Wednesday, November 04, 2009

Driving without English?

We've all read about the hazards of driving while Latino (or African American), but is it possible to be ticketed for not speaking English? According to the Dallas Morning News article, it is. In fact, 39 drivers were ticketed in a 3 year period. Hmm, I guess we don't want to habla espanol in Tejas these days.

The point here is not so much that this is just completely ridiculous--which it of course is--there is not official language and it is NOT illegal to speak a language other than English. However, this report points to a serious issue--if this can happen in Dallas, where there is a robust Latino population, what does it say about the rest of the U.S.?

Last year, a woman was beaten by police in Prince William County, VA when she was pulled over and refused to sign her ticket. She did not speak English, and tried to communicate with the officer that she did not want to sign something she could not read or understand.  This article raises a larger question:
what is happening to immigrants and foreign visitors in the U.S. when they encounter our law enforcement officials and cannot effectively communicate in English?
in reference to: Dallas police ticketed 39 drivers in 3 years for not speaking English | News for Dallas, Texas | Dallas Morning News | Latest News (view on Google Sidewiki)

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