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Judge: Candidate's grasp of English is too poor for her to run for office
When Alejandrina Cabrera speaks English, it doesn't quite roll off of her tongue the way it does when she speaks in her native Spanish.
Instead of the confident, strong way she speaks in Spanish to the residents of San Luis, Arizona, she speaks a bit more slowly, and perhaps with a bit less conviction, when she switches to English. That's something she admits, but she says that she can communicate at the level she needs to in English, given where she lives.
In San Luis, 87% of residents speak a language other than English in their home and 98.7% are of Hispanic origin, according to 2010 U.S. Census data. After all, most of the people there, by all accounts, will speak in English and in Spanish. In the comfort of communal settings, they'll speak the way they're most comfortable.
“You go to a market, it’s Spanish,” Cabrera told The New York Times. “You go to a doctor, it’s Spanish. When you pay the bills for the lights or water, it’s Spanish.”
So why the focus on Cabrera and her language skills? Because when it comes to politics, it's a whole separate ballgame.
And that's why a major debate about English proficiency has taken the town by storm.
That's because when Cabrera threw her name in the hat to run for city council, Juan Carlos Escamilla, the mayor of San Luis, said he was concerned that she might not have the proper grasp of the language for the job. Escamilla filed a lawsuit in December that asked a court to determine if Cabrera's skills qualified her under state law to run for the council seat.
The fight began as a purely political one, with opponents seeking to block her from running for office after she tried to recall Escamilla from office twice, according to The New York Times. But it has turned into a firestorm in a town where many constituents have the same grasp of English as Cabrera.
The issues at the center of this debate: Just how much English must you understand to run for a political office? And what does it mean to be proficient?
Those questions, and the political fight they stirred, led to a court hearing to determine whether Cabrera had enough of a grasp of English to be able to run for office.
“I speak little English,” she told The New York Times in an interview, in a tone the newspaper described as a "hesitant and heavily accented."
"But my English is fine for San Luis," she said.
On Wednesday, a judge ruled that she didn't qualify to run for office based on her language skills, saying that Cabrera had "only a minimal survival range" in English.
Yuma County Superior Court Judge John Nelson made the ruling after testimony from linguistics experts and Cabrera's own testimony, where she answered questions and read a few documents. Cabrera, a U.S. citizen who graduated from Kofa High School in Yuma, Arizona, was questioned on the stand about where she graduated, where she was born and what her name was. She was able to tell her lawyer her name and where she was born, but struggled with what school she had graduated from, according to the Yuma Sun. After being asked the question three times, without being able to answer in English, the judge allowed Cabrera to leave the witness stand and issued his ruling, the paper reported. Nelson said in his ruling that he wanted to make it clear that he wasn't saying that she had an "intelligence" issue, but it was because of her proficiency that he felt she should be removed from the ballot.
CNN has reached out to Cabrera's attorney and city officials for comment.
In 2006, Arizona passed a law that made English the official language of the state. Earlier, in 1910, Congress passed the Enabling Act, which allowed Arizona to become a state with certain requirements. Among them was one that addressed the English language.
"The ability to read, write, speak, and understand the English language sufficiently well to conduct the duties of the office without aid of an interpreter shall be a necessary qualification for all state officers and members of the state legislature," a section of the act reads.
But Cabrera's lawyers argued in court that her disqualification was truly unfair and may be unconstitutional, seeing as there is not an actual standard for a specific level of proficiency for a council candidate.
It also leaves open many questions about the democratic process, among them: How far can you take the issue of proficiency? Would there be a problem if someone just had too thick of an accent for people to understand? Does it matter if a candidate can speak expertly with most of her constituents, who also may share a similar grasp of a language? And should it be a decision made by the courts, or should the voters be able to choose an elected official who appeals to them most, or choose to vote against her if they feel she can't grasp the language well enough? Should there be a test to determine English language proficiency? Does it matter if most documents and laws in the area are also provided in Spanish for residents to be able to understand?
The issue is part of a growing discussion about the use of English in a land where people are from a variety of places. During a debate this week, GOP presidential candidates said that English should be the official U.S. language and should be the only language taught in schools. That's the stance of Bob Vandevoort, from the advocacy group ProEnglish, who said that if English were a standard in government, it would make the country more cohesive.
"We are concerned as far as government goes, we don't want to see us become a multi-language nation, we want to see a nation that has one language as far as government is concerned," he said, adding that the language people speak at home is a different issue.
But the climate is different in a variety of areas in the U.S., as multiple language and immersion programs pop up all over.
Arturo Vargas, executive director of the National Association of Latino Elected and Appointed Officials, said there should be more opportunities to ensure everyone has the right resources to learn English. He said that in several cities, so many people are trying to learn English, there are extremely long lines to get into classes.
But Vargas says you don't necessarily need to have  full English proficiency to run for office.
"I think it should be up to the voters to decide what kind of representative they want," he said. "I don’t think it’s necessarily fair to not be able, to not allow someone to present themselves to the voters as a candidate because of their language abilities."
"I think it doesn’t serve our democracy well when people are not given all the options that they have."
So what do you think? Was the decision to not allow Cabrera on the ballot the right one? Or should citizens have the final say on who they think is qualified to represent them? Let us know what you think in the comments section below.
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I would love to know how she became a US citizen if she cannot speak English. How did she answer the questions on the test? If she can't respond with what high school she graduated from, how is she suppose to understand political terms, etc. during meetings?
How well is your English because you didnt read the article.
