New Generation of Immigrants Flock to US

By Leah Krakinowski

The United States has once again become a magnet for millions of men and women from around the globe. A century ago, the U.S. willingly opened its doors to legions of immigrants. Today, those with highly sought-after skills are the ones receiving the warm welcome. But that has not quelled¹ the rush of unskilled immigrants pouring through U.S. borders in the past decade.

One hundred years ago, When Europeans cast their fortunes toward America 100 years ago, they said goodbye to their loved ones, never to return. Unlike the hundreds of thousands of Europeans who came to America at the turn of the 20th century, today's newcomers are mainly from Latin America and Asia.

Now, in the high-tech² age of cellular³ phones and the Internet, immigrants no longer sever⁴ ties to their homelands. But unlike a century ago, there is a widening gulf⁵ between educated immigrants and those untrained workers who may find the U.S. job market an uninviting place.

Roger Waldinger, a sociologist⁶ at the University of California in Los Angeles, says that mass migration⁷ is a recurring⁸ cycle. But he says there has been a steady shift away from a long-standing U.S. policy of admitting refugees who simply hope to build better lives for themselves.

"In many ways, the salient characteristic of the current era is the revival⁹ of large-scale immigration. But it is immigration in a restricted immigration regime," he explains. "That is, the goal of policy is to keep people out. One of the consequences of that policy is the creation of a totally new group of immigrants, one we never saw before, that is to say the unauthorized, or illegal, or undocumented immigrants."

U.S. immigration officials estimate there are nine million undocumented immigrants living in the United States.

Elliott Barkan, a retired¹⁰ professor of history and ethnic¹¹ studies at California State University in San Bernardino, says these are mostly unskilled people who make their way to the United States. But he says they often find themselves struggling to find work in today's high-tech service economy.

"We are now in a post-industrial stage and you've got people having to come up with other alternatives," says Mr. Barkan. "Some industries survive like the garment industry in Los Angeles, even in New York, because of the immigrants who are here. But in other cases, that job opportunity syndrome¹² isn't there, and in that sense, it is harder."

U.S. census¹³ numbers show that 20 percent of new or illegal immigrants eventually return home. But Professor Barkan notes that many more take their chances and stay in the United States. He says the changing nature of America's economy has forced many unskilled immigrants to venture away from popular immigrant hubs such as New York and Los Angeles in search of work. He says this pattern of fanning out across the country is easily seen among Mexican immigrants, who are among the country's largest group of undocumented workers.

"The single most remarkable¹⁴ pattern since 1990 are Mexicans moving into the deep South, into Georgia, Alabama, North Carolina, Arkansas," he notes. "Mexicans are now working in Hawaii. This is remarkable, for those of us who've been tracking Mexican migration into the Midwest or to the Southwest, to see Mexicans now as the major labor¹⁵ force in Florida, in Georgia, in North Carolina, in Alabama. "

Professor Barkan says immigrants venture to places where they hope to re-create the livelihoods¹⁶ they had in their home countries, though some fare better than others.

"The classic example is the South Vietnamese shrimpers who went to Texas, because they could then resume shrimp¹⁷ fishing," he adds. "Or you find Mung from Northern Thailand in Wisconsin and Minnesota. Why would a Mung go to Wisconsin or Minnesota? They go with the farming."

Others join what is often called the country's invisible workforce¹⁸, those working at high-turnover, low-wage jobs, says New York University professor Hasia Diner. She says many of these workers are unskilled immigrant women, and they find life in America particularly tough.

"Nowadays what you see is a not-insignificant part of the migration looking for jobs like nannies," she says. "This is a women's migration, women from Central America. Many of the women who appear to us as 'undocumented,' working as caregivers, eldercare, child-care done in private homes. Therefore, it falls under the radar¹⁹ of the bureaucracy with jobs that pay in cash."

Professor Diner says immigrant domestic workers play a major role in America's service economy. But she says they lack the legal, social or financial resources of legitimate²⁰ visa-holders.

"These women do not go into jobs that ever get recorded, they don't get into jobs that are listed," she explains. "This is, in fact, exactly what much of the contemporary migration is, people working who are not producing goods, but are performing a service."

New immigrants account for 50 percent of the growth of the country's labor force between 1990 and 2001. At least a third are women, according to a recent study of immigrant workers by Boston's Northeastern University. The study credits immigrants with expanding the U.S. pool of workers available for jobs in home health care and fast-food jobs.
注释:
magnet 磁铁
sought-after 很吃香的
quell 镇压
unskilled 拙劣的
gulf 深渊
untrained 未经训练的
refugee 难民
salient 显著的
undocumented 无正式文件的
garment 衣服
shrimper 捕虾者
contemporary 当代的

1 quelled   

v.（用武力）制止，结束，镇压( quell的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• Thanks to Kao Sung-nien's skill, the turmoil had been quelled. 亏高松年有本领，弹压下去。 来自汉英文学 - 围城
• Mr. Atkinson was duly quelled. 阿特金森先生被及时地将了一军。 来自辞典例句

