2006年VOA标准英语-US Lawmakers Remain Sharply Divided on Immigrat

By Michael Bowman
Washington
15 June 2006

Proponents¹ of stricter U.S. immigration control say a bill passed by the Senate that provides a path to eventual² citizenship³ for illegal aliens would do more harm than good. VOA's Michael Bowman reports from Washington, the criticism comes before legislative⁴ negotiators attempt to reconcile the Senate legislation with a House immigration reform bill that focuses on U.S. border security and law enforcement.

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Weeks after President Bush called on the Senate to pass comprehensive immigration reform, the upper chamber⁵ delivered. Passed by a 62-to-36 vote in late May, the legislation aims to strengthen U.S. border enforcement and crack down on U.S. employers who hire illegal aliens. It would also establish a guest worker program, and provide a path to legal residency and eventual citizenship for millions of illegal aliens who have led productive lives in the United States for a long period of time.

"This is the most far-reaching immigration reform [bill] in our history," he said. "It is a comprehensive and realistic attempt to solve the real world problems that have festered for too long in our broken immigration system. It strengthens our security and reflects our humanity," said Democratic Senator Edward Kennedy of Massachusetts, a sponsor of the bill.

Yet whether the Senate bill can be reconciled with a House version, and whether America's immigration system is ultimately reformed this year, remains⁶ an open question. Many House Republicans have vowed⁷ to oppose any bill that would give workers that enter the country without proper documentation a path to citizenship, a measure they view as amnesty and a reward for illegal behavior. On the other side of the debate, immigrant rights groups, many churches and other organizations have strenuously⁸ objected to a House bill enacted⁹ late last year that would classify illegal aliens as felons¹⁰ and criminalize those who provide assistance to America's undocumented population, estimated at 11 to 12 million people.

Speaking in Washington Thursday, Alabama Republican Senator Jeff Sessions criticized the Senate immigration bill as weak on border enforcement. He pointed¹¹ out that, when the legislation was being debated, an amendment¹² was proposed to delay the guest worker program until America's borders were secure. "That [amendment] was voted down 55-40. And basically what that said was: the people promoting this legislation were not committed to [border] enforcement," he said.

Sessions added that the temporary guest worker program called for in the Senate legislation would depress wages in the United States, hurting low and middle income Americans. He also contested the notion of guest workers being "temporary," asserting that the bill would allow employers to petition to have their guest workers considered for legal residency. Finally, he questioned whether the Senate bill provides the resources that would be necessary for federal agents to effectively crack down on U.S. businesses that hire illegal aliens.

"I think it [the Senate bill] is a colossal¹³ disaster in the making. We need to start over again if we are going to do comprehensive work [on immigration reform]," Sessions said.

Appearing alongside the senator was Steven Camarota of the Washington-based Center for Immigration Studies, which favors restricting U.S.-bound immigration. Camarota said the Senate legislation, if enacted, could more than double America's projected population increase over the next 50 years. He said the sharp population rise would be due to large numbers of foreigners gaining legal status, as well as their projected U.S.-born offspring.

"We are talking about becoming, from a nation today of 300 million, maybe a nation of 500 million people," Camarota said. "And if you are concerned about issues of congestion¹⁴ and sprawl¹⁵ [chaotic development] and pollution and loss of open space [in the United States], then obviously a nation that is 200 million bigger has implications for those kinds of concerns."

Backers of the Senate bill say it tackles America's immigration dilemma¹⁶ in a balanced and realistic way.

President Bush has campaigned vigorously for comprehensive immigration reform similar to the Senate bill, despite opposition¹⁷ from a significant portion of legislators within his Republican Party. Speaking recently near the U.S. border with Mexico, Mr. Bush warned against shutting America's doors to immigrants.

"For generations, immigrants to this country have risked everything because of the dream of freedom," Mr. Bush said. "And they have assimilated into our society, and they have contributed to our economy, and they have contributed to the greatness of America."

