LA mayor criticizes Senate on English provision

WASHINGTON -- Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa of Los Angeles, one of the country's most visible Hispanic elected officials, criticized the Senate yesterday for declaring English the ``national language," calling it an unnecessary part of immigration legislation that provides no money for teaching nonnative speakers.

His comments were made as key congressional figures in the immigration debate continued a stalemate over competing House and Senate bills that threatens the enactment of legislation this year. The focus of the dispute is a provision approved by the Senate last week that creates a path to citizenship for most of the estimated 12 million illegal immigrants in the United States.

Villaraigosa reiterated his general support for the more moderate Senate bill, but said there was no reason to declare English the national language.

``We already know it's the language of commerce and success," he told CNN's ``Late Edition." ``I can tell you that here in Los Angeles there are lines, thousands of people waiting to learn English in our adult schools."

But the proposal contained no additional funding for local governments to teach English and showed that some Washington lawmakers are out of touch with the rest of the United States, Villaraigosa said.

It was the first time Villaraigosa had spoken to the national media about the Senate provision . The Democratic mayor has been trying to avoid becoming too identified with the illegal immigration issue, staking out a moderate position of support for both tougher border enforcement and a pathway to citizenship for those already here.

The largely symbolic national language amendment passed in the Senate, 66 to 34, after it was scaled back from a broader designation of English as the country's ``official language." It would continue to allow government practices of providing some materials and services in other languages.

Even strong supporters of allowing illegal immigrants to become citizens felt the declaration was necessary to build support for the bill and bolster a sense of national unity in the face of immigrant demonstrations .

Many House Republicans strongly oppose the Senate's three-tier approach to illegal immigrants, which would allow those in the country more than five years to remain and eventually become citizens by paying fines and back taxes and by meeting other requirements.

The House Judiciary Committee chairman, Representative F. James Sensenbrenner Jr. , Republican of Wisconsin, flatly said ``no" when asked yesterday on NBC's ``Meet the Press" whether he would accept any legislation that provided such a path to citizenship.

``Amnesty is wrong and we should not pass it," he said, adding that granting illegal immigrants citizenship in the last major immigration bill, in 1986, had only increased the problem. ``I think the American public wants us to have a bill, but it's important to do it right. "