VOA慢速英语2014 国会将关注美国边境危机（在线收听）

AS IT IS 2014-07-16 Congress to Focus on US Border Crisis 国会将关注美国边境危机

Congress soon may vote on whether to approve funds requested by President Barack Obama to deal with a rise in immigrants from Central America. President Obama requested $3.7 billion in June to pay for increased border security and temporary housing centers.

It is a situation everyone agrees is intolerable: unaccompanied minors risking their lives to reach the United States, warehoused in overcrowded detention facilities, and ineligible under current U.S. law for quick deportation to their country of origin.

目前的局面是大家都无法容忍的：没有家长陪伴的未成年人冒着生命危险来到美国，住在拥挤的青少年拘留所，根据美国现有法律，他们年纪太小，不能被立即驱逐到本国。

Virginia Republican Congressman Bob Goodlatte said tougher border enforcement must come first.

维吉尼亚州共和党鲍勃·古德莱特说必须首先实施更强硬的边境执法。

“We should do targeted appropriations where it is needed to make sure that we are able to detain people and send them back to their country," Goodlatte said.

“我们应该对由需要的地方针对性地拨款，确保我们能够逮捕他们并送他们回国。”

"Most of the money the president is asking for is to continue the process of further transporting these children - and adults, by the way - further into the United States," he said.

“总统要求获得的大部分资金是为了能继续将这些孩子们送回国，也让非法成年移民送到美国。”

But a security surge at the border alone will not solve the problem, because U.S. law mandates immigration hearings for non-Mexican arrivals.

但是加强边境的安全本身并不能解决这个问题，因为美国法律要求对非墨西哥移民进行移民听审。

U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder said, “The immigration laws are being enforced, though we are faced with an extraordinary situation where thousands of people, young people especially, are fleeing Central America. 

美国大法官艾瑞克·霍尔德说，“我们虽然实施了移民法，但我们面临着不同寻常的局面，成千上万的人，尤其是年轻人在逃离中美。”

"Our immigration laws are broken. It is why we need comprehensive immigration reform," Holder added.

“我们的移民法已经破败，因此我们需要综合的移民改革。”

Last year, the Senate approved an overhaul of America’s immigration system to boost border enforcement and provide an arduous path to citizenship for millions of undocumented immigrants. 

去年，参议院批准对美国的移民体系进行彻底修改，来加强边境执法，并为数百万未注册移民实现公民资格提供艰难的途径。

The Republican-led House of Representatives has not voted on the Senate bill or any alternative.

共和党领导的众议院未能对参议院的法案进行表决，也没有提出另选方案。

Texas Republican Senator John Cornyn blamed Obama for the current border crisis.

德克萨斯州参议员约翰·科尼恩将目前的边境危机归咎于奥巴马。

“There is a powerful incentive for people to travel to the United States. Obviously we understand people who want opportunity, people who are trying to flee violence," Cornyn said.

“人们是受极大的激励来到美国的，显然我们理解这些人渴望机会，希望能逃避暴力。”

"But the president has effectively encouraged children and their parents to make this treacherous, life-threatening journey by suggesting he will not enforce the law," he added.

“但是总统表示他不会实施该法，这事实上就鼓励了这些孩子们和父母进行这场危险的旅程。”

Such criticisms are baseless so long as Congress does nothing, said Democratic Senator Robert Menendez.

民主党参议员罗伯特·梅内德斯说，只要国会不作为，这样的批评是没有意义的。

“It is easy to say 'No.'  It is far more difficult to be constructive.  And so far what I have heard in response to this crisis is the negativity of ‘No’, the criticism of the president for using executive powers when the Congress fails to act in its own right," Menendez said.

“说‘不’很容易，但要进行建设性的作为却很难。到目前为止，有关对这场危机的应对，我听到最多的是‘不’，以及批评总统使用行政权力，而国会却未能运用自己的权利。”

"You cannot have it both ways. This is a moment to call for the greater interest of the nation, [rather] than play the politics I have seen unfold so far," he said.

“不能面面俱到，这个时候我们需要就更大的国家利益进行呼吁，而不是像我到目前为止看到的那样玩政治。”

Time is growing short for action on Obama's funding request. Congress will be in recess from early August through early September.

要对奥巴马的资金请求进行作为的时间已经越来越少了，国会将从8月初开始一直休会到9月初。