












Well I'm glad my dear sweet LEGAL grandma, who spoke no english, passed away before a law like this could get enacted. I would have to commit some crime against any police that harrassed the sweet old lady for ID because she didn't understand him.
Mind you, she was a caucasian but everyone tried to speak to her in spanish anyway when we went places. High level of assumptions going around.




It takes time for someone to learn english. Also, as humans age, the capacity to learn new languages greatly diminishes. That's why an 8 year old coming from a foreign language country will likely speak their language and english perfectly, their parents will speak english with an accent, and the elderly may never be able to learn beyond a few words.
How many foreign languages do you speak and how long did it take you to learn? Its not that simple. People that are here LEGALLY do not always immediately speak conversational english, from many countries.
We live in Texas and the border patrol ALWAYS harrassed my family coming back from the gulf coast because they heard my dad speak with an accent...even though we don't particularly look Mexican and we certainly do not speak spanish (well, I do, but that was learned here in the US).
My two comments to you Kelly are not about the law, its about the American "speak perfect english or GTFO" attitude, which IS xenophobic and sometimes racist.




Corporations, business owners, rich board of director sitting-ass politicians (cough, Kay Bailey Hutchinson) do not WANT to lose the slave labor that is illegal immigration. They do not care about the tax burdon on illegals because they have the means to find as many tax-shelters for their money as possible. Its us, the middle class that are paying for their care.
The people in power are creating fear in the minds of the average citizen to fuel anti-immigration sentiment whilst profiting from the toils of illegals at the same time.
How many middle class taxpaying people have a staff of illegal maids, nannies, and gardeners? Not so many....




i think my head would explode if i tried to enter this debate. so i'm just gonna say, i agree with ks_stevia.
also, can we please stop saying prove your citizenship...when clearly there are many people here legally with green cards and visas, but are not citizens. and that illegals don't pay taxes...um so they never buy anything at stores, where items are taxed?





vThey did prove their Citizenship and paid their fees, no one has a problem with them as they are here LEGALLY. They are called Naturalized Citizens or Resident Aliens and both pay taxes and are here Legally.
Most States don't have Sales tax. Some like Oregon have Property taxes and Income taxes, but no Sales tax.
Just to be clear. It is not ok to be in the United States illegally; even if you live in a State that has a sales tax (and give something back that way).
When I lived in Spain I had to pay for a Professional bilingual Lawyer for things like a bank account, public utilities, and such.
I was the foreigner there and can't see why Spaniards should be forced to accommodate me.





This is a famous 'red herring' argument ... that the payment of state sales taxes and/or Social Security taxes and/or gasoline taxes in some way offsets the cost of providing educational / health care / social services for those illegal aliens. For the most part, funding for education, health care ( medicaid ), food stamps etc. come from federal and state income taxes, which illegal aliens DO NOT PAY.and that illegals don't pay taxes...um so they never buy anything at stores, where items are taxed?
Keep in mind that sales taxes, Social Security taxes and/or gasoline taxes might amount to a couple of thousand dollars per year for an illegal alien. In comparison, the cost of educating an illegal immigrant child is on the order of $12,000 per year ... the cost of providing medicaid benefits is on the order of $5,000 per year ... the cost of providing food stamps and other typical social welfare benefits ( such as subsidized rent, subsidized utilities etc. ) is on the order of $ 10,000 per year. Most people would consider receiving up to $27,000 per year worth of services at a cost of $2,000 is a damn good deal.
Of course, middle class taxpayers who wind up paying $30,000+ per year in federal and state income taxes on top of sales taxes, Social Security taxes and gasoline taxes, and who are not eligible to receive any of these benefits, might feel differently.




All states but 6 have sales tax.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sales_t..._United_States
Also I believe that cities and counties can impose sales tax even if the state does not.
Sheeet, I wish there was a no sales-tax state near me. Texas has no income tax so our sales and property taxes are mad high. Wish I never bought property here, fuckers.










I know it takes time to learn English, I taught ESL years ago. However, many of the illegals don't want to learn English. I've seen it many times working in various jobs. If someone wants to come here they need to learn English. Btw, I once went out on a date with a guy who could barely speak English. I spoke Spanish to him (yes I speak Spanish, I also speak a little bit of French too). He was trying to learn English. My boyfriend's mother has a strong Italian accent yet she learned English (she came as an adult). He really dislikes illegals because of the ones who refuse to learn English. It's not a matter of learning perfect English, but rather trying to learn.
And no, I do not think it's fair that public aid here (and probably other states) requires all employees to speak Spanish. Yes, in Illinois illegals can get assistance.





