Immigration issues on states' ballots

But Beatriz Munoz, 16, who said she wants to be a doctor or a lawyer, sharply disagreed.

"For me, it is not enough, just two years," said Munoz, who is transferring to a private Catholic school in Portland with a strong academic reputation. "I am worried, what if I don't understand? I have to go to college."

Long-term studies have shown that full mastery of academic English takes five to seven years, said Dr. Jim Cummins, a professor at the University of Toronto who specializes in second language acquisition and literacy development.

Cummins said non-English speakers are trying to catch up to a moving target as their English-speaking classmates also improve. And complex academic language isn't something students can pick up on the streets, he said, because it's generally used only in classrooms or textbooks.

But Bill Sizemore, sponsor of the Oregon measure and a longtime anti-tax activist who was the GOP's gubernatorial nominee in 1998, said the measure was intended to help immigrants, not sideline them.

He said schools warehouse their students in ESL courses for longer than necessary to keep federal and state money flowing. If Oregonians approve the change, students will join the mainstream faster with the tools they need to compete, he said.

Voters in Arizona approved a similar measure in 2000. Since then, there's been no reduction in the dropout rate, and no evidence that ESL students are doing any better on standardized tests, said Beth Witt, who is involved in Arizona's ESL organization.

In Missouri, voters will decide whether to make English the only language of state government. Passage of the measure would affect ballots, driver's license exams and other documents. Similar law are already in place in 30 other states.

In California, Proposition 6 would eliminate bail for illegal immigrants charged with violent or gang-related felonies and require sheriffs to inform federal immigration officials when illegal immigrants are arrested.

But in another sign that the potency of the immigration issue might be waning, efforts to place anti-immigrant measures on the ballot fizzled in Arkansas and Oklahoma. A few states, including Florida, even have pro-immigrant measures on the ballot.

Gheen, the anti-illegal-immigration activist, said that once illegal immigration crackdowns make the ballot, they tend to pass. But in order to get onto the ballot, they need a benefactor who can bankroll costly signature-gathering efforts.

The Oregon initiative did have a benefactor, a wealthy medical equipment manufacturer named Loren Parks. He lives in Nevada and has poured millions of dollars into putting conservative-leaning measures onto the Oregon ballot.