U.S. Citizenship: Say It in English
Should the U.S. require immigrants to speak English before they can become citizens? A Canadian BusinessWeek.com reader says yes
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Coming from Canada, I have a slightly different viewpoint on immigration and citizenship than many Americans do. In Canada, we embrace the idea of multiculturalism vs. the U.S. idea of the melting pot. We celebrate the diversity of our population, whereas with the melting pot, immigrants are expected to fit in with the status quo. The melting pot school of thought, however, seems to be giving way to multiculturalism in the U.S. as more and more businesses cater to non-English-speaking people.
Yet the debate continues over whether immigrants to the U.S. should be required to attain at least a working knowledge of English before attaining citizenship. I have to say they should.