The SAVE Act

The SAVE Act ( "Safeguard American Eligibility Act") has been getting a lot of attention in Washington, D.C. lately.

The House passed the SAVE Act in July by a vote of 216-198 in July with only 5 Democrats supporting the measure.

It was not even presented for a vote in the Senate because Majority Leader Chuck Schumer and almost all Democrats in that chamber oppose it. Joe Biden stated he would veto the measure if it passed.

House Speaker Mike Johnson has stated he wants to attach it to the continuing resolution spending bill (CR) that will be necessary to fund the government for the new fiscal year beginning October 1.

Congress needs to pass that CR or another government shutdown would be necessary due to lack of funds.

Source: https://clerk.house.gov/Votes/2024345

Although all Republicans in the House are in favor of the SAVE Act a handful of conservative members are opposed to funding the government through a CR in that it does not allow for a critical look at spending levels. Therefore, they might vote against the Johnson proposal on that basis.

Johnson and Donald Trump would both like to force Democrats to explain why they are willing to shutdown the government because they do not want to make it clear that non-citizens are not eligible to vote.

Are Democrats really so far gone that they would rather shut down the government than pass a law making it clear that only U.S. citizens can vote in federal elections?

You would think The Save Act would receive bipartisan support if you were interested in fair elections in which only U.S. citizens cast votes

The SAVE Act simply requires:

• Proof of citizenship for voting in federal elections

• States to verify citizenship

• Removal of non-citizens from voter rolls

• Legal action against officials who register non-citizens

However, as stated above, almost every Democrat in the House and Senate oppose this simple measure.

Why?

The only answer seems to be the obvious one.

Democrats want non-citizens to vote.

And every non-citizen that is allowed to vote effectively cancels out the votes of lawful citizens of the United States.

For example, consider the Poll Site Language Assistance program in New York City,

It provides language assistance to voters with limited English proficiency in casting their ballot.

This is an excerpt from the NYC Civic Engagement website on Voter Language Access.

Notice that you don't see Spanish on that list of languages.

That is because the Voting Rights law already requires various cities and counties to provide voting ballots, registration forms and other election forms based on a Census Bureau formula that takes account of English proficiency and educational attainment in various areas.

This law generally covers those persons who are American Indian, Asian American, Alaskan Natives or of Spanish heritage. 

However, how does any of this language assistance make sense when U.S. law also requires that in order to become a naturalized U.S. citizen it is required that an applicant must meet an English language proficiency requirement?

These are the requirements as listed in the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services Policy Manual.

There is an exemption to the language requirement but it is generally only available to those age 50 or over who have resided in the United States for many years.

For example, someone 50 years or older must have resided in the United States for at least 20 years to qualify for this exemption.

If you have to prove the ability to read, write, speak and understand English to become a citizen why would you need any language assistance to vote in the first place?

It makes little sense.

The main argument that Democrats make against The Save Act is that non-citizens are already prohibited by law from voting in federal elections. Therefore, the bill is extraneous. 

However, why then is it necessary to have foreign language assistance to cast a ballot under the Voting Rights law if it is also the law that an individual must have proficiency in English to become a citizen?

What also does not make any sense is that English has never been made the official language of the United States.

What sense is it that you need to be able to speak English to be become a naturalized citizen but it is not the official language of the United States?

What is the logic for the requirement to be proficient in English to gain citizenship but have a law to require cities and counties to provide foreign language voting materials?

Isn't this an invitation for non-citizens to vote in the first place?

Of course, if you were to argue that English should be designated as the official language of the United States you would likely be termed xenophoic or racist.

However, look at this map of the world that shows that the United States is one of a very few countries that do not have an official language.

Canada actually has two official languages---English and French.

The United States is in a very distinct minority in having no official language for the nation.

Is the rest of world xenophobic and racist?

Although it would make all the sense in the world to make English the official language of the United States we are undoubtedly too far gone with uncontrolled immigration to make that a reality.

If we can't get a law passed to prohibit non-citizens from voting how would a law making English the official language of the United States ever pass?

It is much more likely that the English proficiency requirement will be removed from the citizenship standards by Democrats than English becoming the official language of the United States.

In my view that it unfortunate because non-English speakers are at a distinct economic disadvantage in the United States. The best jobs and incomes will likely be beyond their reach 

Those without English proficiency end up being in an economically dependent underclass.

This was clearly the reason that English proficiency was made a part of the citizenship requirements along with making it more likely that immigrants would assimilate better into the United States.

Of course, all the evidence suggests that Democrats believe that they need an economically dependent underclass to retain their relevancy and power as a political party.

What other reason explains their support for open borders?

The SAVE Act might be the last thing that can save us.

Watch the vote on that measure closely to see who is really interested in protecting YOUR vote.