The Inhofe Amendment was an amendment to the

Comprehensive Immigration Reform Act of 2006 The Comprehensive Immigration Reform Act (CIRA, ) was a United States Senate bill introduced in the 109th Congress (2005–2006) by Sen. Arlen Specter (R-PE) on April 7, 2006. Co-sponsors, who signed on the same day, were Sen. Chuck Hagel (R-NE), ...

, a

United States Senate The United States Senate is the upper chamber of the United States Congress, with the House of Representatives being the lower chamber. Together they compose the national bicameral legislature of the United States. The composition and pow ...

bill that would have changed current immigration law allowing more immigrants into the United States. The amendment was passed by the Senate on May 18, 2006 by a vote of 62–35.Roll Call Vote
/ref> The bill did not pass the

United States House of Representatives The United States House of Representatives, often referred to as the House of Representatives, the U.S. House, or simply the House, is the Lower house, lower chamber of the United States Congress, with the United States Senate, Senate being ...

. According to the amendment, written by Sen. James M. Inhofe (R-Okla.), the Federal government will no longer provide

multilingual Multilingualism is the use of more than one language, either by an individual speaker or by a group of speakers. It is believed that multilingual speakers outnumber monolingual speakers in the world's population. More than half of all E ...

communications and services, except for those already guaranteed by law. It would also make

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ide ...

the "

national language A national language is a language (or language variant, e.g. dialect) that has some connection—de facto or de jure—with a nation. There is little consistency in the use of this term. One or more languages spoken as first languages in the te ...

" and require new citizens to pass a test of their English proficiency and knowledge of American history. Key portion of the final amendment, section 767 of the bill:

The Government of the United States shall preserve and enhance the role of English as the national language of the United States of America. Unless otherwise authorized or provided by law, no person has a right, entitlement, or claim to have the Government of the United States or any of its officials or representatives act, communicate, perform or provide services, or provide materials in any language other than English. If exceptions are made, that does not create a legal entitlement to additional services in that language or any language other than English. If any forms are issued by the Federal Government in a language other than English (or such forms are completed in a language other than English), the English language version of the form is the sole authority for all legal purpose

Shortly after the approval of the Inhofe amendment, the Senate voted for another bill by Sen.

Ken Salazar Kenneth Lee Salazar (born March 2, 1955) is an American lawyer, politician, and diplomat who is the United States ambassador to Mexico. He previously served as the 50th United States Secretary of the Interior in the administration of President Ba ...

(D-Colo.), according to which English is the "common unifying language of the United States," but mandated that nothing in that declaration "shall diminish or expand any existing rights" regarding multilingual services. It passed 58–39.

Supporting reasons for the amendment

Inhofe proposed his amendment, saying that there should not be a right to demand that government business be conducted in any other language, that there is a unifying effect with a common language, and indicating the importance of knowing English to get ahead in America.

Criticism of the amendment

Senator

Harry Reid Harry Mason Reid Jr. (; December 2, 1939 – December 28, 2021) was an American lawyer and politician who served as a United States senator from Nevada from 1987 to 2017. He led the Senate Democratic Caucus from 2005 to 2017 and was the Sena ...

Democrat Democrat, Democrats, or Democratic may refer to: Politics *A proponent of democracy, or democratic government; a form of government involving rule by the people. *A member of a Democratic Party: **Democratic Party (United States) (D) **Democratic ...

from

Nevada Nevada ( ; ) is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, Western region of the United States. It is bordered by Oregon to the northwest, Idaho to the northeast, California to the west, Arizona to the southeast, and Utah to the east. N ...

, called the amendment "racist" in a speech before the Senate, arguing that it targeted speakers of Spanish.

Votes of Senators on Amendment

{, class="wikitable" !YEAs (63)!!NAYs (34) , - valign="top" , *

Alexander Alexander is a male given name. The most prominent bearer of the name is Alexander the Great, the king of the Ancient Greek kingdom of Macedonia who created one of the largest empires in ancient history. Variants listed here are Aleksandar, Al ...

(R-TN) * Allard (R-CO) *

Allen Allen, Allen's or Allens may refer to: Buildings * Allen Arena, an indoor arena at Lipscomb University in Nashville, Tennessee * Allen Center, a skyscraper complex in downtown Houston, Texas * Allen Fieldhouse, an indoor sports arena on the Univer ...

(R-VA) * Baucus (D-MT) *

Bennett Bennett may refer to: People *Bennett (name), including a list of people with the surname and given name Places Canada * Bennett, Alberta *Bennett, British Columbia * Bennett Lake, in the British Columbia and Yukon Territory **Bennett Range **Benn ...

