Tom Tancredo: “Absolutely, Mr. Speaker. This was an anathema to them that they would ask an Hispanic parent or any parent, it does not…”

“Absolutely, Mr. Speaker. This was an anathema to them that they would ask an Hispanic parent or any parent, it does not have to be Hispanic, someone who could not speak English, permission to put their kid in a nonEnglish speaking classroom. Colorado, it used to be until a short time ago, that one could spend one's entire career in school K through 12 in the Denver public school system without ever being in an English speaking classroom. Now that has changed: It is down to 3 years. But I will tell my colleagues this, that all of the attempts on the part of the education establishment are to keep these kids in longer and longer and longer even though they learn nothing. I tell my colleagues that thank God for those parents, smart enough to know, smart enough to know they may not have terribly marketable skills in some of the high-tech areas or whatever. But those parents are smart enough to know that their children have to learn English and should, just like their grandparents and mine came over here, mine would not speak Italian, they would only speak what, my grandmother used to say, speak American, speak American.”