VOA标准英语2012--Illegal Immigration Not an Issue for Legal Immigrants in New York
时间：2012-04-26 06:14:34
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Illegal Immigration Not an Issue for Legal Immigrants in New York
Mudassa Khan came to the United States from Pakistan as a teenager and now owns an electronics store in New York City. He said his family waited 12 years for legal permission to immigrate1, but he sympathizes with those who immigrate illegally.
“There has to be some desperation there in order for them to do something like that," she said.
Khan said illegal immigration is not an issue among South Asian immigrants in the neighborhood where his store is located, but he recognizes the
dilemma2 posed by illegal immigrants.
“I’m not even for giving them a legal status over here, but there has to be something in between in order for us to keep it a fair game,” he said.
But defining fairness is controversial. Critics say illegal aliens violate the law, take jobs away from Americans and must be
deported4. Filipino-American immigration attorney J.T. Mallonga disagrees.
“You can’t
deport3 all 12 million, nor can you jail all 12 million. But at this point in time, there is no avenue for them to address their legal residency issues," said Mallonga.
A bill before the U.S. Senate called the DREAM Act proposes a path to
citizenship5 for young illegal immigrants who finish high school or serve in the military. But many Republicans oppose it, including presidential contender Romney.
“I like people coming here legally. And so I will secure the border with a fence, make sure we have enough border patrol agents to secure that fence, and I will also crack down on employers that hire people who are here illegally,” said Romney.
The Obama administration has deported a record number of illegal aliens, about 400,000 per year. A new study by the Pew Hispanic Center indicates that the number of illegal Mexican immigrants in the United States is declining. Even if immigration
remains6 a
volatile7 issue in an election year, though, Khan doesn't expect much to change.
“I’ve seen that in a lot of elections. They make a topic of it. When it comes down to doing something about it, nothing has been done. I think they’ll use this to get some votes, again, and when the election is over, they’ll probably forget about it and nothing major will happen,” he said.
And in New York, it's not likely to affect who wins the presidential race. Even Republicans concede that the state's millions of legal immigrants likely will vote for Obama’s reelection.
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