Hungarian Immigrant in Ohio Stands Against Xenophobia

[jd in .hu]

Ohio House passes bill requiring state records be kept in English
Hungarian immigrant Ujvagi urges colleagues to nix measure

By JIM PROVANCE
BLADE COLUMBUS BUREAU CHIEF
Article published Friday, May 23, 2008
http://toledoblade.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080523/NEWS24/805230387

COLUMBUS - State government, counties, cities, schools, and all other
political subdivisions would have to generally conduct their meetings
and keep their records in English under a bill approved yesterday by
the Ohio House.

The measure passed 54-42 despite accusations from Democrats that the
bill's mostly Republican supporters had forgotten where they came
from. The Ohio Senate does not plan to deal with the bill before it
recesses next week for the summer, and a spokesman for Gov. Ted
Strickland said he would veto it if it reaches his desk.

"The governor believes the bill has the potential to drive away new
jobs, new investment, and economic development growth,'' spokesman
Keith Dailey said.

Rep. Peter Ujvagi (D., Toledo), a Hungarian immigrant and the General
Assembly's sole naturalized citizen, fought back tears as he urged
defeat of a measure he characterized as a "wedge issue'' and a poor
substitute for immigration reform.

"My mother took her driver's test in Hungarian,'' said. "If she had to
take it in English, she could never have been able to drive, and she
worked her fingers to the bone. My father was a successful
businessman. He understood English, but never figured out English
grammar ...

"This doesn't shut the door [to immigration], but, ladies and
gentlemen, it takes us in that direction ...,'' he said. "It is not
needed. It is a wedge issue, and, for the grace of God, it is time for
us to be able to look beyond this kind of maneuvering and deal with
the real problems of our communities and society.''

The bill's sponsor, Rep. Robert Mecklenborg (R., Cincinnati), insisted
the measure is not an English-only bill.

"I have never [suggested] and no serious person is suggesting that we
become an English-only state, but we decidedly did not want to become
an English-optional state,'' he said. "Ohio remains a welcoming
state.''

Under the bill, whenever a government body chooses to print additional
pamphlets or materials in another language or hire interpreters to
translate, it must clearly note the expense involved as a separate
budget line item.

Opponents characterized singling out such expenditures to be
"chilling.''

Among the exceptions to the bill are materials required to comply with
federal or other state law, designed to promote public health and
safety, teach foreign languages, promote international commerce, and
any informal nonbinding communication.

It also specifies that the state Ohio Commission on Hispanic-Latino
Affairs can respond to correspondence in other languages, but requires
the commission to keep an English translation of that correspondence
as the official record.

State government currently offers foreign translations, particularly
Spanish, to a number of government documents, Web sites, and telephone
instructions.

House Speaker Jon Husted (R., Kettering) said after the vote that
opponents to the bill misunderstood its intent.

"We have an opportunity through this effort to try and unite people,''
he said. "I know there's a lot of division on immigration policy. We
thought this would be a good way to try to express that we wanted to
bring people together around a commonality, not divide them.''