Sep 19, 2015 3 min read

We would never put a law on the books today as repugnant as the Immigration Act of 1882, which ordered that new arrivals on our shores who “appeared” to be convicts or lunatics be turned away.

Nor would we enact something as blatantly racist as the Immigration Act of 1924, which severely restricted the flow of Southern and Eastern Europeans into the United States, and locked the doors entirely to Arabs and Asians.

But it’s not like we’ve unequivocally embraced the poor, huddled masses yearning to breath free. Some states and municipalities have passed laws, many appearing to be inoffensive, that subtly discriminate against immigrants.

One clear example are “English only” laws, that seek to enshrine English as an “official language.” They are mostly symbolic, though some of the regulations scratch out a state or city’s obligation to provide translations on websites or in official documents, or provide interpreters. But these laws send an insidious message to newcomers – your language, your customs, your ways of life, are not as “worthy,” and non-English speakers should be marginalized.

A proposal that would make English the official language of Pennsylvania has appeared and reappeared over the last couple of years, and it usually wanders around Harrisburg for a while like a roving, George Romero zombie before it topples over. But, of course, zombies never die, and a new measure that would make English the commonwealth’s official language has been introduced yet again, this time by freshman state Rep. Ryan Warner of Fayette County.

Even though it would make English Pennsylvania’s official language – as if there were an imminent danger that street signs are going to start appearing in Swahili – it carves out exceptions for conflicts with federal law, and those involving public safety, international tourism, business interactions and foreign language instruction. It would require that English be used on most official documents, such as licenses, real estate records and wills. Russ Mayo, superintendent of the heterogeneous Allentown School District, told that city’s newspaper, The Morning Call, “I’m not sure how much benefit there is in the legislation, especially with all those exceptions.”

All told, 31 states have made English an “official language.” Along with the cost-saving measures of doing away with interpreters and translations, supporters say these measures act to unify an increasingly diverse people. But many immigrants already have a basic grasp of English because of its prevalence around the world, or they will pick it up soon enough as they settle into American life, just as an American moving to, say, Berlin, would soon be absorbing German merely by being around it on a daily basis.

In a 2012 essay from the Huffington Post, Warren J. Blumenfeld, an education instructor at the University of Massachusetts-Amherst, pointed out that “making English the official language in the United States or any state is about as necessary as establishing popcorn as the official snack at movie theaters. People will eat popcorn whether or not we codify it as ‘official,’ just as native-born residents and immigrants to our shores understand the necessity of establishing an individual functional command of English as a prime requisite for success and advancement.”

He further stated “English Only” laws are “… demeaning to non-native English speakers.” Indeed they are.

Considering that a budget is now almost three months overdue, and disputes around pensions, education funding and the state liquor system remain unresolved, lawmakers are wasting time and energy on this?