By Janet Ng
“In the beginning, it took a lot of time explaining this, explaining that to them,” Sam Pun, a senior at San Francisco’s Galileo High School, said. “It was frustrating and hard.”
Since Pun immigrated to San Francisco some six years ago, he has taken on the role of middleman — between his parents and the rest of America.
His family relies on him for just about everything, from explaining what their landlord said to translating various forms and documents, some of them from the city government. His responsibilities are time-consuming to say the least. And for Pun’s parents, their loss of independence has been frustrating.
But for the Puns and other immigrant families, help may be on the way. If the Board of Supervisors passes the Equal Access and Services Ordinance, newcomers who do not speak English would be able to get information from the city in their native languages.
The ordinance passed the first vote on May 29, and will now go for a second and final vote on June 4 before the Board of Supervisors. It will then be sent to Mayor Brown, who has 12 days to sign the legislation. After that, the policy must be implemented within the next 31 days. Proposed by Mark Leno and backed by all other supervisors except Tony Hall, the ordinance requires critical, Tier 1 city and county departments — such as the Department of Public Health, and the police and fire departments — to translate “vital government documents” which may affect someone’s rights or their ability to access services and benefits.
One out of four San Franciscans doesn’t consider himself or herself proficient English, Leno said, and around half speak a language other than English at home.
“Immigrants pay taxes, are a significant portion of the workforce, are small business owners, and contribute overall to the city’s civic life,” said Dang Pham, executive director of the city’s Immigrant Rights Commission and a strong supporter of the ordinance. “The immigrant population has increased, and the city’s policies should reflect the concerns of its community.”
The legislation would bolster existing state and federal law. Courts have interpreted Title 6 of the 1964 Civil Rights Act as requiring local governments that receive federal assistance to provide equal access. And in California, the Dymally-Allatore Bilingual Services Act stipulates that state government services must be accessible to all.
The ordinance would require translation of documents into a particular language if 10,000 or more city residents speak that as their primary language, or if 5 percent or more of any Tier 1 department’s customer base consists of immigrants who speak that language. The cost to the city: $600,000 to translate documents into Chinese and Spanish for 17 city departments, according to the city’s budget office; $99,000 to ensure the policy is being implemented. Any additional languages would cost $350,000 each.
Vivek Malhotra, a policy advocate for Chinese for Affirmative Action, estimates that over 25 percent of the city’s population would benefit from the Equal Access and Services Ordinance, which, he said, “serves the under-served.”
Not everyone agrees, however. Supervisor Hall said he is concerned that departments would overemphasize the ability to speak Chinese or Spanish in hiring staff, and as a result, lesser-qualified, bilingual candidates would be given preference over more competent applicants. Leno and other proponents, though, have pointed out that under the policy, bilingual skills are not a criterion, but rather one of many qualifications that would be taken into account for high public-contact positions.
The ordinance requires all departments to identify those working in “key public contact positions” and to assess their needs and services to the immigrant population. But Malhotra stresses that there are “no numerical goals, no quotas” to fill, meaning the legislation does not require either a specified number of bilingual workers to be hired or those who are monolingual to be fired. Only when a vacancy appears would the Equal Access and Services Ordinance apply.
Some critics are also concerned that the policy would make it easier for immigrants to forego learning English all together. But supporters contend most newcomers are eager to learn the language, and the ordinance would not change that.
English as a Second Language (ESL) classes held at Chinese for Affirmative Action are filled with immigrants trying to learn English, Malhotra said. Moreover, some people see learning the language as a necessity in order to pass their citizenship exams. San Pun’s mother, Eva, is striving for that goal. “She wants to learn more; at least she makes an effort,” Pun said.
Said Leno: “In the legislation, the city supports ESL classes and recognizes that for any advancement, one benefits from learning English, but immigrants should not suffer from that in the meantime.” |
