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加州边境区 移民辩论

President Barack Obama and leaders in the Senate hope to reform the U.S. immigration system to resolve the problem of more than 11 million people who are living in the United States illegally. The issue hits close to home in San Diego, California, near the border with Mexico, where legal and undocumented residents live and work together.

奥巴马总统和美国的参议员们希望改革移民制度，为生活在美国的1千1百万非法移民解决身份问题。这一提议尤其关系到加州圣地亚哥这样的边境地区的家庭，这里很多非法居民与合法居民一起工作生活，早已融为一体。

One such resident, Rosa Maria Mendoza, is self-deporting. She has lived in the United States for 12 years but is returning to Mexico.  She is leaving behind a 15-year-old son and 18-year-old daughter, who want to stay in California with their grandmother.  Mendoza earns barely enough in California to support her family, but is a trained paralegal worker in Mexico.

门德萨说，她是自我递解出境。她已经在美国生活了12年，但现在自愿返回墨西哥找工作。门德萨把15岁的儿子 和18岁的女儿留在美国，他俩都想和姥姥一起生活在加州。

Speaking in Spanish, Mendoza said her situation is complicated and she doesn't know how they [her children] will manage. But they love his country, she said, and she respects their wishes.

她说：“一言难尽。我不知道该怎么管他们。但重要的是，我知道他们热爱美国，我尊重他们的选择。”

San Diego is a beautiful seaside city, a short drive from the U.S.-Mexico border, with its massive fence and extensive security.  The security is needed, says former Republican congressman¹ Duncan Hunter.

圣迭戈市离墨西哥边境非常近，那里布有大量隔离网和警力。来自共和党的前国会议员亨特尔说，在这里布置警力和安全设施是必要的。

“What it is, is a border security program that says several things. Number one, if you want to come into America, knock on the front door," Hunter said.

亨特尔说：“边境安全系统要告诉人们几件事，第一就是如果你想来美国，请敲正门。”

Millions have not done that.  Economic refugees from Latin America often lack the job skills to get a legal visa. But many came illegally as children with their parents.

很多居住在美国的拉美裔人童年时就跟随父母非法入境。

At the University of San Diego, law student Rosibel Mancillas Lopez meets with a friend, Wendy Romero.  Wendy is one of 1.7 million young people covered by the program called Deferred² Action for Childhood Arrivals, which the Obama administration announced last June. She is now safe from deportation³.  So is San Diego State University nursing student Maria Estrada.

奥巴马政府去年六月出台了一个“童年时期抵达者暂缓驱逐”(Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals)项目，罗美柔就是符合这一项目的170万非法移民之一。现在，她不用再担心会被递解出境。圣迭戈州立大学医护专业的学生埃斯特拉达也是这一项目的得益人之一。

“In many ways, it changed the psyche⁴ and the thinking of a lot of undocumented youth, and gave us a lot of hope that we hadn't had for a long time,” Estrada said.

她说： “从很多方面来说，这个项目改变了很多年轻非法移民的心理和思维，它赋予我们很多我们已经很久没有过的希望。”

The workers who pick the produce on California farms are thought to be mostly undocumented and using false papers, said Eric Larson of the San Diego Farm Bureau.

圣地亚哥农场署的拉森说，很多加州农场里采集农作物的工人一般是最为非法的移民，伪造证件的那种。

“Even though they may not be here legally documented, we'd like to see as many of them stay as possible," Larson said. "They're very skilled, they’re trained."

拉森说：“虽然他们不都是合法劳工，但我们需要这样的工人，越多越好，他们手艺精湛，非常有经验。”

Farmers also hope to see an effective program put in place to bring extra workers to the country at harvest time. Each year, hundreds of migrants die crossing the border through the desert.  Laura and John Hunter, the brother of the former congressman, head a group called Water Station that leaves water in the desert for the migrants. Laura, who was born in Mexico, said the undocumented need to come out of the shadows.

每年都有几百个非法移民丧生边境。前议员亨特尔的姐姐劳拉和哥哥约翰带领一个叫做“水站”的小组，这个小组为沙漠中的非法移民们供水。劳拉出生于墨西哥，她认为那些没有合法身份的移民应该被允许重见天日。

“To be able to have the opportunities to become citizens, to be able to provide for their families.”

她说：“他们应该有机会变成美国公民，能抚养他们的家庭。”

Members of a Unitarian church near a detention⁵ center in Irvine, California pay weekly visits to those awaiting deportation. Visitor Jan Meslin said the immigration system separates families.

“And especially, a lot of the detainees here tell us about their children, who they miss so much."

The immigration system is overwhelmed, said Estela De Los Rios of the Center for Social Advocacy.  Legal remedies for those fighting deportation can take several years, and those waiting to immigrate⁶ legally can wait even longer.

“There's people that I've known that have applied⁷ 15 years ago, and their name is just coming up," she said.

一些非法移民们在北部的一个拘留所中等候被递解出境，

Hunter says politicians must find a solution.

像亨特尔这样的活动人士说，政客们应该找到一个解决办法。

“We need the labor⁸. The guys in Mexico and other places do need the work, and so there should be some way to legally make both sides happy.”

亨特尔说：“我们需要劳工，墨西哥和其他国家的人们需要工作，所以应该找到合理的办法让双方都满意。

Others say the rights of those waiting in line to immigrate legally should also be respected, and that the border needs to be secure.

还有一些人说，那些合法来到美国的移民的权益也应该受到尊重，并应该强化边境安全。

But Congress is divided, and leaders in both parties say that finding a solution will not be easy.

但是目前美国国会极度分裂，来自两党的议员们都说达成一个解决方案实在不容易。