YES THEY DO. Not only do most illegal aliens pay federal and state income taxes. They're not eligible for Medicaid or Food Stamps, so if anything, most are paying for others' benefits that they are not eligible to receive themselves.
From:
http://reason.org/news/show/122411.html
But, immigrants aren't flocking to the United States to mooch off the government. According to a study by the Urban Institute, the 1996 welfare reform effort dramatically reduced the use of welfare by undocumented immigrant households, exactly as intended. And another vital thing happened in 1996: the Internal Revenue Service began issuing identification numbers to enable illegal immigrants who don't have Social Security numbers to file taxes.
One might have imagined that those fearing deportation or confronting the prospect of paying for their safety net through their own meager wages would take a pass on the IRS' scheme. Not so. Close to 8 million of the 12 million or so illegal aliens in the country today file personal income taxes using these numbers, contributing billions to federal coffers. No doubt they hope that this will one day help them acquire legal status — a plaintive expression of their desire to play by the rules and come out of the shadows.
What's more, aliens who are not self-employed have Social Security and Medicare taxes automatically withheld from their paychecks. Since undocumented workers have only fake numbers, they'll never be able to collect the benefits these taxes are meant to pay for. Last year, the revenues from these fake numbers — that the Social Security administration stashes in the "earnings suspense file" — added up to 10 percent of the Social Security surplus. The file is growing, on average, by more than $50 billion a year.




Sure, for kids and adults. But its pretty much impossible for senior citizens to learn a new language. Anyway, it wasn't a problem for us, we took care of her and she managed to get around for 10 years without learning any english (not that she didn't try, just not able to learn an entire new language at 70 years of age).










I don't see how the language they speak has absolutely anything to do with getting welfare. Illegals don't get benefits first of all and second you keep adding that "and learn english" in there like its some kind of law when it's not. They don't have to learn english if they don't want too.





Yes illegals can get welfare in Illinois through their kids (who may or may not be citizens). Illinois has many programs and they say regardless of immigration status. Then if they don't want to learn English what would be the purpose of coming here? I speak Spanish and if I go to Mexico I'll speak it. Sure, they don't have to learn English, but we shouldn't have to learn Spanish to cater to them. Let them learn how to survive in a country where nothing is bilingual. After all, if you go to Mexico you better learn Spanish.




also to those who keep saying well besides building a fence and kicking out all the illegal immigrants...what's the solution? imo, simply put, for a real long term sustainable solutions south of us look at nafta and the effects it's had. we need to be looking at our governments actions and american corporations who have taken work from the us for cheaper labor in mexico and central american countries and exploited the workers.










yes ... the same is true of many other states. This is also the reason that there are so many pregnant women racing to get across the border before they go into labor ! If their child is born on the north side of the line it is automatically granted citizenship ... which in turn provides a legal route for the illegal parents to secure social welfare benefits and avoid deportation. And even in circumstances where the child is not a US citizen, many states will allow the parents to sign up for social welfare benefits ... either wilfully or by failure to check immigration status.Yes illegals can get welfare in Illinois through their kids (who may or may not be citizens). Illinois has many programs and they say regardless of immigration status.





What's the first thing you'd try to do if you moved to a new country?
Learn the language (not fight learning the language). I concede it takes time but why should people here have to accommodate people unwilling to learn the language we speak.
No matter what race that person is, if he or she is here illegally, they should be deported and invited to re-enter through the proper channels the way my ancestors did like 150 years ago.
"never trust a big butt and a smile"-- Bell Biv DeVoe
If you're in your twenties and aren't a liberal, you have no heart. If you're in you're forties and aren't a conservative, you have no brain - Winston Churchill





because the US Supreme Court said so ! Thanks to that ruling, major cities are legally required to provide all sorts of different language documents / interpreters etc. While Spanish is the major 'other' language, legally it extends to Farsi, Mandarin etc.I concede it takes time but why should people here have to accommodate people unwilling to learn the language we speak.



Just an FYI, it is typically not the actual immigrants who assimilate fully into American culture (including learning and/or speaking English), but their children. This is true of ANY foreign group who ever immigrated here, from the Irish on. I have yet to meet anyone in my age group (let's say, 20-35), whose parents immigrated here and mostly speak their home language, who DIDN'T speak fluent English. Not to mention, it is not uncommon for foreign groups to remain isolated in their own communities, speaking their own language, but still being able to communicate in English if necessary. Ever been to Chinatown, NYC???? Or Lancaster Pa, with their huge Amish community? Should we demand to see their birth certificates and green cards as well??
Part of why I love America is because we are so diverse, people from all over the world come to live here and learn from one another. Cultural homogenezation is overrated.
Life is what happens when you're busy making other plans
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