"Every immigrant who comes here should be required within five years to learn English or leave the country."
-Theodore Roosevelt

I was wondering how this requirement would be applied in today's United States. For instance, how would the government enforce this type of law? Would deportation be the penalty if they didn't pass the test? Would immigrants be required to take a written exam after 5 years? What about those who learned enough English to get by but maybe not enough pass a written test? Or what about those who could speak English but have not learned how to read or write? What if the immigrant is the child of immigrants? Would the child have to learn to speak English in 5 years as well? And what if the immigrants have a child while they are here and one fails to pass whatever test might be required? Would that parent be deported? Would this apply to legal immigrants as well as illegal immigrants? If both are a married couple and one passes and the other doesn't, would we still deport the non-passing spouse? Who would provide the funds to teach these people English? Or would they have to bear this expense on their own? What if they couldn't afford to take English classes? Would the government offer financial assistance so they could learn the language? Would we also require these people to actually speak English in everyday life, or could they decide for themselves if and when they want to continue using their native language?

Just wondering what this would look like....