2006年VOA标准英语-Bush Defends Immigration Reform Plan

By Michael Bowman
White House
16 May 2006

 
George Bush
  
President Bush says his plan to use National Guard troops to help crack down on illegal immigration does not constitute a militarization of the U.S. border with Mexico.  VOA's Michael Bowman reports from the White House, where Mr. Bush spoke¹ one day after delivering a primetime televised address to the American people on immigration reform.

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President Bush says up to 6,000 National Guard troops will be sent to the U.S.-Mexico border.  They will work behind the scenes, freeing U.S. Border Patrol agents to focus on intercepting² illegal aliens.

Speaking at a joint³ news conference with visiting Australian Prime Minister John Howard, Mr. Bush sought to dispel⁴ apprehensions⁵ about the plan at home and abroad.

"We are not going to militarize our border," Mr. Bush said. "Mexico is a friend.  But what we are going to do is use assets necessary to be able to assure the American people that the border is secure.  And the objective is, on the one hand protect our borders, and on the other hand to never lose sight of the thing that makes America unique, which is that we are a land of immigrants."

In his address Monday, the president unveiled a detailed⁶ program to stem the flow of illegal aliens to the United States and deal with the 11 to 12 million undocumented aliens living in the country.

In addition to deploying⁷ National Guard troops, the plan calls for expanding the U.S. Border Patrol, using advanced technology to monitor the vast U.S.-Mexico border, and establishing a guest worker program.  The plan also calls for cracking down on employers who hire illegal aliens, and providing a rigorous path to eventual⁸ citizenship⁹ for some aliens who have led productive lives in the United States for a long period of time.

Congressional critics, including some within his own Republican Party, say any path to citizenship amounts to amnesty for aliens who broke the law.  President Bush disagrees, and suggested his conservative critics are unrealistic.

"There are some in our country who say, 'Let us just deport¹⁰ everybody.'  It is unrealistic.  It may sound attractive to some," Mr. Bush said. "You cannot deport people who have been in this country for a long period of time, millions of people.  And so we have to be rational about how we move forward."

The House of Representatives has passed an immigration reform bill that would make illegal border crossing a felony, and penalize¹¹ those who assist illegal aliens. The Senate is considering a bill that more closely mirrors President Bush's vision.

Whatever action the Senate takes, the resulting bill would have to be reconciled with the House version, setting the stage for potentially contentious¹² negotiations¹³ between the two chambers¹⁴.

Immigration has emerged as a polarizing issue in the United States before November midterm congressional elections. 

In recent months, massive demonstrations¹⁵ have been held across the country in support of immigrants' rights.  Others have demanded a crackdown on undocumented workers.

White House officials say President Bush is advocating a middle course between hardliners who want a zero-tolerance approach to all who entered the United States illegally, and those who argue the United States must not close its doors to foreigners who want to pursue the American dream.

Some members of Congress worry that a National Guard deployment¹⁶ along the border will further strain an over-burdened organization, making it more difficult for the Guard to meet obligations in the war on terror as well as disaster relief. 

Administration officials say the Guard already plays a role in border security and will work in concert with state governments.  The National Guard is organized at the state level, and members participate on a part-time, as needed basis.

1 spoke   

n.（车轮的）辐条；轮辐；破坏某人的计划；阻挠某人的行动 v.讲，谈（speak的过去式）；说；演说；从某种观点来说

参考例句：

• They sourced the spoke nuts from our company.他们的轮辐螺帽是从我们公司获得的。
• The spokes of a wheel are the bars that connect the outer ring to the centre.辐条是轮子上连接外圈与中心的条棒。

2 intercepting   

截取（技术），截接

参考例句：

• The police had been intercepting my mail, ie reading it before it was delivered. 警方一直截查我的邮件。
• We've been intercepting radio transmissions from Moscow. 我们已从莫斯科拦截到无线电信号。

3 joint   

adj.联合的，共同的；n.关节，接合处；v.连接，贴合

参考例句：

• I had a bad fall,which put my shoulder out of joint.我重重地摔了一跤，肩膀脫臼了。
• We wrote a letter in joint names.我们联名写了封信。

4 dispel   

vt.驱走，驱散，消除

参考例句：

• I tried in vain to dispel her misgivings.我试图消除她的疑虑，但没有成功。
• We hope the programme will dispel certain misconceptions about the disease.我们希望这个节目能消除对这种疾病的一些误解。

5 apprehensions   

疑惧

参考例句：

• He stood in a mixture of desire and apprehensions. 他怀着渴望和恐惧交加的心情伫立着。
• But subsequent cases have removed many of these apprehensions. 然而，随后的案例又消除了许多类似的忧虑。

6 detailed   

adj.详细的，详尽的，极注意细节的，完全的

参考例句：

• He had made a detailed study of the terrain.他对地形作了缜密的研究。
• A detailed list of our publications is available on request.我们的出版物有一份详细的目录备索。

7 deploying   

（尤指军事行动）使展开( deploy的现在分词 )； 施展； 部署； 有效地利用

参考例句：

• Provides support for developing and deploying distributed, component-based applications. 为开发和部署基于组件的分布式应用程序提供支持。
• Advertisement, publishing, repair, and install-on-demand are all available when deploying your application. 在部署应用程序时提供公布、发布、修复和即需即装功能。

8 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。

9 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。

10 deport   

vt.驱逐出境

参考例句：

• We deport aliens who slip across our borders.我们把偷渡入境的外国人驱逐出境。
• More than 240 England football fans are being deported from Italy following riots last night.昨晚的骚乱发生后有240多名英格兰球迷被驱逐出意大利。

11 penalize   

vt.对…处以刑罚，宣告…有罪；处罚

参考例句：

• It would be unfair to penalize those without a job.失业人员待遇低下是不公平的。
• The association decided not to penalize you for the race.赛马协会决定对你不予处罚。

12 contentious   

adj.好辩的，善争吵的

参考例句：

• She was really not of the contentious fighting sort.她委实不是好吵好闹的人。
• Since then they have tended to steer clear of contentious issues.从那时起，他们总想方设法避开有争议的问题。

13 negotiations   

协商( negotiation的名词复数 )； 谈判； 完成（难事）； 通过

参考例句：

• negotiations for a durable peace 为持久和平而进行的谈判
• Negotiations have failed to establish any middle ground. 谈判未能达成任何妥协。

14 chambers   

n.房间( chamber的名词复数 )；（议会的）议院；卧室；会议厅

参考例句：

• The body will be removed into one of the cold storage chambers. 尸体将被移到一个冷冻间里。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Mr Chambers's readable book concentrates on the middle passage: the time Ransome spent in Russia. Chambers先生的这本值得一看的书重点在中间：Ransome在俄国的那几年。 来自互联网

15 demonstrations   

证明( demonstration的名词复数 )； 表明； 表达； 游行示威

参考例句：

• Lectures will be interspersed with practical demonstrations. 讲课中将不时插入实际示范。
• The new military government has banned strikes and demonstrations. 新的军人政府禁止罢工和示威活动。

16 deployment   

n. 部署,展开

参考例句：

• He has inquired out the deployment of the enemy troops. 他已查出敌军的兵力部署情况。
• Quality function deployment (QFD) is a widely used customer-driven quality, design and manufacturing management tool. 质量功能展开(quality function deployment,QFD)是一个广泛应用的顾客需求驱动的设计、制造和质量管理工具。