Schwarzenegger Language-Advocacy Link Is Criticized
Arnold Schwarzenegger is coming under growing criticism from civil rights groups and immigrants' advocates for his 16-year membership on the advisory board of U.S. English, a Washington-based organization that bills itself as the nation's largest group dedicated to preserving English as America's official language.
For much of Schwarzenegger's tenure on the board, U.S. English Inc. has been dogged by accusations that the group's day-to-day leadership has used its English-first message to hide a more racially divisive agenda.
Seizing on evidence of the group's ties to extremist groups, the country's oldest Latino civil rights group -- the League of United Latin American Citizens -- called on Schwarzenegger Thursday to quit the U.S. English board.
Other civil rights groups have followed suit, saying that they see a pattern of antipathy to immigrants in Schwarzenegger's service with U.S. English; his support of the 1994 ballot initiative Proposition 187, which would have cut off public services to illegal immigrants in California; and his selection of that proposition's key proponent, former Gov. Pete Wilson, as a campaign co-chairman.
The criticism has been fueled by recent allegations that U.S. English's communications director had ties to white supremacists. Earlier this month, the communications director resigned from U.S. English as did well-known conservative columnist David Horowitz, who said his conscience would not allow him to remain on the board.
"Schwarzenegger is disingenuous if he thinks that, by telling us he is pro-immigrant and pro-Latino, the Hispanic community is going to vote for him," said national President Hector Flores of the Latino rights group. League officials stressed that they have no position on recalling Gov. Gray Davis.
Antonio Gonzalez, president of the William C. Velasquez Institute, a Los Angeles-based group that studies Latino political trends, said U.S. English "represents the legitimate face of fascism in America
Schwarzenegger has not resigned and has not discussed his U.S. English ties in public. A campaign spokesman, Sean Walsh, said that Schwarzenegger hadn't "been active" with the board in several years and "does not track" U.S. English's activities.
The movie star-turned-candidate does support the broad goal of encouraging immigrants to learn English, Walsh said.
