2007年VOA标准英语-US Immigration Debate Creates Unusual Political

By Jim Malone
Washington
31 May 2007

The intense debate over immigration reform in the United States has revealed some rather unusual political alliances in recent months. VOA National correspondent Jim Malone has more from Washington.

The old saying that politics makes strange bedfellows certainly applies to the immigration debate under way in the U.S. Senate.

Illegal immigrants detained by US Border Patrol

The complicated proposal would grant legal status to the estimated 12 million undocumented workers now in the United States, tighten² borders and crack down on employers who hire illegal immigrants.

The plan has the support of President Bush and a diverse bipartisan group of senators that includes Democrat³ Ted¹ Kennedy of Massachusetts on the left and Republican Jon Kyl of Arizona on the right.

"And from my perspective, it is not perfec," said Kyl. "But it represents the best opportunity that we have in a bipartisan way to do something about this problem."

But Kyl and other conservatives who support the bill are paying a political price for their endorsement⁴. Conservative activists⁵ like radio talk show host Rush Limbaugh see the proposal as a form of amnesty for millions who entered the country illegally.

"If you are in our country, you cannot be a burden to taxpayers," said Limbaugh. "You are not entitled to welfare or food stamps or other government goodies. And another thing, you do not have the right to protest."

"You are allowed no demonstrations⁶, no foreign flag-waving, no political organizing, no bad-mouthing our president or his policies. You are a foreigner. Shut your mouth or get out. And if you come here illegally, you are going to jail," he continued.

Conservative opponents have found some uneasy allies on the political left.

Civil rights groups and labor⁷ unions object to a provision in the bill that would establish a temporary guest worker program that would allow immigrants to work in the United States for a limited time and then return to their home countries.

"As long as this two-tiered system exists, all workers will suffer, because employers will have available a ready pool of labor that they can exploit to drive down wages, benefits, health and safety protections and other workplace standards," said Linda Chavez Thompson, who is with the AFL-CIO, the largest federation⁸ of trade unions in the United States.

Immigration has also become a major issue in the early stages of the 2008 presidential campaign.

One Republican candidate, Colorado Congressman⁹ Tom Tancredo, has made stopping illegal immigration the centerpiece of his presidential campaign.

"Millions of listeners have helped us stop amnesty and make almost every candidate running for public office at least pretend to oppose illegal immigration. So join me, because securing our borders is the first step in securing our future," he said.

George W. Bush,  24 May 2007

Despite the opposition¹⁰ from the right and left, President Bush continues to insist that the compromise immigration reform proposal before the Senate is the best opportunity to address both border security and legalization of those already in the country.

"But if you are serious about securing our borders and bringing millions of illegal immigrants in our country out of the shadows, this bipartisan bill is the best opportunity to move forward," said the presient.

A recent New York Times-CBS News poll indicated that there is broad support for some of the major provisions in the immigration bill.

A large majority in the survey favored allowing illegal immigrants already in the country to gain legal status. There was also strong support for the creation of a new guest worker program.

The poll also showed that 82 percent of those asked supported tighter enforcement of the borders and stiffer penalties for businesses that hire illegal immigrants.

Republican political strategist Ed Goeas says passage of immigration reform will depend on political centrists from both parties being able to withstand opposition from both the right and left.

"We both have our wings that are anti-immigration," said Goeas. "But that is a real opportunity for the president to come forward and say, here is what I have been trying to do on immigration, now is our opportunity to bring in both the middle [centrist] majority from the Democratic side and the middle majority from the Republican side and solve this problem."

The Senate has already made changes to the original immigration proposal and more challenges are expected before final approval. The Senate version would then have to be reconciled with a version yet to be passed by the House of Representatives, then signed into law by the president.

1 ted   

vt.翻晒，撒，撒开

参考例句：

• The invaders gut ted the village.侵略者把村中财物洗劫一空。
• She often teds the corn when it's sunny.天好的时候她就翻晒玉米。

2 tighten   

v.(使)变紧；(使)绷紧

参考例句：

• Turn the screw to the right to tighten it.向右转动螺钉把它拧紧。
• Some countries tighten monetary policy to avoid inflation.一些国家实行紧缩银根的货币政策，以避免通货膨胀。

3 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。

4 endorsement   

n.背书；赞成，认可，担保；签(注)，批注

参考例句：

• We are happy to give the product our full endorsement.我们很高兴给予该产品完全的认可。
• His presidential campaign won endorsement from several celebrities.他参加总统竞选得到一些社会名流的支持。

5 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》

6 demonstrations   

证明( demonstration的名词复数 )； 表明； 表达； 游行示威

参考例句：

• Lectures will be interspersed with practical demonstrations. 讲课中将不时插入实际示范。
• The new military government has banned strikes and demonstrations. 新的军人政府禁止罢工和示威活动。

7 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。

8 federation   

n.同盟，联邦，联合，联盟，联合会

参考例句：

• It is a federation of 10 regional unions.它是由十个地方工会结合成的联合会。
• Mr.Putin was inaugurated as the President of the Russian Federation.普京正式就任俄罗斯联邦总统。

9 Congressman   

n.（美）国会议员

参考例句：

• He related several anecdotes about his first years as a congressman.他讲述自己初任议员那几年的几则轶事。
• The congressman is meditating a reply to his critics.这位国会议员正在考虑给他的批评者一个答复。

10 opposition   

n.反对，敌对

参考例句：

• The party leader is facing opposition in his own backyard.该党领袖在自己的党內遇到了反对。
• The police tried to break down the prisoner's opposition.警察设法制住了那个囚犯的反抗。