VOA常速英语2014--美国2015年不可能实现移民改革（在线收听）

US Immigration Reform Appears Unlikely in 2015 美国2015年不可能实现移民改革

HOUSTON, TEXAS—

Over the span of several U.S. election cycles, there have been calls for comprehensive immigration reform to fix a system that people on both sides of the political spectrum agree is broken. But some observers say President Barack Obama’s recent executive action aimed at temporarily shielding some undocumented foreigners from being deported may have doomed his longer-term goal of forging a comprehensive agreement with Congress.

Obama’s recent executive action allows some four million undocumented residents in the United States to seek temporary legal status. But without Congressional approval, he cannot achieve comprehensive immigration reform.  

奥巴马总统最近的行政令使得美国400多万非法移民获得暂时合法身份，但没有国会的批准，他就无法实现全面的移民改革。

Republicans, who won majorities in both houses of Congress in November’s midterm elections, replied through Speaker of the House, John Boehner.

在11月份中期选举中获得国会两院多数席位的共和党通过众议院议长约翰·博纳如此回复：

“Instead of working together to fix our broken immigration system, the president says he is acting on his own," he said. "That is just not how our democracy works.”

“总统没有和各方合作来修复我们破损的移民制度，而是自行其是，我们的民主制不是这样运作的。”

Tony Payan, Director of the Mexico Center at Rice University’s Baker Institute, says Obama's action will help a lot of people come out of the shadows and "essentially, become a little more integrated, in a legal, formal sense, into the American economy and the American society.

莱斯大学贝克研究所墨西哥中心主任托尼·帕扬说，奥巴马的行动将帮助很多人摆脱阴影，并“从基本上来说以合法、正式的方式更加融入美国经济和美国社会”。

"But it was also very counterproductive because I feel that it polarized many of the Republicans who might have been willing to do something on immigration,” he added.

“但这也会适得其反，因为我感觉这会使得那些原本愿意在移民上做些什么的共和党人更加极端。”

While some undocumented immigrants support the move, others have mixed feelings about what they see as a temporary fix.  

尽管一些非法移民支持此举，但也有人对这个临时制度喜忧参半。

Payan says there are concerns about applying for legal status under this temporary measure.

帕扬说人们担心根据这一临时措施申请合法身份会有问题。

“Once they surrender their personal information to the government, once the government knows who they are and where they are and if the next president is not willing to extend that temporary protected status, then they are going to be found very quickly and to be denied,” he said.

“一旦他们将个人信息交给政府，一旦政府知道他们的身份、地址，一旦下届总统不愿意继续实行临时保护身份，那么他们很快就会被发现并被拒绝合法身份。”

Republicans say they want to secure the border with Mexico before approving other measures. The surge of Central American immigrants at the Texas border earlier this year underscored this concern.

共和党称他们希望在批准其他措施之前确保与墨西哥边界的安全，今年早些时候德克萨斯州边界中美移民的涌入使得人们越发担心这一问题。

Republicans also oppose Democratic proposals for a so-called “pathway to citizenship,” which they see as a ploy to increase the Democratic voter base.

共和党还反对民主党所谓“通往公民身份之路”的提议，他们认为这是民主党企图争取更大选民基础的策略。

But Houston immigration attorney Charles Foster says most immigrants seek legal resident status, not full naturalization.

但休斯顿移民律师查理斯·福斯特说，大多数移民希望获得合法居住身份，而不是完全的入籍。

“If you look at the last big legalization bill signed by President Reagan, in the last 40 years, barely 30 percent have even gotten around to applying for citizenship,” he said.

“如果你看下里根总统签署的最后一个大的合法化法案，在过去40年间，只有30%的人能得以申请公民身份。”

Foster says the immigration issue has divided the Republican Party.

福斯特说移民问题已经令共和党内部存在分歧。

“While the business community is very supportive of immigration reform, there is a very vocal wing of the Republican Party that is adamantly against everything,” said Foster.

“尽管企业界非常支持移民改革，但共和党内部也有强烈反对一切的声音。”

Analysts say it may still be possible for the Republican-controlled Congress and President Obama to achieve agreement on at least some parts of immigration reform next year, but that full reform is more likely to be delayed until after the 2016 presidential election.

分析家称明年共和党控制的国会和奥巴马总统之间可能至少就移民改革部分内容达成一致，但完全改革可能要推迟到2016年总统选举之后。