VOA英语2010年-Illegal Immigrants in US Push for Passage of

U.S. lawmakers before the end of the year are expected to consider a controversal immigration reform measure that would give tens of thousands of young illegal immigrants a chance to become legal residents by going to college or joining the armed forces. The proposed legislation is known as the Dream Act.

Yves Gomes is now a university student in (the east coast U.S. state of) Maryland, but he may soon have to leave the country. "I still want to continue with my college education and I want to be able to study here and go to medical school," he said.

Gomes is one of thousands of young illegal immigrants who grew up in the United States and are now studying at American colleges and universities. He is doing well in his studies, but he is fighting deportation¹ to India, a country he left with his parents when he was just 14 months old. They were deported² more than a year ago.

"If I was to go back to India I would just feel like all of that would have gone to waste because here at least I am still able to go to college," he said.

Immigration is a divisive political issue in the United States with some 11 million people in the country illegally. One element of the debate is the hundreds of thousands of undocumented immigrants brought to the United States before the age of 16. Pending³ legislation known as the Dream Act would give them a chance to become legal residents if they complete two years of college or join the military.

Milanie Schwartz, a politically conservative student at the University of Texas, explains why some Americans oppose the legislation.

"We think it's unfair students who are illegal immigrants would get a fast track to citizenship⁴, while people who did come here legally wouldn't have those same opportunities," she said.

"The question is legalization or not," said Jon Feere, who also opposes the Dream Act. He is a policy analyst⁵ with the Center for Immigration Studies in Washington and is concerned about the act's effect on the economy. "There's a lot of unemployment in the United States right now. And there are already many legal immigrants who are already here who are desperate for those jobs," he said.

But supporters of the Dream Act say well educated immigrants would help the economy. Raul Hinojosa is an immigration research analyst at UCLA. "Not letting them contribute to the economy would not only lose all the financial investment we have already made in these youth, but we would lose literally⁶ trillions of dollars of potential value added that they want and are ready to contribute to the U.S. economy," he said.

That's exactly what Yves Gomes wants to do - finish school and become a doctor. He says without the Dream Act, many students' dreams will be lost. "They are studying at Harvard, they are studying at UCLA - the top universities - and they all have bright futures⁷ and because of the system they are going to be told to go home, go back to a country they don't even know," he said.

Lizeth Quinones came to the U.S. from Colombia (South America) when she was just 10 years old. Fourteen years later, she's graduating from a university with a degree in computer graphics⁸, but worries about finding a good job because she is not a legal resident. "I can never think of goals farther away than maybe a week because I am not even certain that after that week or after that night where I am actually going to wake up being in a jail or back in Colombia," she said.

The Dream Act has failed to win passage in Congress since it was first introduced 10 years ago. Now time is running out for passage this year, and opposition⁹ Republicans have threatened to block it. Yves Gomes hopes that won't happen. He wants to finished school and evenutally become a U.S. citizen.

1 deportation   

n.驱逐，放逐

参考例句：

• The government issued a deportation order against the four men.政府发出了对那4名男子的驱逐令。
• Years ago convicted criminals in England could face deportation to Australia.很多年以前，英国已定罪的犯人可能被驱逐到澳大利亚。

2 deported   

v.将…驱逐出境( deport的过去式和过去分词 )；举止

参考例句：

• They stripped me of my citizenship and deported me. 他们剥夺我的公民资格，将我驱逐出境。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The convicts were deported to a deserted island. 罪犯们被流放到一个荒岛。 来自《简明英汉词典》

3 pending   

prep.直到，等待…期间；adj.待定的；迫近的

参考例句：

• The lawsuit is still pending in the state court.这案子仍在州法庭等待定夺。
• He knew my examination was pending.他知道我就要考试了。

4 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。

5 analyst   

n.分析家，化验员；心理分析学家

参考例句：

• What can you contribute to the position of a market analyst?你有什么技能可有助于市场分析员的职务？
• The analyst is required to interpolate values between standards.分析人员需要在这些标准中插入一些值。

6 literally   

adv.照字面意义，逐字地；确实

参考例句：

• He translated the passage literally.他逐字逐句地翻译这段文字。
• Sometimes she would not sit down till she was literally faint.有时候，她不走到真正要昏厥了，决不肯坐下来。

7 futures   

n.期货，期货交易

参考例句：

• He continued his operations in cotton futures.他继续进行棉花期货交易。
• Cotton futures are selling at high prices.棉花期货交易的卖价是很高的。

8 graphics   

n.制图法，制图学；图形显示

参考例句：

• You've leveraged your graphics experience into the video area.你们把图形设计业务的经验运用到录像业务中去。
• Improved graphics took computer games into a new era.经改进的制图技术将电脑游戏带进了一个新时代。

9 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。