The Inhofe Amendment was an amendment to the Comprehensive Immigration Reform Act of 2006, 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 ...

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 chamber of the United States Congress, with the Senate being the upper chamber. Together the ...

. According to the amendment, written by Sen.

James M. Inhofe James Mountain Inhofe ( ; born November 17, 1934) is an American politician serving as the senior United States senator from Oklahoma, a seat he was first elected to in 1994. A member of the Republican Party, he chaired the U.S. Senate Committee ...

(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 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 ...

(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 from

Nevada Nevada ( ; ) is a state in the 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. Nevada is the 7th-most extensive, ...

, 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 Allard may refer to: * Allard (surname), people with the surname Allard * Allard Motor Company * Allard River, river in Quebec * Allard, Edmonton * Peter A. Allard School of Law, the law school of the University of British Columbia Given name * ...

(R-CO) * Allen (R-VA) * Baucus (D-MT) * Bennett (R-UT) * Bond (R-MO) * Brownback (R-KS) * Burns (R-MT) *

Burr Burr may refer to: Places * Burr (crater), on the Jovian moon Callisto *Burr, Minnesota, an unincorporated community, United States * Burr, Missouri, an unincorporated community, United States *Burr, Nebraska, a village, United States * Burr, Sa ...

(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 Carper is a surname. Notable people with the surname include: * Jean Carper (born 1932), American medical journalist * Tom Carper (born 1947), American economist and politician, Governor and Senator from Delaware * Thomas Carper (poet), American p ...

(D-DE) * Chafee (R-RI) * Chambliss (R-GA) * Coburn (R-OK) *

Cochran ''For the history of the surname, see Cochrane.'' Cochran is a surname of Scottish (and most likely of Cumbric) origin. The earliest known appearance is in Dumbartonshire (14th cent). The definition is unclear, however the name may be derived from ...

(R-MS) * Coleman (R-MN) * Collins (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, Ljubuški, ...

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

Ensign An ensign is the national flag flown on a vessel to indicate nationality. The ensign is the largest flag, generally flown at the stern (rear) of the ship while in port. The naval ensign (also known as war ensign), used on warships, may be diff ...

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

Frist Frist is a surname. Notable people with the surname include: * Bill Frist (born 1952), American physician, businessman, and politician * Patricia C. Frist, American businesswoman and philanthropist. *Thomas F. Frist, Jr. (born c. 1939), American bu ...

(R-TN) * Graham (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 (D-AR) * Lott (R-MS) *

Lugar Lugar may refer to: People *Richard Lugar (1932–2019), United States senator *Robert Lugar (1773–1855), English architect and engineer Places and landmarks *Lugar (country subdivision), in Portugal and Spain *Lugar, East Ayrshire, a small ...

(R-IN) * McCain (R-AZ) * McConnell (R-KY) * Murkowski (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 Roberts may refer to: People * Roberts (given name), a Latvian masculine given name * Roberts (surname), a popular surname, especially among the Welsh Places * Roberts (crater), a lunar impact crater on the far side of the Moon ;United Stat ...

(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 w ...

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

Talent Talent has two principal meanings: * Talent (measurement), an ancient unit of mass and value * Talent (skill), a group of aptitudes useful for some activities; talents may refer to aptitudes themselves or to possessors of those talents Talent ma ...

(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 ...

(R-WY) * Thune (R-SD) * Vitter (R-LA) * Voinovich (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 ...

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

Domenici Domenici is an Italian surname. Notable people with the surname include: * Leonardo Domenici (born 1955), Italian politician * Pete Domenici (1932–2017), American attorney and politician See also *Richard DeDomenici Richard DeDomenici is a ...

(R-NM) * Durbin (D-IL) *

Feingold Feingold is a surname that may refer to: * Benjamin Feingold (1899–1982) ** Feingold diet, named after Benjamin * David Sidney Feingold (1922–2019), an American biochemist and winner of the Israel Prize * Eleanor Feingold, American statisti ...

(D-WI) * Feinstein (D-CA) *

Harkin Harkin is an Irish surname, from the Gaelic ''Ó hEarcáin''. It may refer to: * Allana Harkin, Canadian comedian and playwright * Bryan Harkin (born 1980), Northern Irish footballer * Fergal Harkin (born 1976), Irish footballer * James B. Harkin ...

(D-IA) * Inouye (D-HI) * Jeffords (I-VT) * Kennedy (D-MA) * Kerry (D-MA) * Kohl (D-WI) *

Lautenberg Frank Raleigh Lautenberg (; January 23, 1924 June 3, 2013) was an American businessman and Democratic Party politician who served as United States Senator from New Jersey from 1982 to 2001, and again from 2003 until his death in 2013. He was orig ...

(D-NJ) * Leahy (D-VT) * Levin (D-MI) *

Lieberman Lieberman, Liebermann, or Liberman are names deriving from ''Lieb'', a German and Jewish (Ashkenazic) nickname for a person from the German ''lieb'' or Yiddish ''lib'', meaning 'dear, beloved'.Patrick Hanks and Flavia Hodges, ''A Dictionary of Surn ...

(D-CT) * Menendez (D-NJ) * Mikulski (D-MD) * Murray (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 (D-RI) * Reid (D-NV) * Salazar (D-CO) * Sarbanes (D-MD) * Schumer (D-NY) * Stabenow (D-MI) , - Senators Bunning (R-KY), Martinez (R-FL), Rockefeller (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