TX State Sen. Interrupts Immigrant’s Testimony: ‘Why Aren’t You Speaking in English?’
(The Blaze - Posted on June 17, 2011 at 8:33am by 
Jonathon M. Seidl)
If you are giving testimony in front of Texas State Senator Chris Harris, he’d prefer you speak English.
During a Senate hearing on Monday, Antolin Aguirre of the Austin Immigrant Rights Coalition was testifying against Senate Bill 9, a law that would crack down on illegal immigrants in Texas. But instead of giving testimony in English, he decided to give it in Spanish and speak through an interpreter.
Harris wasn’t having any of that. KTRH-RADIO explains:
Two minutes into Antolin Aguirre’s testimony, Sen. Chris Harris, a Republican
from Arlington, interrupted asking Aguirre’s interrupter, “Did I understand him
correctly that he has been here since 1988?” Harris asked. “Why aren’t you
speaking in English then?”
Through his interpreter, Aguirre said Spanish is his “first language and
since it is his first time giving testimony he would rather do it in
Spanish.”
“It is insulting to us,” Sen. Harris fired back. “It is very insulting. And
if he knows English, he needs to be speaking in English.”
You can watch the fireworks below:
The bill, which would allow police officers to check a suspect’s immigration
status, eventually passed the Senate and will now go before the House.
What do you think?
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