Bid to Make English the ‘National Language’ Raises Many Questions

The contentious effort in Congress to revamp U.S. immigration policy has intensified interest in how best to promote the instruction and use of English among immigrants.

Advocacy groups on different sides of the issue have been following an amendment to a comprehensive immigration bill passed by the Senate on May 25 that would declare English the “national language” of the United States and require immigrants to learn English as a condition of legal residency.

The amendment, sponsored by Sen. James M. Inhofe, R-Okla., says that “unless otherwise authorized or provided by law,” no one has the right to claim that the U.S. government must provide services in a...