美国国家公共电台 NPR Democrats Used To Talk About 'Criminal Immigrants,' So What Changed The Party?

 

RACHEL MARTIN, HOST:

Democrats² have been mostly unified³ against President Trump⁴'s border wall. But on more nuanced immigration issues, it hasn't always been that simple. Some immigrant advocates called President Obama the deporter in chief for his policies. And while Republicans have moved to the right on immigration, the Democrats' base has moved left, exposing a new rift⁵ in that party. NPR's Asma Khalid reports.

ASMA KHALID, BYLINE⁶: To understand how much the Democratic Party has shifted on immigration, check out this statistic⁷ from the Pew Research Center. In 1994, a third of Democrats said immigrants strengthen our country. Today that number is over 80 percent. Bill Clinton, as part of his overall law and order agenda, sought to crack down on illegal immigration.

(SOUNDBITE OF 1996 STATE OF THE UNION ADDRESS)

BILL CLINTON: After years of neglect, this administration has taken a strong stand to stiffen⁸ the protection of our borders.

KHALID: This is his 1996 State of the Union address.

(SOUNDBITE OF 1996 STATE OF THE UNION ADDRESS)

CLINTON: We are increasing inspections⁹ to prevent the hiring of illegal immigrants. And tonight I announce I will sign an executive order to deny federal contracts to businesses that hire illegal immigrants.

(APPLAUSE)

KHALID: But around the year 2000, key constituencies within the Democratic Party began to change their tune¹⁰ on immigrants. The NAACP began to see immigration as a civil rights issue rather than as a jobs problem. And the AFL-CIO started to see immigrant labor¹¹ as a growing base of their membership rather than only a threat to American workers. But labor's concerns lingered.

Frank Sharry, a longtime pro-immigration activist¹², points to 2007, when a majority of Democrats supported a bipartisan immigration bill. But two progressives now mulling a 2020 presidential run did not.

FRANK SHARRY: Sherrod Brown, he thought that this - you know, if we legalized and expanded the admission of immigrants, it might affect American workers in a way that his state's workers would suffer. Bernie Sanders also voted against it.

KHALID: Staff for both Brown and Sanders say the senators, in 2007, had specific concerns about expanding a guest worker program that could lower wages. Fast-forward to 2013, when the Senate voted on another comprehensive immigration bill. Labor groups supported it, and not a single Democrat¹ voted against it. The way Democratic presidential candidates discuss immigration today is focused more on immigrants' rights and less on American jobs and border security. Here's New York Senator Kirsten Gillibrand on CNN explaining her immigration transformation¹³. When she was in the House, she wanted to expand deportations. Now she wants to abolish ICE.

(SOUNDBITE OF CNN BROADCAST)

KIRSTEN GILLIBRAND: I realize that things I had said were wrong. I was not caring about others. I was not fighting for other people's kids the same way I was fighting for my own, and I was wrong to feel that way.

KHALID: There's another reason Democrats have changed if you ask Frank Sharry. He points to American public opinion.

SHARRY: Quite frankly¹⁴, the driving force was immigrants, who were well-represented in the big cities of LA and New York and Houston and Chicago and Miami, were moving to all parts of the country.

KHALID: And that's changed the demographics of the Democratic Party. In the mid-'90s, about a quarter of Democrats were not white. Nowadays, 43 percent are people of color. Most of that growth has been among Asians and Latinos, which are also the largest immigrant groups.

Cecilia Munoz handled immigration policy in the Obama administration. And she says there's one other powerful factor influencing the party - immigration activists¹⁵.

CECILIA MUNOZ: You have political figures adopting the activists' agenda and the activists' language.

KHALID: She says that means Democrats end up focusing on the aspects of immigration where activists are loudest.

MUNOZ: For example, immigration enforcement.

KHALID: But other important issues, like reforming the legal immigration process, don't get as much attention. Munoz also says the intensity¹⁶ around the immigration debate has grown since President Trump took office. With families being separated at the border and the president insisting on a wall, she says it's become more challenging for her party to engage in a conversation about immigration enforcement.

MUNOZ: It's pretty easy to talk about things that we shouldn't do. But there is not a lot of space to talk about what we should do to make this process functional¹⁷ to make it make sense. It's come very close to being a forbidden topic. And that, I think, is a very dangerous thing.

KHALID: Munoz says it's dangerous because voters want solutions. The Democrats can't just be the people who are not the Trump administration. They need to offer a vision of what immigration in America ought to look like.

Asma Khalid, NPR News.

