Janet Napolitano recently released a public message asserting allegiance to President Bill Clinton’s Executive Order 13166, or Improving Access to Services for Persons with Limited English Proficiency. EO 13166 says that any entity which receives federal funds must provide whatever services it offers in any foreign language spoken by anyone likely to receive those services. It says failure to do so is likely to constitute "discrimination on the basis of national origin" as prohibited by Title VI of the 1964 Civil Rights law.Tell Janet Napolitano to Stop Her Assault on English!
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ProEnglish | The Nation's Leading Advocates of Official English
April 16, 2012
The problem with DHS expanding its programs and activities in foreign languages is that there is no legal basis or rationale for doing so! EO 13166 is not the law, it is simply a decade-old Justice Department interpretation of the federal Civil Rights Act. EO 13166 enforcement is based on the erroneous assumption that language and national origin are the same, but the courts have regularly held that they are not.
Rep. Peter King (R-NY) has introduced a bill in Congress, H.R. 1307, that that will effectively revoke this executive order.
It is unacceptable for a taxpayer-funded agency to allow people to make requests for benefits and to file complaints in an unlimited number of languages. Providing unlimited foreign-language services removes the incentives for non-English speakers to learn English and become assimilated, fully participating members of society.
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Sec. Napolitano urges the public to send comments and questions about this effort to DHS’ Office for Civil Rights and Civil Liberties. You can do so by clicking the ‘TAKE ACTION’ button above!
