ProEnglish Denounces Blanket Amnesty by Obama Administration

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:                                                                     Contact: Phil Kent
June 15, 2012                                                                                             Phone: (404) 226-3549

Arlington, VA—ProEnglish, the nation’s leading advocate of official English, condemned today’s move by the Obama administration that essentially rewards an amnesty to nearly 800,000 illegal aliens. The administration decided it will no longer deport the vast majority of illegal aliens under the age of 30, and without requiring them to learn English.

“Naturalized citizens have to demonstrate English language proficiency to become American citizens,” ProEnglish Executive Director Robert Vandervoort noted. “By contrast, today’s decision by the Obama administration not only rewards law-breaking, it also makes no attempt to provide for assimilation.”

“ProEnglish strongly opposes any kind of blanket amnesty because it grants nearly 800,000 illegal aliens legal status without requiring them to learn English,” Vandervoort continued. “Without an English-language provision, this will dramatically expand demands on government services in foreign languages.”

“During a time of record high deficits and unemployment, the White House should not be seeking to increase the financial burdens on American citizens. This decision will force American taxpayers to subsidize costly government-mandated multilingual services for a largely non-English speaking population,” Vandervoort concluded. “It shows why we need to pass the English Language Unity Act (H.R. 997) now more than ever.”