Posted on 06/17/2011 10:51:59 AM PDT by Ballygrl
A Texas state senator is under fire for telling a man that his Spanish-language testimony was "insulting" during a committee hearing earlier this week.
Republican Chris Harris interrupted Antolin Aguirre of the Austin Immigrant Rights Coalition just minutes into his statement against the Lone Star State's new sanctuary cities bill.
The legislation, which was passed by the Senate Wednesday, allows police officers to verify the immigration status of detained suspects.
Harris told Aguirre that he "should be speaking in English."
"Did I understand him correctly that he has been here since 1988?" Harris asked. "Why aren't you speaking in English then?"
Aguirre responded through an interpreter that he felt more comfortable speaking in his native language because it was his first time giving a testimony.
"If he knows English, he needs to be speaking in English," the senator fired back.
Harris's comments have reinvigorated a debate over recent immigration legislation in other states that gives police the authority to check a suspect's immigration status.
Alabama passed a bill earlier this month that allows law enforcement officials to detain drivers who have committed a traffic violation if there is "reasonable suspicion" that they are in the state illegally.
Politicians there drew inspiration from controversial immigration legislation that was passed in Arizona in April 2010.
Arizona's law required all immigrants to carry immigration documents and gave the police wide liberties to detain suspected immigrants.
Opponents have argued such legislation could lead to widespread discrimination and encourages racial profiling.
The federal court later blocked several of the Arizona law's most contested stipulations.
Harris's spokesperson, Kristen Webb, supported the senator's outburst in a written statement issued after the hearing, according to KHOU 11 News.
"Senator Harris' comments were in no way intended to be derogatory," Webb wrote. "He continues to support the passage of SB 9 which will prevent Texas cities from directly or indirectly harboring illegal immigrants. This legislation creates a uniform standard across the state that will make Texas safer."
Texas's House of Representatives is expected to vote on the bill next week.
Senior, shouldn’t you be posting that in Espanol?
That's it in a nutshell.
Divide and conquer, that’s the intent of multiculturalism. This is why English needs to be the official language, stop this pandering in other languages like they do at the bank, the post offices, and even the Cable companies. English is the 1 thing that we all had in common at 1 time.
Nyet!
media bias alert: Missing word makes this a false statement. How about "wide liberties to detain suspected illegal 'immigrants'."
Not even that: he does speak English but felt "more comfortable" using spanish in a state hearing in the USA(!)
Come now, English speaking folks need to know some Mexican..
Here’s a few to start off with...
La Raza
La MECHA
Reconquista
Aztlan
Well, on second thought, that’s probably all you need to know...
This seems to be an issue mainly with Spanish speakers that come to this country. Just about all other foreigners I run into that come to the US to live or work, all manage to speak decent, if not excellent, English in a very short period of time.
My wife, who grew up in South America, bitches about it all of the time.
Could you post the language from the treaty that says that? or a link to the entire treaty?
Aguirre responded through an interpreter that he felt more comfortable speaking in his native language
Then he'd doubtless feel even more "comfortable" living someplace where said language was the native one.
Mr. Aguirre called KLBJ-AM later in the day and spoke near perfect American English. He’s just a media whore. So Mr. Aguirre was just telling the Senator I’m gonna speak whatever I want too and I don’t give a damn and so his buddy could soak up our taxpayer dollars being an interpreter.
But did she pass on the Kuldunai recipe?
What this story doesn’t say is that Antolin Aguirre’s Austin Immigrant Rights Coalition is an offshoot of the Saul Alinsky Industrial Areas Foundation community organizations that have taken root in Texas and are working hard to recruit immigrants to their socialist agenda.
It is COPS (Communities Organized for Public Service) in San Antonio, the Metropolitan Organization in Houston, Valley Interfaith, EPISO (El Paso Interreligious Sponsoring Organization), Metro Alliance, and Allied Communities of Tarrant County. It also has ties to the US communist Workers of the World groups.
Can we assume that you don’t read English very well.
The senator said the fact the man’s testimony was Spanish was insulting, not his language.
It was posted earlier, but it has been several hours. Different source as well. (KTRH 740) This has been a hot topic for KLBJ in Austin today.
I note that the “speakers” groups web site is offline:
I note that their notice that their site is offline is IN ENGLISH!
I would not want him to apologize. I think the Senator was right on. If somebody has been here 20+ years and does not learn how to speak English, he is not trying very hard to assimilate. He does not need to be testifying before the legislature in the first place. To hell with this guy, ALL state business should eb conducted in English.
Hey, man I oney bin here twentree year! You spect me tuh learn Eengleesh in twentree year?
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