2 high-tech   

adj.高科技的

参考例句：

• The economy is in the upswing which makes high-tech services in more demand too.经济在蓬勃发展，这就使对高科技服务的需求量也在加大。
• The quest of a cure for disease with high-tech has never ceased. 人们希望运用高科技治疗疾病的追求从未停止过。

3 cellular   

adj.移动的；细胞的，由细胞组成的

参考例句：

• She has a cellular telephone in her car.她的汽车里有一部无线通讯电话机。
• Many people use cellular materials as sensitive elements in hygrometers.很多人用蜂窝状的材料作为测量温度的传感元件。

4 sever   

v.切开，割开；断绝，中断

参考例句：

• She wanted to sever all her connections with the firm.她想断绝和那家公司的所有联系。
• We must never sever the cultural vein of our nation.我们不能割断民族的文化血脉。

5 gulf   

n.海湾；深渊，鸿沟；分歧，隔阂

参考例句：

• The gulf between the two leaders cannot be bridged.两位领导人之间的鸿沟难以跨越。
• There is a gulf between the two cities.这两座城市间有个海湾。

6 sociologist   

n.研究社会学的人，社会学家

参考例句：

• His mother was a sociologist,researching socialism.他的母亲是个社会学家，研究社会主义。
• Max Weber is a great and outstanding sociologist.马克斯·韦伯是一位伟大的、杰出的社会学家。

7 migration   

n.迁移，移居，（鸟类等的）迁徙

参考例句：

• Swallows begin their migration south in autumn.燕子在秋季开始向南方迁移。
• He described the vernal migration of birds in detail.他详细地描述了鸟的春季移居。

8 recurring   

adj.往复的，再次发生的

参考例句：

• This kind of problem is recurring often. 这类问题经常发生。
• For our own country, it has been a time for recurring trial. 就我们国家而言，它经过了一个反复考验的时期。

9 revival   

n.复兴，复苏，（精力、活力等的）重振

参考例句：

• The period saw a great revival in the wine trade.这一时期葡萄酒业出现了很大的复苏。
• He claimed the housing market was showing signs of a revival.他指出房地产市场正出现复苏的迹象。

10 retired   

adj.隐退的，退休的，退役的

参考例句：

• The old man retired to the country for rest.这位老人下乡休息去了。
• Many retired people take up gardening as a hobby.许多退休的人都以从事园艺为嗜好。

11 ethnic   

adj.人种的，种族的，异教徒的

参考例句：

• This music would sound more ethnic if you played it in steel drums.如果你用钢鼓演奏，这首乐曲将更具民族特色。
• The plan is likely only to aggravate ethnic frictions.这一方案很有可能只会加剧种族冲突。

12 syndrome   

n.综合病症；并存特性

参考例句：

• The Institute says that an unidentified virus is to blame for the syndrome. 该研究所表示,引起这种综合症的是一种尚未确认的病毒。
• Results indicated that 11 fetuses had Down syndrome. 结果表明有11个胎儿患有唐氏综合征。

13 census   

n.(官方的)人口调查，人口普查

参考例句：

• A census of population is taken every ten years.人口普查每10年进行一次。
• The census is taken one time every four years in our country.我国每四年一次人口普查。

14 remarkable   

adj.显著的，异常的，非凡的，值得注意的

参考例句：

• She has made remarkable headway in her writing skills.她在写作技巧方面有了长足进步。
• These cars are remarkable for the quietness of their engines.这些汽车因发动机没有噪音而不同凡响。

15 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。

16 livelihoods   

生计，谋生之道( livelihood的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• First came the earliest individualistic pioneers who depended on hunting and fishing for their livelihoods. 走在最前面的是早期的个人主义先驱者，他们靠狩猎捕鱼为生。 来自英汉非文学 - 政府文件
• With little influence over policies, their traditional livelihoods are threatened. 因为马赛族人对政策的影响力太小，他们的传统生计受到了威胁。

17 shrimp   

n.虾，小虾；矮小的人

参考例句：

• When the shrimp farm is built it will block the stream.一旦养虾场建起来，将会截断这条河流。
• When it comes to seafood,I like shrimp the best.说到海鲜，我最喜欢虾。

18 workforce   

n.劳动大军，劳动力

参考例句：

• A large part of the workforce is employed in agriculture.劳动人口中一大部分受雇于农业。
• A quarter of the local workforce is unemployed.本地劳动力中有四分之一失业。

19 radar   

n.雷达，无线电探测器

参考例句：

• They are following the flight of an aircraft by radar.他们正在用雷达追踪一架飞机的飞行。
• Enemy ships were detected on the radar.敌舰的影像已显现在雷达上。

20 legitimate   

adj.合法的，合理的，合乎逻辑的；v.使合法

参考例句：

• Sickness is a legitimate reason for asking for leave.生病是请假的一个正当的理由。
• That's a perfectly legitimate fear.怀有这种恐惧完全在情理之中。