McClatchy Washington Bureau

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Hassan Warsame's command of English goes no further than three basic questions:

What’s your name? What's your address? What's your telephone number?

A native of Somalia, he fled his country and lived in a Kenyan refugee camp before coming to Kansas City in 1995.

"My goal was to master English,” said Warsame, 68, speaking through a translator, "but I know only this little."

He may need to learn more. Pressure on non-English-speaking people living in the U.S. to learn the language has increased as part of an overall immigration debate, and it promises to be a pivotal issue in the fall elections.

Last year, Kansas Gov. Kathleen Sebelius signed legislation making English the state's official language.

Read the complete story at kansascity.com