PBS高端访谈:特朗普支持的改革会改变美国的移民格局吗?

 　　It is a call to overhaul¹ immigration. President Trump² endorsed³ today new legislation

　　from Republican Senators David Perdue of Georgia and Tom Cotton of Arkansas that would cut in half the number of people allowed in the nation legally,

　　marking a profound shift in policies that have been in place for half-a-century.

　　For decades, the United States was operated and has operated a very low-skilled immigration system, issuing record numbers of green cards to low-wage immigrants.

　　And it has not been fair to our people, to our citizens, to our workers.

　　The president's senior adviser⁴, Stephen Miller⁵, fiercely defended the policy change at a White House briefing today.

　　This is a reality that is happening in our country. Maybe it's time we had compassion⁶, Glenn, for American workers.

　　President Trump has met with American workers who have been replaced by foreign workers.

　　Ask them, ask them how this has affected⁷ their lives.

　　With us now to explain the proposed legislation is Alan Gomez, reporter for USA Today who covers immigration. He joins me now from Miami.

　　Alan, welcome back to the program.

　　So, how does this proposal differ from current law?

　　Basically, what this proposal would do is completely upend the way that the U.S. accepts immigrants.

　　Right now, about 63 percent of green cards that are given to foreigners are given based on their family ties.

　　In other words, they have somebody here in the U.S. that sponsors them, and they're able to get that green card.

　　What they want to do, what President Trump and Senators Cotton and Perdue are proposing is switching to a system more like Canada,

　　where it's more based on their economic contributions and how they can contribute to the economy of the country. In Canada, it's the complete opposite.

　　About 63 percent of the visas -- green cards that are given there are based on those economic ties.

　　So they want to implement⁸ a points-based system, where we rank would-be immigrants based on their education, their technical experience, their job experience,

　　and make our immigration system more focused on what they can do for this country, rather than just having family ties.

　　And, practically, what would the changes be?

　　Right. It would be incredibly -- it's hard to overestimate⁹ just what a drastic change this would be.

　　So, right now, if you're a U.S. citizen, you can sponsor your children, your spouse¹⁰, your parents, your grandparents, your grandchildren, your cousins, your brothers, your sisters.

　　What this program, what this proposal would do would limit is, it would limit it to only your spouse and only your minor¹¹ children.

　　So that would drastically reduce your opportunities to bring your relatives into the United States.

　　And, again, on the economics -- so all those folks could still be eligible¹² to come in, but they would have to pass that test.

　　They would have to go through that screening process that examines their ability to contribute immediately to the U.S. economy

　　and favors people with higher educations, with Ph.D.s, with Master's degrees and those kinds.

　　And very quickly, in just a word, what are the prospects¹³ of this becoming law?

　　Not very good. Senator Cotton introduced this bill back in February. It hasn't even gotten a committee hearing.

　　And we heard opposition¹⁴ today from immigrants, from Democrats¹⁵, and even some Republicans who thought it went too far.

　　Alan Gomez with USA Today, we thank you. Thank you. undefined

1 overhaul   

v./n.大修，仔细检查

参考例句：

• Master Worker Wang is responsible for the overhaul of this grinder.王师傅主修这台磨床。
• It is generally appreciated that the rail network needs a complete overhaul.众所周知，铁路系统需要大检修。

2 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。

3 endorsed   

vt.& vi.endorse的过去式或过去分词形式v.赞同( endorse的过去式和过去分词 )；在（尤指支票的）背面签字；在（文件的）背面写评论；在广告上说本人使用并赞同某产品

参考例句：

• The committee endorsed an initiative by the chairman to enter discussion about a possible merger. 委员会通过了主席提出的新方案，开始就可能进行的并购进行讨论。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The government has broadly endorsed a research paper proposing new educational targets for 14-year-olds. 政府基本上支持建议对14 岁少年实行新教育目标的研究报告。 来自《简明英汉词典》

4 adviser   

n.劝告者，顾问

参考例句：

• They employed me as an adviser.他们聘请我当顾问。
• Our department has engaged a foreign teacher as phonetic adviser.我们系已经聘请了一位外籍老师作为语音顾问。

5 miller   

n.磨坊主

参考例句：

• Every miller draws water to his own mill.磨坊主都往自己磨里注水。
• The skilful miller killed millions of lions with his ski.技术娴熟的磨坊主用雪橇杀死了上百万头狮子。

6 compassion   

n.同情，怜悯

参考例句：

• He could not help having compassion for the poor creature.他情不自禁地怜悯起那个可怜的人来。
• Her heart was filled with compassion for the motherless children.她对于没有母亲的孩子们充满了怜悯心。

7 affected   

adj.不自然的，假装的

参考例句：

• She showed an affected interest in our subject.她假装对我们的课题感到兴趣。
• His manners are affected.他的态度不自然。

8 implement   

n.(pl.)工具，器具；vt.实行，实施，执行

参考例句：

• Don't undertake a project unless you can implement it.不要承担一项计划，除非你能完成这项计划。
• The best implement for digging a garden is a spade.在花园里挖土的最好工具是铁锹。

9 overestimate   

v.估计过高，过高评价

参考例句：

• Don't overestimate seriousness of the problem.别把问题看重了。
• We overestimate our influence and our nuisance value.我们过高地估计了自己的影响力和破坏作用。

10 spouse   

n.配偶(指夫或妻)

参考例句：

• Her spouse will come to see her on Sunday.她的丈夫星期天要来看她。
• What is the best way to keep your spouse happy in the marriage?在婚姻中保持配偶幸福的最好方法是什么？

11 minor   

adj.较小(少)的，较次要的；n.辅修学科；vi.辅修

参考例句：

• The young actor was given a minor part in the new play.年轻的男演员在这出新戏里被分派担任一个小角色。
• I gave him a minor share of my wealth.我把小部分财产给了他。

12 eligible   

adj.有条件被选中的；(尤指婚姻等)合适(意)的

参考例句：

• He is an eligible young man.他是一个合格的年轻人。
• Helen married an eligible bachelor.海伦嫁给了一个中意的单身汉。

13 prospects   

n.希望，前途(恒为复数)

参考例句：

• There is a mood of pessimism in the company about future job prospects. 公司中有一种对工作前景悲观的情绪。
• They are less sanguine about the company's long-term prospects. 他们对公司的远景不那么乐观。

14 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。

15 democrats   

n.民主主义者，民主人士( democrat的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The Democrats held a pep rally on Capitol Hill yesterday. 民主党昨天在国会山召开了竞选誓师大会。
• The democrats organize a filibuster in the senate. 民主党党员组织了阻挠议事。 来自《简明英汉词典》