I have seen is written, and heard it said that the immigration issue is not simply about the law, that it is a human issue, and one of love, acceptance, and recognition of our (as in Americans) own immigrant heritage.
Yes, this is a nation of immigrants, in that every American has immigration to this country in our heritage. But by the same token, this is a nation of laws, set down by "immigrants".
My forebears came to the US from Ireland and Italy (mostly. I have blood from most of Western Europe in my background).
They learned English (if they didn't already know it). But they also learned the American way of life. Yes, they held on to their own traditions, and interacted with "their own" people, but they also went outside of that comfort zone, and became American citizens, rather than "Irish-Americans", or "Italian-Americans".
Packages in stores were not changed wholesale to accommodate them. They either learned English, or shopped where they could get products in packages printed in their native languages. Unless they were in a store that catered to them specifically, they didn't expect the clerk to speak their language, and they most certainly did not get upset if the clerk couldn't speak their language.
They did not come to take advantage of a system that will provide assistance to them, they made their own way through hard work. And all along the way, they became Americans, both in legal status, and in tradition.
This seems to be lost on this new generation of immigrants.
The 80's were called the "me" decade, when selfishness was the order of the day. It seems that this "me" phenomenon has hit outside the US about 20 later than it did within.
Today's immigrants (primarily Latino) expect that the US will do all that is needed to accommodate them, regardless of weather or not the rules were followed. There seems to be a sense of selfish entitlement that this country owes them something because they made the trip to get here. And regrettably, there are many in this country who encourage this mentality, and enable the abusers, much as a friend might enable an addict by justifying their habit.
They cast aside the laws they find inconvenient, such as the ones governing how they enter the country to become citizens, and hold up those that allow them to ignore the legal way to immigrate to this nation, such as the 14th amendment (a totally separate blog post in itself). They demand protection under the law, after breaking the law first.
This seems to be a rather cynical way to take advantage of the legal system in this country, and too many people (almost entirely those of a liberal mindset) are willing to go along with it. It seems to be comparable to saying that the teenager who kills his parents should be shown mercy, because he is an orphan. There is too much looking at the effect, without first addressing the cause.
But too often, the idea is that "they are here now, and there are too many to deal with easily, so better to accommodate them than enforce the laws".
Many packages in stores are now in English and Spanish (occasionally I find French, but I chalk that up to product availability in Quebec). Calling customer service for many products/services has the option to press a number for English, and another for Spanish (what number would I press to speak to someone in Mandarin, Russian, Gaelic, or Swahili? What? That's not an option? Why only Spanish? That seems a little racist/elitist to me. But I digress). In some cases it is a requirement for getting a job to be able to speak Spanish.
While the United States has no "official language", English is the de facto language (odd, using a Latin phrase to make the distinction). This means that while it is not codified as such in law, English is the language that is "accepted" as being the one to use while interacting in the country. This is a distinction we share with the United Kingdom and Australia.
Wait, hold on a second. Stop the blog. Are you telling me in the United Kingdom, England, that English is not the official language?
Feel free to look it up. English is language that is simply accepted as the proper language to use, though it is not actually the "official", as set down in law, language to speak/read/write in England. As in the United Sates, where there are scattered laws establishing English as the official language in one region (or State in the US), there is no national law establishing English as the language to be spoken.
Back to the point at hand...
Not having English as the official language DOES NOT mean that any/all languages should be spoken here by all citizens, nor does it mean that an immigrant population gets to try and force THEIR language into a secondary role for interacting with people like the police.
The United States has always been described as a "melting pot". A place where people from all over the world could come and be welcomed into society. All that would be asked in return is a willingness on the part of the people who come here to assimilate into our society after joining it through the proper channels. This doesn't mean abandoning your heritage. This means embracing that you have come to a place that recognizes and celebrates our differences through recognizing and celebrating our similarities.
Too often lately (to stretch the "melting pot" metaphor), it seems as though there are some who wish to barge into our kitchen, mix their own ingredients, and add them to the pot, totally changing the final flavor to better suit them.
Simply accepting those who break the law to enter this country as citizens, and offering them all they ask for in terms of (especially financial) assistance is not an expression of love, it is foolhardiness. And while the two are very often indistinguishable from one another, the stability of a nation cannot depend upon either emotion or foolishness.
