The escalating debate over national immigration reform has put the workplace and the classroom on the front line, especially when it comes to communication. English as a second language has significant ramifications in productivity and safety.

In Idaho, the vast majority of people for whom English is a second language speak Spanish. The five Refugee Centers located around the state track more language diversity although the numbers of these immigrants remains comparatively small to Hispanics.

Contributing to the diversity yet still trailing the Spanish speakers considerably is Other Indo-European languages, the next largest group of non-English speakers. The changing global politics is showcased in the differing top five refugee languages in 2005 versus 2011 with Nepalese taking the majority lead over Turkish.
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