Thread: English Only Driver's Test Could Hinder Refugees

English-only drivers' test could hinder refugees
Objections prompt the bill's sponsor to say he won't insist on the provision for the exam if other lawmakers object.
BY JOHN MILLER - THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
Published: 02/03/10

Cesar Penasiel arrived in Boise in December, fleeing political unrest in his native Colombia only to learn what most U.S. teenagers knew: Real American freedom is found behind the wheel of a car.

For legal refugees like 19-year-old Penasiel, jobs are often hourly and miles from where they live, so the ability to travel to and from work sites is a must. He quickly earned his Idaho license after passing the written test in Spanish, one of eight languages in which it's offered.

Under a proposal in the Idaho Senate, he would have been restricted to a written test in English.

"That would have been impossible," Penasiel said Monday through an interpreter, adding Idaho's practical test was a snap. "I started driving trucks eight years ago in Columbia, when I was 11."

At least 10 states now offer English-only driver's license tests: Utah, New Hampshire, Hawaii, Arizona, South Dakota, Wyoming, Maine, Oklahoma, Kansas and Arizona, according to Arlington, Va.-based advocacy group ProEnglish, which aims to limit official government business solely to English.

States like Kansas, South Dakota and Wyoming allow interpreters. But Idaho's measure would forbid such assistance.

It was written by Sen. Mike Jorgenson, R-Hayden Lake, and a promoter of efforts to punish employers for knowingly hiring illegal immigrants. Refugee advocates are vexed by the bill's English-only restriction.

"It seems shortsighted," said Christina Bruce-Bennion, director for the Agency for New Americans in Boise, which last year helped 270 refugees resettle in southwestern Idaho.

Jorgenson conceded he hadn't previously considered his measure's impact on legal immigrants, political refugees or even foreign students on educational exchanges. Asked about the matter Monday, he told The Associated Press: "I'm only worried about illegal workers. That's all I'm trying to fix."

Idaho now offers written tests in Chinese, Arabic, Vietnamese, Spanish, Russian, Serbo-Croatian and Farsi - languages of groups that have come to Idaho in significant numbers in response to war, economic hardship, persecution or just the hope of a better life. In 2009, 141 of 437 people who took the Arabic version passed it, according to the Idaho Transportation Department.

Four of 28 Iranians who took the Farsi test scored passing marks, as did 1,125 of 3,442 people who took it in Spanish. Meanwhile, 56,813 of the 81,554 people who took the written test in English passed.

K.C. McAlpin, executive director of ProEnglish, said states that adopt English-only tests heighten the urgency for immigrants to master the dominant U.S. language. This year, there are also budget concerns - translated tests cost money - and safety to think about, he said.

"If they can't read the traffic signs, they are a danger to themselves," McAlpin said. "Most refugees are settled in urban areas where there's an existing public transportation network. Catering to their needs to have a driver's license test in their own language shouldn't take priority over public safety."

Idaho refugee advocates say such arguments are undermined by the state's minuscule public transit network, wide-open spaces and agricultural economy that employs many non-native English speakers.

"A lot of our clients are finding jobs they have to commute to, up to an hour each way," said Josh Campbell, employment coordinator for the Agency for New Americans. "Their only option is driving and having a license."

http://www.idahostatesman.com/newsupdat ... _Container

This is THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA,WE SPEAK ENGLISH !!!

Take a look at the comments at the link. Everybody here in Idaho wants English only driver's tests. We already have a law that all the state government's business has to be in English only. Wouldn't state driver's licenses fall under that category?

i work in the insurance industry and i can tell you first hand we NEED this. so many times, hispanics come in, after getting a ticket, after speeding thru a construction zone, after failing to yield, etc. and say "i shouldn't have to pay this ticket because the signs were all in english, and i don't read english". does anyone realize what a RISK this is? what if a sign says to slow down because it's a "school zone"? are they exempt from following this because they don't understand the sign? what about when the overhead monitor says "icy conditions ahead" and they plow into the back of your car? should they be excused because they can't read english???