It never said she was a naturalized citizen. She was probably born here.
From the USCIS.gov regarding the naturalizaton test:
English Language Exemptions
You Are Exempt From The English Language Requirement, But Are Still Required To Take The Civics Test If You Are:
Age 50 or older at the time of filing for naturalization and have lived as a permanent resident (green card holder) in the United States for 20 years (commonly referred to as the “50/20” exception). OR Age 55 or older at the time of filing for naturalization and have lived as a permanent resident in the United States for 15 years (commonly referred to as the “55/15” exception).
If she was born here she's a citizen.
Yeah.. now let us all learn to speak Spanish so we can support all the illegal immigrants... make them feel at home and while at it lets also start a cartel.
Mexico is trying to take back Texas one illegal alien at a time. One day, they will be the only ones left in Texas. Then the illegals will open the gates and just let the Mexican Army walk across the border and that's it. TEXICO ! Is America going to stop them?
I couldn't vote for someone that I couldn't understand.
You don't live in her disctrict so who cares.
The fourth century B.C.E. philosopher Aristotle taught that people will respect and follow a speaker (i.e., a leader), if they demonstrate that they have good character, intelligence and good will towards the people.
If the politician’s language skills (in this case, English) are so deficient, then they risk being not being respected nor heeded by the people.
Incidentally Socrates taught Plato, Plato taught Aristotle, and Aristotle taught Alexander the Great, who conquered the world.
She can communicate fine the people she represents.
Waterman makes quite the point.
I would never go to another country, whether legally or not, and attempt to run for a legislative post where I couldn't read, write, or speak the most commonly used language in that country.
If I were born in that country, I would learn the language most commonly spoken, and if different from my parents, guess what?
I'd be bi-lingual.
Another non reader. It says in the article she can speak the language.
Let's see what it says: “I speak little English,” she told The New York Times in an interview. In "1910, Congress passed the Enabling Act, which allowed Arizona to become a state with certain requirements. Among them was one that addressed the English language":
"The ability to read, write, speak, and understand the English language sufficiently well to conduct the duties of the office without aid of an interpreter shall be a necessary qualification for all state officers and members of the state legislature".
Who's the moron who brought up "Bleeding heart Liberals who want to trash America" ? Idiot ! Good thing you can type because if you had to verbalize your message with your accent ( New England, Brooklyn, Southern) or your speech impediment, the rest of us might think you had to jump over a fence to get here. But wait ! Maybe you're of Italian decent and you talk with your hands. You must suck because I don't understand you. I guess that 87% of the people who live in Yuma Arizona had better be shipped back to Mexico because they don't talk the way you think they should.
I would never go to another country, whether legally or not, and attempt to run for a legislative post where I couldn't read, write, or speak the most commonly used language in that country.
If I were born in that country, I would learn the language most commonly spoken, and if different from my parents, guess what?
I'd be fluent in two languages.
Sorry for the dual post.
Why focus on her language? Oh yeah... because she is brown. No other reason.
What an ignorant observation, Joshua. A representative of a body of voters needs to speak the language well. If she is to be an elected representative on any governmental body, it is her responsibility to learn that body's language and be fluent in it. There is enough misunderstanding among people (as your comment points out) that clarity begins with a language that can express a thought in an understandable way.
uh, the guy who brought the lawsuit to have her removed? also brown... did you even bother to read the article?
here's the thing – we speak english in the united states. when you become a citizen, you learn to speak english. why do we regress when it comes to everything AFTER you get citizenship? speak english. we're the only country in the world that prints things in so many languages. in switzerland, you speak high german in the public schools; if you don't know it, you don't get to participate. it's the language of the courts, the formal language of all business. what you do at home in your own village or canton is something else. we'd save a lot of money and it would facilitate everyone being on the same page in the united states if we all really DID speak english for formal stuff. wow, we'd all understand eachother!
Learn how to capitalize the English language please.
The Dream Act would give conditional permanent residency to high school grads who manage 2 years in college or serve in the military. Enrolled in college- not graduate- enrolled. Colleges in California have ESL classes for high school grads who barely speak any English. That should tell you something. The Reconquista Latino activists know how to spin a bill to appease Americans but make sure there's enough loop holes so any Latino without papers can get citizenship as long as they have a high school diploma and are enrolled in any sort of higher education or eek out 2 years in the military.
That is a decision for the voters to make. Thats what voters do - they determine the qualifications of the candidates. Its no one else's business.
this is the funniest comments so far. Surprised not alot are racist but the topic of the article has everyone here correcting each others grammar. DONT MAKE FUN OF MINE
"These are the funniest comments so far" or, "This is the funniest comment so far". Pick one.
Yes a full ability and understanding to speak English should be necessary for any public office.
1. this is the united states
2. her level of speaking is fine locally, but a public office she will be speaking to state rep's and maybe federal She needs a full range of every day words and terminology of legaleses and other community building vocab.
3 How will she communicate with fema or other federal if her community falls into trouble and needs help.
fema doesnt talk to governors they talk to secretaries and other subordinates dont they? so she can speak to whoever handles those affairs in spanish and the assistant can do it in full english HELLO!
Seems like W and Perry should have been disqualified for their lack of English.
I wonder if this would even be a debate if the person in question was Chinese, or Russian or German. This is getting out of hand. You want to run for office in whatever capacity in a country that speaks English yet you dont fully understand nor speak that language? Its common sense people, If she wants to run, know the language, its not discrimination, its just simple sense.