(R-UT) *

Bond Bond or bonds may refer to: Common meanings * Bond (finance), a type of debt security * Bail bond, a commercial third-party guarantor of surety bonds in the United States * Chemical bond, the attraction of atoms, ions or molecules to form chemica ...

(R-MO) * Brownback (R-KS) *

Burns Burns may refer to: * Burn, an injury (plural) People: * Burns (surname), includes list of people and characters Business: * Burns London, a British guitar maker Places: ;In the United States * Burns, Colorado, unincorporated community in Eagle ...

(R-MT) * Burr (R-NC) *

Byrd Byrd commonly refers to: * William Byrd (c. 1540 – 1623), an English composer of the Renaissance * Richard E. Byrd (1888–1957), an American naval officer and explorer Byrd or Byrds may also refer to: Other people * Byrd (surname), includin ...

(D-WV) * Carper (D-DE) * Chafee (R-RI) * Chambliss (R-GA) * Coburn (R-OK) * Cochran (R-MS) * Coleman (R-MN) *

Collins Collins may refer to: People Surname Given name * Collins O. Bright (1917–?), Sierra Leonean diplomat * Collins Chabane (1960–2015), South African Minister of Public Service and Administration * Collins Cheboi (born 1987), Kenyan middle- ...

(R-ME) * Conrad (D-ND) * Cornyn (R-TX) * Craig (R-ID) * Crapo (R-ID) * DeMint (R-SC) * DeWine (R-OH) *

Dole Dole may refer to: Places * Dole, Ceredigion, Wales * Dole, Idrija, Slovenia * Dole, Jura, France ** Arrondissement of Dole * Dole (Kladanj), a village at the entity line of Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina-Republika Srpska * Dole, Ljubušk ...

(R-NC) * Dorgan (D-ND) *

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(R-NV) * Enzi (R-WY) * Frist (R-TN) *

Graham Graham and Graeme may refer to: People * Graham (given name), an English-language given name * Graham (surname), an English-language surname * Graeme (surname), an English-language surname * Graham (musician) (born 1979), Burmese singer * Clan ...

(R-SC) * Grassley (R-IA) * Gregg (R-NH) * Hagel (R-NE) * Hatch (R-UT) * Hutchison (R-TX) * Inhofe (R-OK) * Isakson (R-GA) *

Johnson Johnson is a surname of Anglo-Norman origin meaning "Son of John". It is the second most common in the United States and 154th most common in the world. As a common family name in Scotland, Johnson is occasionally a variation of ''Johnston'', a ...

(D-SD) * Kyl (R-AZ) * Landrieu (D-LA) *

Lincoln Lincoln most commonly refers to: * Abraham Lincoln (1809–1865), the sixteenth president of the United States * Lincoln, England, cathedral city and county town of Lincolnshire, England * Lincoln, Nebraska, the capital of Nebraska, U.S. * Lincoln ...

(D-AR) *

Lott Lott as a surname or given name may refer to: Surname * Barbara Lott (1920–2002), British actress * Bret Lott (born 1958), American author * Bushrod W. Lott (1826–1886), American politician * Cara Lott (born 1961), pornographic actress ...

(R-MS) * Lugar (R-IN) * McCain (R-AZ) * McConnell (R-KY) *

Murkowski Murkowski ( often Anglicised to ; feminine: Murkowska, plural: Murkowscy) is a surname of Polish language origin. Notable people with the surname include: *Frank Murkowski (born 1933), U.S. politician, Senator (1981–2002) and Governor of Alaska ...

(R-AK) *

Nelson Nelson may refer to: Arts and entertainment * ''Nelson'' (1918 film), a historical film directed by Maurice Elvey * ''Nelson'' (1926 film), a historical film directed by Walter Summers * ''Nelson'' (opera), an opera by Lennox Berkeley to a lib ...

(D-FL) *

(D-NE) * Pryor (D-AR) * Roberts (R-KS) * Sessions (R-AL) * Shelby (R-AL) *

Smith Smith may refer to: People * Metalsmith, or simply smith, a craftsman fashioning tools or works of art out of various metals * Smith (given name) * Smith (surname), a family name originating in England, Scotland and Ireland ** List of people wi ...

(R-OR) * Snowe (R-ME) * Specter (R-PA) * Stevens (R-AK) * Sununu (R-NH) * Talent (R-MO) *

Thomas Thomas may refer to: People * List of people with given name Thomas * Thomas (name) * Thomas (surname) * Saint Thomas (disambiguation) * Thomas Aquinas (1225–1274) Italian Dominican friar, philosopher, and Doctor of the Church * Thomas the Ap ...

(R-WY) *

Thune Thunes Mekaniske Værksted A/S, Thune for short, was a Norwegian manufacturing company that among other things built locomotives. The production facilities were last located at Skøyen. History Thune traced its roots to a workshop founded by Ande ...

