ABSTRACT
This chapter describes US language policy that establishes the literacy and English requirements for migrating to the US, acquiring a Green Card and attaining US citizenship. It explains the tension between a federal government that has never declared English as the nation’s official language and individual states eager to promote an English Only ideology in their jurisdiction. Language policies mandating English proficiency as a prerequisite for entry, for citizenship or for a change of legal status have rarely had the desired effect of turning the country into a nation of English speakers. Equally cynical seem proposed laws to have immigrants earn a Green Card by going to school to learn English in a system that cannot possibly accommodate them. Human concerns for all who are here should trump the political desire to extract penalties, and pursuit of happiness should not be dependent on one’s ability to speak English.
