Bogota Mayor wants English-only law

[Detector]

Source: http://www.northjersey.com/page.php?...d2cWVlRUV5eTM==

BOGOTA -- A month after he demanded the removal of a Spanish-language billboard, the mayor hopes to make it clear that English is the borough's dominant language.

Mayor Steve Lonegan has proposed a non-binding ballot question asking residents whether they would support an ordinance declaring English the official language of Bogota.

Lonegan plans to ask the Borough Council tonight to authorize the November referendum.

"The message is that English is the language that binds us together as a community," Lonegan said Wednesday. "We recognize that, and we're striving to maintain that."

Critics said such an ordinance would fan the flames of prejudice and xenophobia.

Lonegan said then that the billboard was divisive because it sent a message that non-English speaking immigrants did not need to learn the language or assimilate into the community. McDonald's refused to take down the advertisement.

He said the billboard flap inspired him to propose the English-language ordinance. "The controversy demonstrated the need to clarify this issue," Lonegan said. "This is a big issue for people all across the country."

The ordinance would call for all borough business to be conducted and written in English only, unless otherwise required by state or federal law. For example, it would not supersede the federal law that requires all ballots in Bogota to be printed in English and Spanish.

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From your source:

Hazleton, Pa., and Valley Park, Mo., have passed such legislation.

In Hazleton, in northeastern Pennsylvania, the stipulation is part of a larger ordinance known as the Illegal Immigration Relief Act, which also calls for harsh fines against landlords who rent to illegal immigrants and businesses that employ them.