New US Citizen Refugees Excited for First Presidential Vote

New US Citizen Refugees Excited for First Presidential Vote

They came to the United States fleeing war and persecution¹ in countries like Myanmar, Eritrea and Iraq. They were chosen by the Obama administration to resettle in the U.S. under longstanding humanitarian² traditions.

Now, tens of thousands of these refugees have become American citizens. They can now vote for the first time in what could be one of the most important presidential elections of their lifetimes.

New voters from Arizona to Florida know they will help choose the country's next leader. That leader will decide the future of the very resettlement program they used to enter the country. President Donald Trump³ has all but stopped that program and may shut it down starting October 1.

"Most refugees come to this country escaping political systems where the government is not their friend," said Hans Van de Weerd. He is the vice⁴ president of resettlement for the International Rescue Committee.

Republican and Democratic administrations have resettled an average of 95,000 refugees each year over the last 40 years. The Trump government, however, dropped the number down to 18,000. Only about 9,000 refugees have come in this year during the coronavirus health crisis.

The lower numbers are likely to continue if Trump is reelected. Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden has promised to increase the yearly number to 125,000 if he wins the election.

There are no voter registration⁵ numbers for refugees. But the National Partnership⁶ for New Americans predicted that about 860,000 immigrants would gain that right this year by becoming citizens.

Through its citizenship⁷ classes, the International Rescue Committee has helped around 6,000 refugees and other newcomers become Americans each of the last few years.

People seeking U.S. citizenship are facing some new barriers, such as a large increase in the amount the government charges to complete the process. The amount rose from $640 to $1,170.

Department of Homeland Security numbers in recent years have shown that refugees and asylum-seekers have a new-citizenship rate of over 70 percent during their first 10 years in the country. Refugees can apply for citizenship after five years as permanent residents.

Once they become citizens, they can register and vote.

"So many want to vote this time," said Basma Alawee, a refugee and an organizer for the Florida Immigrant Coalition⁸. She has been leading online classes to help other refugees prepare for Election Day.

Alawee was born in Iraq and is now a U.S. citizen living in Jacksonville, Florida. She said she also plans to vote in her first presidential election on November 3.

Another Iraqi, Bilal Alobaidi, recalls elections in Iraq under Saddam Hussein when only the leader's name was on the ballot⁹. The choices were "yes" or "no."

"And if you said ‘no,' something bad could happen to you," said Alobaidi. He arrived in the U.S. in December 2013.

Alobaidi was resettled in Phoenix¹⁰, Arizona and became a citizen last year. He now works for the International Rescue Committee, helping¹¹ other refugees find housing and other services.

Alobaidi is excited about the upcoming election. "This is the first time I will practice democracy," he said.

Nada al-Rubaye said she never voted in her native Iraq. She fled the country after her son and several other family members were killed in the country's violence.

The Baghdad-born artist and another son spent a few years in Turkey, but in 2013 were settled in Phoenix.

She became a U.S. citizen in September 2019. "I am so excited!" she said about the election. "It's so important for a person to feel like they belong to a country," she added.

Habtom Gezhey fled Eritrea after being forced to join the military. At first, he lived in a refugee camp in neighboring Ethiopia before being resettled in Florida in 2012.

Now a truck driver moving goods across the U.S., Gezhey lives in Jacksonville with his wife, Eyerusalem - whom he met at the camp - and their two young children.

"I'm ready to vote. We had no election in Eritrea, no Constitution."

Lian Kual never voted in Myanmar, where elections were criticized as fraudulent during many years of military rule.

In 2008, Kual fled his country for Malaysia, and in 2014 was resettled in Salt Lake City, Utah. Kual, who works at Walmart, became a citizen this year.

"I feel so free to be part of the United States of America," he said. "I already registered (to vote)...now, I'm waiting for my ballot. It's a really big deal."

Words in This Story

persecution – n. discriminating¹² against someone

resident – n. one who lives in a certain place

fraudulent – adj. false, untrue

1 persecution   

n. 迫害,烦扰

参考例句：

• He had fled from France at the time of the persecution. 他在大迫害时期逃离了法国。
• Their persecution only serves to arouse the opposition of the people. 他们的迫害只激起人民对他们的反抗。

2 humanitarian   

n.人道主义者，博爱者，基督凡人论者

参考例句：

• She has many humanitarian interests and contributes a lot to them.她拥有很多慈善事业，并作了很大的贡献。
• The British government has now suspended humanitarian aid to the area.英国政府现已暂停对这一地区的人道主义援助。

3 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。

4 vice   

n.坏事；恶习；[pl.]台钳，老虎钳；adj.副的

参考例句：

• He guarded himself against vice.他避免染上坏习惯。
• They are sunk in the depth of vice.他们堕入了罪恶的深渊。

5 registration   

n.登记，注册，挂号

参考例句：

• Marriage without registration is not recognized by law.法律不承认未登记的婚姻。
• What's your registration number?你挂的是几号？

6 partnership   

n.合作关系，伙伴关系

参考例句：

• The company has gone into partnership with Swiss Bank Corporation.这家公司已经和瑞士银行公司建立合作关系。
• Martin has taken him into general partnership in his company.马丁已让他成为公司的普通合伙人。

7 citizenship   

n.市民权，公民权，国民的义务(身份)

参考例句：

• He was born in Sweden,but he doesn't have Swedish citizenship.他在瑞典出生，但没有瑞典公民身分。
• Ten years later,she chose to take Australian citizenship.十年后，她选择了澳大利亚国籍。

8 coalition   

n.结合体，同盟，结合，联合

参考例句：

• The several parties formed a coalition.这几个政党组成了政治联盟。
• Coalition forces take great care to avoid civilian casualties.联盟军队竭尽全力避免造成平民伤亡。

9 ballot   

n.（不记名）投票，投票总数，投票权；vi.投票

参考例句：

• The members have demanded a ballot.会员们要求投票表决。
• The union said they will ballot members on whether to strike.工会称他们将要求会员投票表决是否罢工。

10 phoenix   

n.凤凰，长生(不死)鸟；引申为重生

参考例句：

• The airline rose like a phoenix from the ashes.这家航空公司又起死回生了。
• The phoenix worship of China is fetish worship not totem adoration.中国凤崇拜是灵物崇拜而非图腾崇拜。

11 helping   

n.食物的一份&adj.帮助人的，辅助的

参考例句：

• The poor children regularly pony up for a second helping of my hamburger. 那些可怜的孩子们总是要求我把我的汉堡包再给他们一份。
• By doing this, they may at times be helping to restore competition. 这样一来, 他在某些时候,有助于竞争的加强。

12 discriminating   

a.有辨别能力的

参考例句：

• Due caution should be exercised in discriminating between the two. 在区别这两者时应该相当谨慎。
• Many businesses are accused of discriminating against women. 许多企业被控有歧视妇女的做法。