(SOUNDBITE OF JOHN TROPEA'S "CHILI WA MAN")

1 democrat   

n.民主主义者，民主人士；民主党党员

参考例句：

• The Democrat and the Public criticized each other.民主党人和共和党人互相攻击。
• About two years later,he was defeated by Democrat Jimmy Carter.大约两年后，他被民主党人杰米卡特击败。

2 democrats   

n.民主主义者，民主人士( democrat的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The Democrats held a pep rally on Capitol Hill yesterday. 民主党昨天在国会山召开了竞选誓师大会。
• The democrats organize a filibuster in the senate. 民主党党员组织了阻挠议事。 来自《简明英汉词典》

3 unified   

(unify 的过去式和过去分词)； 统一的； 统一标准的； 一元化的

参考例句：

• The teacher unified the answer of her pupil with hers. 老师核对了学生的答案。
• The First Emperor of Qin unified China in 221 B.C. 秦始皇于公元前221年统一中国。

4 trump   

n.王牌，法宝；v.打出王牌，吹喇叭

参考例句：

• He was never able to trump up the courage to have a showdown.他始终鼓不起勇气摊牌。
• The coach saved his star player for a trump card.教练保留他的明星选手，作为他的王牌。

5 rift   

n.裂口，隙缝，切口；v.裂开，割开，渗入

参考例句：

• He was anxious to mend the rift between the two men.他急于弥合这两个人之间的裂痕。
• The sun appeared through a rift in the clouds.太阳从云层间隙中冒出来。

6 byline   

n.署名；v.署名

参考例句：

• His byline was absent as well.他的署名也不见了。
• We wish to thank the author of this article which carries no byline.我们要感谢这篇文章的那位没有署名的作者。

7 statistic   

n.统计量；adj.统计的，统计学的

参考例句：

• Official statistics show real wages declining by 24%.官方统计数字表明实际工资下降了24%。
• There are no reliable statistics for the number of deaths in the battle.关于阵亡人数没有可靠的统计数字。

8 stiffen   

v.(使)硬，(使)变挺，(使)变僵硬

参考例句：

• The blood supply to the skin is reduced when muscles stiffen.当肌肉变得僵硬时，皮肤的供血量就减少了。
• I was breathing hard,and my legs were beginning to stiffen.这时我却气吁喘喘地开始感到脚有点僵硬。

9 inspections   

n.检查( inspection的名词复数 )；检验；视察；检阅

参考例句：

• Regular inspections are carried out at the prison. 经常有人来视察这座监狱。
• Government inspections ensure a high degree of uniformity in the standard of service. 政府检查确保了在服务标准方面的高度一致。 来自《简明英汉词典》

10 tune   

n.调子；和谐，协调；v.调音，调节，调整

参考例句：

• He'd written a tune,and played it to us on the piano.他写了一段曲子，并在钢琴上弹给我们听。
• The boy beat out a tune on a tin can.那男孩在易拉罐上敲出一首曲子。

11 labor   

n.劳动，努力，工作，劳工；分娩；vi.劳动，努力，苦干；vt.详细分析；麻烦

参考例句：

• We are never late in satisfying him for his labor.我们从不延误付给他劳动报酬。
• He was completely spent after two weeks of hard labor.艰苦劳动两周后，他已经疲惫不堪了。

12 activist   

n.活动分子，积极分子

参考例句：

• He's been a trade union activist for many years.多年来他一直是工会的积极分子。
• He is a social activist in our factory.他是我厂的社会活动积极分子。

13 transformation   

n.变化；改造；转变

参考例句：

• Going to college brought about a dramatic transformation in her outlook.上大学使她的观念发生了巨大的变化。
• He was struggling to make the transformation from single man to responsible husband.他正在努力使自己由单身汉变为可靠的丈夫。

14 frankly   

adv.坦白地，直率地；坦率地说

参考例句：

• To speak frankly, I don't like the idea at all.老实说，我一点也不赞成这个主意。
• Frankly speaking, I'm not opposed to reform.坦率地说，我不反对改革。

15 activists   

n.（政治活动的）积极分子，活动家( activist的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• His research work was attacked by animal rights activists . 他的研究受到了动物权益维护者的抨击。
• Party activists with lower middle class pedigrees are numerous. 党的激进分子中有很多出身于中产阶级下层。 来自《简明英汉词典》

16 intensity   

n.强烈，剧烈；强度；烈度

参考例句：

• I didn't realize the intensity of people's feelings on this issue.我没有意识到这一问题能引起群情激奋。
• The strike is growing in intensity.罢工日益加剧。

17 functional   

adj.为实用而设计的，具备功能的，起作用的

参考例句：

• The telephone was out of order,but is functional now.电话刚才坏了，但现在可以用了。
• The furniture is not fancy,just functional.这些家具不是摆着好看的，只是为了实用。