In the middle of a committee hearing on Senate Bill 9, which would crack down on illegal immigrants in Texas, State Senator Chris Harris stopped the hearing. He asked “Did I understand you correctly that he had been here since 1988?” Harris asked “Why aren’t you speaking in English then?”

Antolin Aguirre of the Austin Immigration Rights Coalition was testifying to the committe with the aide of an interpreter. What do you think of the Senators question? Should a legal immigrant speak in the native language of the country which has adopted him? This sort of immigration is what is harming our national identity. The whole idea behind a melting pot is that everyone’s former identity as a foreigner is put together and melted until we are one big stew, where we are all Americans.

In order for an immigration and naturalization program to wok successfully one needs to adopt the traditions, language, and, especially, laws of the host country. Does that mean that any non-English speaking people should be scorned in public? Certainly not, we are not France. We have a history of helping the immigrant assimilate into our shared culture and following the American dream. This much is clear, if you have been in an English speaking country for 23 years and refused to learn the language, then you haven’t embraced your host and have proven yourself to be an ungrateful guest. I’m glad this Senator pointed out the obvious.

While Aguirre thought he was advocating for illegal immigrants, in turn he proved why illegal immigration is so dangerous.