow government practices of providing some materials and services in other languages.

Even strong supporters of allowing illegal immigrants to become citizens felt the declaration was necessary to build support for the bill and bolster a sense of national unity in the face of immigrant protests that featured flags of many other nations.

Villaraigosa’s criticism of the provision was echoed Sunday by former President Carter.

“This is a country that’s kind of a melting pot for languages around the world, and I don’t think there’s any need for it,” Carter said on “Late Edition.” “It’s just kind of one of those emotional issues that can turn one part of America against another.”

There is plenty of emotion in the immigration debate, which has put parts of the Republican contingent in Congress in conflict with each other as they seek compromise on the House and Senate immigration bills.

Many House Republicans strongly oppose the Senate’s three-tier approach to illegal immigrants, which would allow those in the country more than five years to remain and eventually become citizens by paying fines and back taxes and meeting other requirements.

House Judiciary Committee Chairman F. James Sensenbrenner Jr. (R-Wis.) flatly said “no” when asked on NBC’s “Meet the Press” whether he would accept legislation that provided such a path to citizenship.

“Amnesty is wrong, and we should not pass it,” he said, adding that granting illegal immigrants citizenship in the last major immigration bill, in 1986, had only increased the problem. “I think the American public wants us to have a bill, but it’s important to do it right. Twenty years ago we did it wrong, and we’re paying the price.”

Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist (R-Tenn.) would not rule out his supporting enforcement-only immigration legislation. But he raised doubts, emphasizing that the bill passed Thursday with a pathway to citizenship was “the will of the Senate.”

“Politically it is tough” dealing with illegal immigrants, Frist said on “Fox News Sunday.” “We do, I feel, have to address the 12 million people to bring them out of the shadows.”

Frist said he opposed delaying House-Senate bill negotiations until after the November elections, an idea floated by some House members.

“I know people ultimately have to do what’s in their best interest for their district or for their state. But we’ve got a national security problem,” Frist said. “It’s an economic problem. It’s a humanitarian problem. People are dying coming across these borders.”

Sen. Chuck Hagel (R-Neb.), a leading backer of the Senate bill, said there would be political consequences for Republicans if they did not pass an immigration overhaul before the midterm elections.

“We’re in the mess that we’re in today on this issue because we’ve deferred this tough issue,” Hagel said on “Meet the Press.” “My dear friend Jim Sensenbrenner and those who think like Jim on this, they want to continue to defer it.”

Sen. Richard J. Durbin of Illinois, the second-ranking Democrat in the Senate, told “Fox News Sunday” that he was “troubled” by Sensenbrenner’s insistence that immigration legislation not include a path to citizenship. But Durbin, who will be one of the negotiators trying to forge a House-Senate compromise, would not say whether Democrats would walk away from legislation without such a provision.