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Push on to make English official
Lawmaker takes aim at immigrant drivers

By Jeremy Redmon
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

Published on: 12/08/06

A Republican state lawmaker filed legislation Thursday that would prohibit Georgia and all of its cities and counties from issuing official forms in any language other than English.

State Rep. Timothy Bearden (R-Villa Rica) said his measure would protect the state's official language and help traffic police who pull over immigrant drivers.

Bearden said the state should not, for example, continue to offer the driver's license exam in 14 languages. Doing so allows people who don't speak English, and may not be able to read traffic signs or communicate with law enforcement, to become drivers.

"We have welcomed immigrants for hundreds of years in America. One common thread we have always had is the English language," said Bearden, a former Douglasville police sergeant. "This bill is a common sense bill."

Bearden said when he worked as a motorcycle officer in Douglasville he sometimes pulled over motorists and discovered they had a valid driver's license but could not speak English. Others presented him with a Mexican driver's license, he said.

The lawmaker said he asked that his legislation be drafted weeks before Cherokee County commissioners voted to make English the county's official language and punish landlords who rent to illegal immigrants.

"The federal government has let us down on securing our borders for years," said Bearden, now a real estate agent. "I am very proud of Cherokee County for taking a stand, and I hope other counties will take a stand as well."

State Rep. Willie Talton(R-Warner Robins) signed on as a co-sponsor to Bearden's bill.

"If we leave and go to a foreign country, what do we have to do? We have to learn their language," Talton said. "Our forefathers spoke the English language, and that is what we should do."

Susan Sports, a spokeswoman for the Georgia Department of Driver Services, said the computer-based portion of the driver's license test is offered in 14 languages —- including English and Spanish —- as "a customer service for our international residents." The driving portion, however, is done in English, she said.

Jerry Gonzalez, executive director of the Georgia Association of Latino Elected Officials, called Bearden's bill "immigrant bashing."

"This is just plain and simple immigrant bashing that will make Georgia less competitive with international businesses, sending a signal that immigrants are not welcome in Georgia," Gonzalez said.

"There is no need for it. English is not going anywhere. Immigrants want to learn English. And through the generations, they become pretty fluent, maybe better in English than Tim Bearden is."