Presidential Candidate Calls for Spanish as a National Language for U.S. - Rep. Kucinich Supports Proposal in Front of Univision Crowd; Other Candidates Disagree

“Ohio Representative and 2008 presidential candidate Dennis Kucinich indicated his support for promoting Spanish as a second official language of the United States in last night’s Democratic presidential debate in Miami. In front of an overwhelmingly Hispanic audience at the Univision-sponsored debate, Kucinich was the only candidate to voice support for official multilingualism. In answer to the same question, candidates Bill Richardson and Sen. Chris Dodd both said that they disagreed with the idea of moving away from English as the nation’s unifying language.

“I, like the majority of Hispanics, hold my native language in high regard but understand that English is the language of this country,” said Mauro E. Mujica, Chairman of the Board of U.S. English, Inc. “Hispanics, like all immigrants, are free to speak whatever language we choose, but we do not have the right to demand that the government speak our language. In a land of more than 300 spoken languages, but united by one, it is irrational to consider that we should cherry pick a second language for government business.”

Recent surveys have found that the majority of Hispanics support making English the official language of the United States. A December 2006 poll by Zogby International found that 65 percent of Hispanics in the United States favor official English legislation. Furthermore, strong Hispanic support aided in the passage of English as the official language of Arizona in November 2006, when the measure succeeded by a near 3-to-1 margin.

“Perhaps Rep. Kucinich believed he was playing to the friendly crowd when he suggested making Spanish a second official language,” added Mujica, who immigrated to the United States from Chile in 1965. “In that case, I suggest he get to know the majority of America’s immigrants. We have gone through the naturalization process because we want what all Americans want – good jobs, good schools, and a healthy economy. We do not want to be pandered to by ignorant politicians.”

U.S. English, Inc. is the nation’s oldest and largest non-partisan citizens’ action group dedicated to preserving the unifying role of the English language in the United States. Founded in 1983 by the late Sen. S.I. Hayakawa of California, U.S. English, Inc. can be found on the web at: www.usenglish.org“

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