2006年VOA标准英语-US Senate Votes to Deny Citizenship to Ill

By Deborah Tate
Capitol Hill
17 May 2006

The U.S. Senate Wednesday continued work on an immigration reform bill, voting to bar illegal immigrants with criminal records from becoming U.S. citizens and build a fence along a portion of the U.S. border with Mexico.

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US Senate Chamber   
  

Senators voted unanimously (99 to 0) to block illegal immigrants convicted of crimes from becoming legal residents or U.S. citizens.

Senator Jon Kyl, an Arizona Republican, is a key sponsor of the measure:

"I think it reflects the will of the American people that however we treat people who are here illegally, there are some limits," said Jon Kyl. "People who have demonstrated an unwillingness¹ to comply with the law, when they have been ordered to leave the country and have not done so, or when they have been convicted of serious crimes, it is demonstrated that those people will not be able to participate in the program, that a convicted felon² will not be allowed to become a citizen of the United States."

The proposal would apply to illegal immigrants convicted of a felony or three misdemeanor crimes. It would grant waivers in some instances to illegal immigrants who ignore deportation³ orders - if for example, their departure would cause hardship to family members who are in the United States legally.

Senators also voted (83 to 16) to build nearly 600 kilometers of fencing along the border with Mexico. Senator Jeff Sessions, an Alabama Republican, sponsored the measure.

"Good fences make good neighbors," said Senator Sessions.

Passage of the amendment⁴ is seen as a victory for Republican conservatives who would like to see the bill emphasize border security.

Many conservatives oppose the bill's temporary guest worker provision, which would offer illegal immigrants a path to eventual⁵ U.S. citizenship⁶ if they meet a series of conditions. They sought unsuccessfully to strip the provision from the legislation.

Republican Senator Saxby Chambliss of Georgia says the guest worker proposal represents amnesty.

"There is one basic concept in the underlying⁷ bill that is baffling to me," said Saxby Chambliss. "And that is, why do we have to connect a pathway to citizenship for folks who are here illegally to meaningful immigration reform?"

President Bush supports the guest worker provision, and denies that it rewards those who entered the United States illegally. Senator John McCain, an Arizona Republican, agrees.

"To call the process that we require under this legislation amnesty frankly⁸ distorts the debate and is really an unfair interpretation⁹ of it," he said.

The Senate could vote on the bill as early as next week. The legislation will have to be reconciled with a House-passed measure that does not contain the guest worker provision.

President Bush sent his top adviser¹⁰, Karl Rove, to meet with House Republicans, who make up the chamber's majority and who are strongly opposed to granting legal status or citizenship to illegal immigrants. Lawmakers who emerged from the meeting are quoted as saying the discussion failed to persuade them to drop their opposition¹¹ to the guest worker proposal.

Earlier in the day, another administration official was on Capitol Hill to seek support for an immigration-related initiative announced by President Bush Monday night: a plan to deploy¹² up to six-thousand National Guard troops along the U.S. border with Mexico.

Secretary of Defense¹³ Donald Rumsfeld told the Senate Appropriations¹⁴ Committee the proposal would not burden the National Guard, which some lawmakers argue is already stretched thin by deployments in Iraq and Afghanistan.

"The up to 6,000 National Guard men and women proposed for this effort represent less than two percent of the total National Guard force of some 400-plus thousand," said Donald Rumsfeld. "For the most part, they will be deployed¹⁵ during their two or three week active duty for training period. As such, this will not only not adversely¹⁶ affect America's ability to conduct the war on terror or respond to other domestic emergencies, it will actually provide useful real-life training for the members of the National Guard."

The testimony¹⁷ and the developments on immigration reform legislation came as thousands of demonstrators marched within view of the U.S. Capitol in support of immigrant rights.

1 unwillingness   

n. 不愿意，不情愿

参考例句：

• Her unwillingness to answer questions undermined the strength of her position. 她不愿回答问题，这不利于她所处的形势。
• His apparent unwillingness would disappear if we paid him enough. 如果我们付足了钱，他露出的那副不乐意的神情就会消失。

2 felon   

n.重罪犯；adj.残忍的

参考例句：

• He's a convicted felon.他是个已定罪的重犯。
• Hitler's early "successes" were only the startling depredations of a resolute felon.希特勒的早期“胜利 ”，只不过是一个死心塌地的恶棍出人意料地抢掠得手而已。

3 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。

4 amendment   

n.改正，修正，改善，修正案

参考例句：

• The amendment was rejected by 207 voters to 143.这项修正案以207票对143票被否决。
• The Opposition has tabled an amendment to the bill.反对党已经就该议案提交了一项修正条款。

5 eventual   

adj.最后的，结局的，最终的

参考例句：

• Several schools face eventual closure.几所学校面临最终关闭。
• Both parties expressed optimism about an eventual solution.双方对问题的最终解决都表示乐观。

6 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。

7 underlying   

adj.在下面的，含蓄的，潜在的

参考例句：

• The underlying theme of the novel is very serious.小说隐含的主题是十分严肃的。
• This word has its underlying meaning.这个单词有它潜在的含义。

8 frankly   

adv.坦白地，直率地；坦率地说

参考例句：

• To speak frankly, I don't like the idea at all.老实说，我一点也不赞成这个主意。
• Frankly speaking, I'm not opposed to reform.坦率地说，我不反对改革。

9 interpretation   

n.解释，说明，描述；艺术处理

参考例句：

• His statement admits of one interpretation only.他的话只有一种解释。
• Analysis and interpretation is a very personal thing.分析与说明是个很主观的事情。

10 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。

11 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。

12 deploy   

v.（军）散开成战斗队形，布置，展开

参考例句：

• The infantry began to deploy at dawn.步兵黎明时开始进入战斗位置。
• The president said he had no intention of deploying ground troops.总统称并不打算部署地面部队。

13 defense   

n.防御，保卫；[pl.]防务工事；辩护，答辩

参考例句：

• The accused has the right to defense.被告人有权获得辩护。
• The war has impacted the area with military and defense workers.战争使那个地区挤满了军队和防御工程人员。

14 appropriations   

n.挪用（appropriation的复数形式）

参考例句：

• More commonly, funding controls are imposed in the annual appropriations process. 更普遍的作法是，拨款控制被规定在年度拨款手续中。 来自英汉非文学 - 行政法
• Should the president veto the appropriations bill, it goes back to Congress. 假如总统否决了这项拨款提案，就把它退还给国会。 来自英汉非文学 - 政府文件

15 deployed   

（尤指军事行动）使展开( deploy的过去式和过去分词 )； 施展； 部署； 有效地利用

参考例句：

• Tanks have been deployed all along the front line. 沿整个前线已部署了坦克。
• The artillery was deployed to bear on the fort. 火炮是对着那个碉堡部署的。

16 adversely   

ad.有害地

参考例句：

• We commented adversely upon the imbecility of that message of telegraphic style. 我们对着这条电报式的愚蠢的留言发泄了一通不满。
• Widely fluctuating exchange rates may adversely affect international trade. 浮动幅度很大的汇率可能会对国际贸易产生有害的影响。

17 testimony   

n.证词；见证，证明

参考例句：

• The testimony given by him is dubious.他所作的证据是可疑的。
• He was called in to bear testimony to what the police officer said.他被传入为警官所说的话作证。