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Arizona English-fluency case may have wide repercussions
Los Angeles Times ^ | February 5, 2012 | Ricardo Lopez

Posted on 02/06/2012 8:57:41 PM PST by moonshinner_09

A ruling that an activist's language skills are insufficient for a City Council seat unsettles border towns where Spanish is used in day-to-day life. An appeal is before the state Supreme Court. Reporting from San Luis, Ariz.— For almost a decade, Alejandrina Cabrera has had no trouble speaking her mind in this dusty Arizona border town.

She's gone door to door campaigning for City Council candidates. She's addressed the City Council. She's even led two recall petitions against the mayor.

But when she decided to run for San Luis City Council, she hit a surprising roadblock: her language.

Like virtually everyone else in town, Cabrera conducts her life in Spanish.

Late last month, Yuma County Superior Court Judge John Nelson ruled that Cabrera's command of English was insufficient for her to hold public office. She appealed, and the Arizona Supreme Court is expected to rule on her candidacy as early as Monday.

This case is less about English versus Spanish than about small-town politics, but it has potentially wide-reaching implications for border towns where Spanish is spoken at home, at work and just about everywhere else.

Cabrera, a self-described housewife who was born in Yuma but raised in Mexico, speaks shaky English with a heavy accent. She argues that she can read and understand English better than she speaks it, and that her limited ability should not matter.

"I'm not running for senator or the White House," she said in Spanish. "I'm running in San Luis."

(Excerpt) Read more at latimes.com ...


TOPICS: Culture/Society; News/Current Events; Politics/Elections; US: Arizona
KEYWORDS: aliens; az; borderwars; english; immigration
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Good gosh now candidates will want translators for spainsh to english.Sorry but she seems to lack formal education enough to run a city.How soon before racist comes up ?
1 posted on 02/06/2012 8:57:46 PM PST by moonshinner_09
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To: moonshinner_09
Cabrera, a self-described housewife who was born in Yuma but raised in Mexico...

Wow. Born in Yuma, but raised in Mexico. Sounds like an anchor baby whose parents got deported. But, since she's an anchor baby, she's qualified to run for President - according to that District Court Judge in Georgia.

2 posted on 02/06/2012 9:05:47 PM PST by Cowboy Bob (Greed + Envy = Liberalism)
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To: Cowboy Bob

Well, we allowed “ebonics” to be taught as a 2nd language. It was only a matter of time before we were face with this.

Liberalism! God help, save and defend the Republic because we know the gubmint and courts will not.

EK


3 posted on 02/06/2012 9:20:38 PM PST by Ernie Kaputnik ((It's a mad, mad, mad world.))
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To: moonshinner_09

Logical extension to balkanization.


4 posted on 02/06/2012 9:25:51 PM PST by umgud (No Rats, No Rino's)
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Comment #5 Removed by Moderator

To: moonshinner_09
Not many Americans, native born or naturalized, have an objection to Spanish. But the "La Raza" approach to the road to citizenship will forever remain unacceptable.

The least the Mexicans can do is be clear as to where their loyalties lie, and deal with the consequences. We Americans must do the same.

The minimum acceptable social state for anyone wishing to serve in government at any level and in any capacity is bilingualism.

Nothing else can end well.

6 posted on 02/06/2012 9:27:45 PM PST by Publius6961 (My world was lovely, until it was taken over by parasites.)
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To: All
Find out how many identities she's using.

"Impoverished" illegals buy multiple fake identities for several thousand dollars each. Every identity rides the US gravy train----plus their kids get SS nos that the parents use to get evenn more benefits.

Jose Madrigal---the Washington state rapist---had some 30 identities.

A family of four can have an income of $30,000 a year and still qualify for food stamps.

A single mother, with two children who has a full time job that pays $7.25 an hour has an effective income of $48,000 a year when you add all the benefits she and her children receive from the government: food stamps, Medicaid coverage, subsidized child care, school lunch program, “Temporary” Assistance to Needy Families, subsidized housing, Earned Income Tax Credit, etc.

REFERENCE The Federal ID that Pays Illegal Aliens Billions -----November 28, 2011

......a recent analysis entitled, “Treasury Department Says Illegal Aliens Collection Billions in Tax Credits,” revealed that according to the Department of Treasury’s Inspector General, more than $4.2 billion in additional child credits were paid out in 2010 to illegal immigrants. In 2005, the pay outs totaled $924 million. This program allows low income earners to claim a $1,000 per child credit.

