Growing English fluency among immigrants a good sign, argues Times editorial

New data from the U.S Census yesterday reported that the proportion of native Spanish speakers fluent in English increased to 51.4% in 2007 from 44.6% in 2000. This Los Angeles Times editorial argues that those new statistics reveal an enthusiasm for the United States that the nation should welcome.

"Those gains suggest the enthusiasm of these new arrivals for their adopted country and argue for their absorption, not their demonization. Granted, these percentages lump legal and illegal immigrants together, and evidence suggests that those here illegally are less likely to master the language. Border control and a sputtering U.S. economy have done much to deter illegal immigration over the last several years, and may be contributing marginally to the increased fluency of the immigrant population that remains.

"But that's an argument for legalizing families, not for imagining them as a threat to our cohesion. American culture grows and adapts as new immigrants redefine it over the generations, and the same can be said of the English language. We should embrace that evolution, not hold it at bay with false and alarmist arguments about the threat to American values."

Read more of the Los Angeles Times editorial on the fact that more immigrants speak English here.

Go here for more on immigration.

-- Deborah Bonello in Mexico City

Comments

[southoc]

If the English I hear is fluent I must have missed something.

[franks]

So there you go. In only 3 generations most of the illegals and their offspring will have learned English. Of course, if learning English were the only negative element to illegal immigration, the problems would be solved in only 60 years. Unfortunately, this simplistic article/opinion doesn't deal with depressed wages, overcrowding, strained natural resources, and over-burdened educational, social services, and law enforcement systems. But then, the Times can always (and ONLY) find the positive spin to a population whose first act on our soil is to break many laws.

Once again, thanks for the biased and agenda-driven "reporting."