John Hewko

About the author: John Hewko is an attorney and recently a visiting scholar at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace.

English is, and should be, the universal language of discourse in America. Immigrants are better served if they learn English from the moment they start attending school. That was the way earlier immigrants learned English, and it helped them prosper. Bilingual education will not help immigrants assimilate into American society. It is bad policy for the United States and for its immigrants and should be discarded. However, learning English does not mean that one forsakes one's native language. English can be the language in school, and the native language the language at home and in church.

Whether we like it or not, the universal language of...