(R-SD) * Vitter (R-LA) *

Voinovich Voinovich, Voynovich or Vojnović (russian: Войнович) may refer to: *Aljoša Vojnović, Croatian footballer *Dejan Vojnović, Croatian athlete * Đorđe Vojnović, politician from Dalmatia * Emil Vojnović (1851–1927), Austro-Hungarian Ar ...

(R-OH) *

Warner Warner can refer to: People * Warner (writer) * Warner (given name) * Warner (surname) Fictional characters * Yakko, Wakko, and Dot Warner, stars of the animated television series ''Animaniacs'' * Aaron Warner, a character in ''Shatter Me s ...

(R-VA) * Wyden (D-OR) , * Akaka (D-HI) * Bayh (D-IN) * Biden (D-DE) * Bingaman (D-NM) *

Boxer Boxer most commonly refers to: * Boxer (boxing), a competitor in the sport of boxing *Boxer (dog), a breed of dog Boxer or boxers may also refer to: Animal kingdom * Boxer crab * Boxer shrimp, a small group of decapod crustaceans * Boxer snipe ee ...

(D-CA) * Cantwell (D-WA) * Casey (D-PA) * Clinton (D-NY) *

Dayton Dayton () is the sixth-largest city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Montgomery County. A small part of the city extends into Greene County. The 2020 U.S. census estimate put the city population at 137,644, while Greater Da ...

(D-MN) *

Dodd Dodd may refer to: Places * Dodd (Buttermere), a fell near Red Pike in England * Dodd (Lake District), a fell in Cumbria, England * Dodd, Indiana, a community in the United States People * Dodd (surname), people with the surname ''Dodd'' Other us ...

(D-CT) * Domenici (R-NM) * Durbin (D-IL) * Feingold (D-WI) *

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(D-CA) * Harkin (D-IA) * Inouye (D-HI) * Jeffords (I-VT) *

Kennedy Kennedy may refer to: People * John F. Kennedy (1917–1963), 35th president of the United States * John Kennedy (Louisiana politician), (born 1951), US Senator from Louisiana * Kennedy (surname), a family name (including a list of persons with t ...

(D-MA) *

Kerry Kerry or Kerri may refer to: * Kerry (name), a given name and surname of Gaelic origin (including a list of people with the name) Places * Kerry, Queensland, Australia * County Kerry, Ireland ** Kerry Airport, an international airport in County ...

(D-MA) *

Kohl Kohl may refer to: *Kohl (cosmetics), an ancient eye cosmetic *Kohl (surname), including a list of people with the surname *Kohl's Kohl's (stylized in all caps) is an American department store retail chain, operated by Kohl's Corporation. ...

(D-WI) * Lautenberg (D-NJ) *

Leahy Leahy is a Canadian folk music group. The eight band members, all from the Leahy family of 11 siblings, are from Lakefield, Ontario and have been touring Canada and internationally since the early 1980s, when they were known as The Leahy Family ...

(D-VT) * Levin (D-MI) * Lieberman (D-CT) * Menendez (D-NJ) * Mikulski (D-MD) *

Murray Murray may refer to: Businesses * Murray (bicycle company), an American manufacturer of low-cost bicycles * Murrays, an Australian bus company * Murray International Trust, a Scottish investment trust * D. & W. Murray Limited, an Australian who ...

(D-WA) *

Obama Barack Hussein Obama II ( ; born August 4, 1961) is an American politician who served as the 44th president of the United States from 2009 to 2017. A member of the Democratic Party, Obama was the first African-American president of the U ...

(D-IL) *

Reed Reed or Reeds may refer to: Science, technology, biology, and medicine * Reed bird (disambiguation) * Reed pen, writing implement in use since ancient times * Reed (plant), one of several tall, grass-like wetland plants of the order Poales * ...

(D-RI) *

Reid Reid is a surname of Scottish origin. It means "red". People with the surname * Alan Reid (disambiguation) * Alex Reid (disambiguation), includes Alexander Reid * Amanda Reid, Australian Paralympic athlete * Amanda Reid (taxonomist), Australia ...

(D-NV) * Salazar (D-CO) * Sarbanes (D-MD) * Schumer (D-NY) * Stabenow (D-MI) , - Senators Bunning (R-KY), Martinez (R-FL),

Rockefeller Rockefeller is a German surname, originally given to people from the village of Rockenfeld near Neuwied in the Rhineland and commonly referring to subjects associated with the Rockefeller family. It may refer to: People with the name Rockefeller f ...

(D-WV) did not vote.

References

External links

US English
- Supports English as official language. English-only movement United States proposed federal immigration and nationality legislation

Supporting reasons for the amendment

Criticism of the amendment

Votes of Senators on Amendment

See also

References

External links