The Illegal Immigration and English-Only Debates Have Heated Up in Southwestern Ohio

The two issues (English as official language and illegal immigration) should be kept separate. If you speak perfect English and you’re here illegally, the law says you should be deported. If you’re here legally, struggling with English, and don’t think the official language idea is a good one, it’s your right as a citizen to speak out, vote, and even run for office.

You see? They’re separate. But now, thanks to our local PC paper and a local legislator, the two will probably be joined at the hip around here for years (bolds are mine):

Butler Co. talks tough on illegal immigrants
Officials want state law to keep them out of Ohio

HAMILTON - Officials in this county with one of the region’s fastest growing Hispanic populations are taking extreme measures to clamp down on undocumented immigrants.

(Aside: Extreme? Figuring out at the state level how to enforce laws on the books that the Feds refuse to enforce is “extreme”? The Enquirer usually isn’t this obvious in their bias, but there it is.–Ed.)

Saying the federal government isn’t doing enough to stop people from living in the country illegally, the sheriff, a county commissioner and a state representative, all from Butler County, are pushing to create a state trespassing law aimed at deporting people who have entered the country without permission.

County Commissioner Mike Fox said the measure is not targeting Hispanics but noted that 90 percent of the illegal immigrants in the United States are from Mexico.

The Hispanic population in Hamilton, the Butler County seat, has grown by 500 percent from 1990, to about 4,000.

“This is not about an ethnic group. This is about national security. This is about the federal government’s failure to act,” Fox said Friday.

He said the government is too “politically correct” in dealing with immigration issues and alluded to a recent civil rights action against a Mason bar that posted a sign saying “For Service Speak English.”

“My theory is that if you’re too stupid to learn how to say ‘I want a beer’ in English, you’re too stupid to drink to begin with,” Fox said. (Thanks, Mike. What a pal.–Ed.)

State Rep. Courtney Combs, R-Fairfield, who earlier this year introduced legislation to make English the official language in Ohio, said he intends to propose the law at the state level by year’s end.

His staff is researching the issue to make the sure the bill would pass constitutional muster.

South Carolina legislators are considering a similar proposal that was introduced in April. Police in New Hampshire ran into trouble in August when a judge threw out criminal trespass charges against seven illegal immigrants, saying the law could only be applied to private property.

….. The proposal would call for people who are arrested for crimes or stopped for traffic infractions to be charged with trespass and order them to be deported instead of waiting for the federal government to make that decision, Sheriff Rick Jones said.

“Right now, I cannot arrest anybody for being in the country illegally,” he said. “The federal government has to pick and choose. They are doing the best they can. The officers who work for Immigration & Customs Enforcement don’t have the people to do it…so we have to start dealing with it ourselves.”

The rest of the article covers the same old tired ground you would expect:
– ICE officials saying they’re doing all they can.
– ICE saying it’s ultimately up to judges.
– “Hispanic spokespeople” worried about destroying trust and good will between police and and Hispanics.
– Dire predictions that low-paying jobs won’t get done.
– Blah blah blah.

The Enquirer makes an additional attempt to link the two issues by listing the 2000-2004 increase in the Hispanic population for each county in the 7-county Greater Cincinnati area. Guys, I DON’T CARE about the growth of the total Hispanic population. I welcome ANYONE who is here legally and with good intention, especially those who have gone through or are conscientiously going through the process of becoming a full-fledged US citizen. I DO CARE about the growth of the illegal immigrant population, no matter where they are originally from, and about the fact that no one else in authority, or in business, seems to.

The state should pass the trespass law. Whether English should be the official language of the state is a separate debate. I would favor it, but reasonable citizens can disagree.

The obvious right of a tavern owner to have a “For Service Speak English” at his establishment is NOT debatable. That debate ended in 1787 or 1788 (scroll to bottom), depending on whether you prefer when the Constitution was adopted or when it was ratified.

Mr. Fox, thanks for nothing. The sign is NOT an (illegal) immigration issue, it’s a free-speech issue. The sign may be a smart or stupid idea, but that’s HIS call, and none of the business of the Ohio Civil Rights Commission.
__________________

UPDATE: Porkopolis does a complete, thorough, and awesome fisking of the entire Enquirer article.
__________________

Background:

• BizzyBlog on “For Service Speak English”–”Questions for the Thought Police at the Ohio Civil Rights Commission and The Cincinnati Enquirer”
• Wizbang on the New Hampshire trespass enforcement effort (here, here, and here)
• From Boston.com, the unfortunate ultimate result in New Hampshire (judge dismissed trespass charges, saying the Feds have sole enforcement responsibility)
• The R-Rated Whistleblower’s latest offering (the contents of his Sunday edition should be up by early Saturday evening)
• Steve Fritsch on Free Speech

_______________________

Oct. 22: Wizbang Weekend Carnival participant.