EITC claims---can run up to over $3000 per claim. $20 billion is estimated to have been paid out to these cunning "impoverished" illegals. Most of them are collecting over and over again-----using multiple identities-----falsifying apps---claiming children they do not have and/or falsely stating kids are back in their homelands.

7 posted on 02/06/2012 9:29:57 PM PST by Liz
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To: Publius6961

My husband brought home Chinese take away for lunch today. The fortunes in our cookies were in Spanish.
BTW...we live in NC.


8 posted on 02/06/2012 9:34:02 PM PST by kalee (The offenses we give, we write in the dust; Those we take, we engrave in marble. J Huett 1658)
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To: Publius6961

“Not many Americans, native born or naturalized, have an objection to Spanish.”

I do!!!

If you want to speak anything but english go to another country!


9 posted on 02/06/2012 9:38:14 PM PST by dalereed
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To: AuntB; Tennessee Nana; Clintonfatigued; La Lydia; rintense

This must be stopped——an inability to speak English shows an unmitigated contempt for America.

How will this ignorant woman understand municipal law and custom?

She is a tool in the plan to turn the US into a savage Third World.


10 posted on 02/06/2012 9:42:14 PM PST by Liz
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To: moonshinner_09

Her constituents will understand her.


11 posted on 02/06/2012 9:54:35 PM PST by Havisham
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To: Cowboy Bob

You can walk from Yuma to Algodones Mexico in 35 minutes.
There is seldom a guard at the Mexican side of the border, but coming back is like going through the morning lineup in THX1138.

On the Mexican side of the line, the VAST majority of the vendors are quite eloquent and vocal IN ENGLISH with their sales spiel(s).

If this person wants to be a counsellor in her town, she should TRY to be at least as fluent in English as her compatriots across the border!


12 posted on 02/06/2012 9:55:14 PM PST by Don W (You can forget what you do for a living when your knees are in the breeze.)
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To: Ernie Kaputnik; All

To answer your question, San Luis is linguistically a Spanish AND English language zone. That’s the reality of the U.S.-Mexican border. I can guarantee you that these folks have very deep roots in the region and aren’t aliens, politically or culturally. They just speak a language IN ADDITION to English.


13 posted on 02/06/2012 10:05:18 PM PST by Havisham
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To: Ernie Kaputnik; All

To answer your question, San Luis is linguistically a Spanish AND English language zone. That’s the reality of the U.S.-Mexican border. I can guarantee you that these folks have very deep roots in the region and aren’t aliens, politically or culturally. They just speak a language IN ADDITION to English.


14 posted on 02/06/2012 10:06:30 PM PST by Havisham
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To: Ernie Kaputnik; All

To answer your question, San Luis is linguistically a Spanish AND English language zone. That’s the reality of the U.S.-Mexican border. I can guarantee you that these folks have very deep roots in the region and aren’t aliens, politically or culturally. They just speak a language IN ADDITION to English.


15 posted on 02/06/2012 10:07:46 PM PST by Havisham
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To: moonshinner_09

What is she? Another community organizer? Whatever that is


16 posted on 02/06/2012 10:12:42 PM PST by Rannug ("God has given it to me, let him who touches it beware.")
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To: moonshinner_09

The article states that she speaks “shaky” English. The truth is that when she testified she couldn’t even answer, in English, which high school she attended, despite having the question repeated to her several times. She is obviously totally incompetent when it comes to the English language and doesn’t belong on the council.


17 posted on 02/06/2012 10:17:51 PM PST by floridavoter2
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To: floridavoter2
She was asked to take a competency test to gauge her language skills......when she testified she couldn’t even answer, in English, which high school she attended, despite having the question repeated to her several times. She is obviously totally incompetent............

The question is why a HS would even graduate this ignoramus.......and now she wants to run our govt.

I have no doubt she has her eye on higher office......these people intend to takeover the US.

18 posted on 02/06/2012 10:38:05 PM PST by Liz
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To: moonshinner_09

I say let her on the council and when screws up for her constituents because she didn’t understand the English.(i.e., not getting them gov’t bennies) then she’ll be gone.


19 posted on 02/07/2012 2:06:21 AM PST by bjorn14 (Woe to those who call good evil and evil good. Isaiah 5:20)
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To: bjorn14

I like the Autrailian’s way of looking at this......”This is Australia, we speak English. If you don’t like it find a country that better suits you”.......(or something similar to that).

Bottom line is learn the language or leave.


20 posted on 02/07/2012 4:52:13 AM PST by DaveA37
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