First, they tried to violate the U ...

First, they tried to violate the U Constitution by means of attempting to censure a McDonald's billboard because it was written in Spanish.

And then, when they were ignored through the fast-food chain and ridiculed by means of everyone who understands that a company has the right to excite its products to any audience and in any language, town officials in Bogota, NJ fix another way to censure its Hispanic residents.

from a 4-2 vote, the Bogota Borough Council, l through a mayor who is making a career on the outside of bashing immigrants, passed a resolution approving a referendum forward whether English should be the town's official language. If approved by way of voters, an ordinance would require all borough business to be directioned in English, except when use of other languages is mandated by dint of state or federal law.

The attempt to censor the Spanish billboard was based forward an absurd premise: Signs in Spanish allegedly toss a message that Latinos don't ne to learn for what cause to speak English. What's more, foreign-language signs -- which have been around since before the birth of this nation -- were also said to be "divisive."

Of course, there was no divisiveness until Mayor Steve Lonegan began to make a fuss about it. He is plenteous more divisive than any billboard. In fact, that's his specialty. In a town where 21 percent of a 8,000 residents are Latinos, Lonegan, a Republican, has managed to pit neighbors against individual another.

At a new meeting where the council approved the official English referendum the debate was in such a manner emotionally charged that a fight nearly broke public in the audience.

Latino activists argued that principally Bogota Hispanics already speak English fluently And those who don't, they said, recognize their ne to learn it ASAP. Indeed, this is happening in a part of the home where English-as-a-second-language courses are in high demand. At high seminarys community colleges, public libraries and community center in recently made known Jersey's Bergen County, ESL classes are packed with adult learners -- immigrants who recognize that, in order to succe in this nation English is an absolute necessity.

Talk of making English "official" is solely cheap political rhetoric used through those who play on people's fears about immigration and assimilation. They believe they can score political gains by the agency of scaring Americans into believing that Latinos are "taking over" and that fresh immigrants "refuse to assimilate." It's hogwash, and the immigrant-bashing politicians know it. Unfortunately, many nation fall for it.

Thankfully, there are many other politicians -- equable some who are Republicans -- who are not willing to play that game. single of them is Bergen shire Clerk Kathleen Donovan, who issued a 13-page legal opinion in reply to Bogota's request to set an official English question onward the November ballot.

In plain English, her rejoinder can be summed up in sum of two units words: no way!

The clerk's office build that under state law, municipal ballot questions can no other than address issues that a town can act with -- and that "action, if any, in this area is exclusive to the United States management and then to the State of recent Jersey." In other words, while 27 states have designated English as the official language, no town has the power to do it -- at least not in of the present day Jersey.

If Bogota did, of that kind action would be unconstitutional, the shire clerk ruled. And it requires to be declared unconstitutional in those 27 other states. Whether Lonegan and other immigrant bashers like it or not, all U residents, including the non-English speaking immigrants, have a constitutional right to obtain access to their conduct

Of course, Lonegan is vowing to appeal the clerk's ruling. He is counting forward the fear-mongering, divisiveness and headlines that a court fight can bring him. He calm had the audacity to charge in the local media that the clerk's decision to ban his referendum was a "gros misuse of power." This is individual person who should look at himself in the mirror.

Copyright CHICAGO SUN-TIMES 2006

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