Immigration has emerged as a contentious¹⁸ issue ahead of congressional elections in November. Polls show the American public deeply divided on the issue.

1 proponents   

n.（某事业、理论等的）支持者，拥护者( proponent的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Reviewing courts were among the most active proponents of hybrid rulemaking procedures. 复审法院是最积极的混合型规则制定程序的建议者。 来自英汉非文学 - 行政法
• Proponents of such opinions were arrested as 'traitors. ' 提倡这种主张的人马上作为“卖国贼”逮捕起来。 来自辞典例句

2 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。

3 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。

4 legislative   

n.立法机构，立法权；adj.立法的，有立法权的

参考例句：

• Congress is the legislative branch of the U.S. government.国会是美国政府的立法部门。
• Today's hearing was just the first step in the legislative process.今天的听证会只是展开立法程序的第一步。

5 chamber   

n.房间，寝室；会议厅；议院；会所

参考例句：

• For many,the dentist's surgery remains a torture chamber.对许多人来说，牙医的治疗室一直是间受刑室。
• The chamber was ablaze with light.会议厅里灯火辉煌。

6 remains   

n.剩余物，残留物；遗体，遗迹

参考例句：

• He ate the remains of food hungrily.他狼吞虎咽地吃剩余的食物。
• The remains of the meal were fed to the dog.残羹剩饭喂狗了。

7 vowed   

起誓，发誓（vow的过去式与过去分词形式）

参考例句：

• He vowed quite solemnly that he would carry out his promise. 他非常庄严地发誓要实现他的诺言。
• I vowed to do more of the cooking myself. 我发誓自己要多动手做饭。

8 strenuously   

adv.奋发地，费力地

参考例句：

• The company has strenuously defended its decision to reduce the workforce. 公司竭力为其裁员的决定辩护。
• She denied the accusation with some warmth, ie strenuously, forcefully. 她有些激动，竭力否认这一指责。

9 enacted   

制定（法律），通过（法案）( enact的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• legislation enacted by parliament 由议会通过的法律
• Outside in the little lobby another scene was begin enacted. 外面的小休息室里又是另一番景象。 来自英汉文学 - 嘉莉妹妹

10 felons   

n.重罪犯( felon的名词复数 )；瘭疽；甲沟炎；指头脓炎

参考例句：

• Aren't those the seats they use for transporting convicted felons? 这些坐位不是他们用来押运重犯的吗？ 来自电影对白
• House Republicans talk of making felons out of the undocumented and those who help them. 众议院共和党议员正商议对未登记的非法移民以及包庇他们的人课以重罪。 来自互联网

11 pointed   

adj.尖的，直截了当的

参考例句：

• He gave me a very sharp pointed pencil.他给我一支削得非常尖的铅笔。
• She wished to show Mrs.John Dashwood by this pointed invitation to her brother.她想通过对达茨伍德夫人提出直截了当的邀请向她的哥哥表示出来。

12 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。

13 colossal   

adj.异常的，庞大的

参考例句：

• There has been a colossal waste of public money.一直存在巨大的公款浪费。
• Some of the tall buildings in that city are colossal.那座城市里的一些高层建筑很庞大。

14 congestion   

n.阻塞，消化不良

参考例句：

• The congestion in the city gets even worse during the summer.夏天城市交通阻塞尤为严重。
• Parking near the school causes severe traffic congestion.在学校附近泊车会引起严重的交通堵塞。

15 sprawl   

vi.躺卧，扩张，蔓延；vt.使蔓延；n.躺卧，蔓延

参考例句：

• In our garden,bushes are allowed to sprawl as they will.在我们园子里，灌木丛爱怎么蔓延就怎么蔓延。
• He is lying in a sprawl on the bed.他伸开四肢躺在床上。

16 dilemma   

n.困境，进退两难的局面

参考例句：

• I am on the horns of a dilemma about the matter.这件事使我进退两难。
• He was thrown into a dilemma.他陷入困境。

17 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。

18 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。