2014年经济学人 移民政策 万事俱备但缺行动

Immigration policy

Ready, steady, do nothing

Barack Obama defers¹ his promise to help out illegal immigrants

“TODAY, I'm beginning a new effort to fix as much of our immigration system as I can on my own, without Congress,” said Barack Obama in June. Lamenting² the refusal of Republicans in the House of Representatives to pass an immigration reform bill, he vowed³ to use his executive powers to “fix as much of our immigration system as we can”. He vowed to have a plan by the end of' the summer and to implement⁴ it “without further delay”. But on September 7th he admitted that he would not in fact do these things until after the mid-term elections in November.

Some 11.3m immigrants—mostly Spanish-speaking—live illegally in America, according to the Pew Research Centre, a think-tank. That figure is roughly the same as it was when border controls started to tighten⁵ dramatically in 2006 or so. The main effect of making it harder to cross the border is that unlawful migrants no longer go back and forth⁶ as they used to. A decade ago, a typical migrant had lived in America for nearly eight years. Now the figure is almost 13 years.

Only a fraction of those people will ever be sent home. Mass deportation⁷ would knock 1.5% off GDP each year and destroy 3.6m jobs in California alone, estimates Raúl Hinojosa-Ojeda of the University of California, Los Angeles. Mr Obama wants Congress to create a path for law-abiding, tax-paying migrants to become citizens. Since it won't, he has ordered the authorities to focus on deporting⁸ migrants who commit serious crimes.In 2012 he gave protection from deportation to around 1m people who had migrated illegally to America as children. A new executive order could extend that to parents.

Over the summer, however, thousands of Central American children surged across the border, creating an impression of chaos⁹ that Republican ads exploited. Vulnerable Democrats¹⁰ begged Mr Obama not to do anything that could be portrayed¹¹ as soft on border security. He has obliged.

Supporters of immigration reform chide¹² the president for breaking his promises. Many are also furious that he has deported¹³ more than 2m people since taking office. But some think he is being shrewd. If he tries to fix the system just before an election and Democrats lose, they may conclude that immigration reform is toxic¹⁴ and abandon it. Far better, some argue, to wait.

Delay may not hurt Democrats much. Latinos are angry, but historically they have been less likely to vote in mid-term elections than whites. In 2010 just 31% of them turned out, against 49% of non-Hispanic whites. This year, Democrats are counting on the Hispanic vote to clinch¹⁵ victory in only one Senate race, in Colorado. And so the system remains¹⁶ broken.

1 defers   

v.拖延，延缓，推迟( defer的第三人称单数 )；服从某人的意愿，遵从

参考例句：

• She never defers to her parents' opinions. 她从来不听从父母的意见。 来自辞典例句
• Even in Iraq, America defers to the elected government. 即使在伊拉克，美国也要遵从他的民选政府。 来自互联网

2 lamenting   

adj.悲伤的，悲哀的v.（为…）哀悼，痛哭，悲伤( lament的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• Katydids were lamenting fall's approach. 蝈蝈儿正为秋天临近而哀鸣。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
• Lamenting because the papers hadn't been destroyed and the money kept. 她正在吃后悔药呢，后悔自己没有毁了那张字条，把钱昧下来！ 来自英汉文学 - 败坏赫德莱堡

3 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。

4 implement   

n.(pl.)工具，器具；vt.实行，实施，执行

参考例句：

• Don't undertake a project unless you can implement it.不要承担一项计划，除非你能完成这项计划。
• The best implement for digging a garden is a spade.在花园里挖土的最好工具是铁锹。

5 tighten   

v.(使)变紧；(使)绷紧

参考例句：

• Turn the screw to the right to tighten it.向右转动螺钉把它拧紧。
• Some countries tighten monetary policy to avoid inflation.一些国家实行紧缩银根的货币政策，以避免通货膨胀。

6 forth   

adv.向前；向外，往外

参考例句：

• The wind moved the trees gently back and forth.风吹得树轻轻地来回摇晃。
• He gave forth a series of works in rapid succession.他很快连续发表了一系列的作品。

7 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。

8 deporting   

v.将…驱逐出境( deport的现在分词 )；举止

参考例句：

9 chaos   

n.混乱，无秩序

参考例句：

• After the failure of electricity supply the city was in chaos.停电后，城市一片混乱。
• The typhoon left chaos behind it.台风后一片混乱。

10 democrats   

n.民主主义者，民主人士( democrat的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The Democrats held a pep rally on Capitol Hill yesterday. 民主党昨天在国会山召开了竞选誓师大会。
• The democrats organize a filibuster in the senate. 民主党党员组织了阻挠议事。 来自《简明英汉词典》

11 portrayed   

v.画像( portray的过去式和过去分词 )；描述；描绘；描画

参考例句：

• Throughout the trial, he portrayed himself as the victim. 在审讯过程中，他始终把自己说成是受害者。
• The author portrayed his father as a vicious drunkard. 作者把他父亲描绘成一个可恶的酒鬼。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

12 chide   

v.叱责；谴责

参考例句：

• However,they will chide you if you try to speak French.然而，如果你试图讲法语，就会遭到他们的责骂。
• He thereupon privately chide his wife for her forwardness in the matter.于是他私下责备他的妻子，因为她对这种事热心。

13 deported   

v.将…驱逐出境( deport的过去式和过去分词 )；举止

参考例句：

• They stripped me of my citizenship and deported me. 他们剥夺我的公民资格，将我驱逐出境。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The convicts were deported to a deserted island. 罪犯们被流放到一个荒岛。 来自《简明英汉词典》

14 toxic   

adj.有毒的，因中毒引起的

参考例句：

• The factory had accidentally released a quantity of toxic waste into the sea.这家工厂意外泄漏大量有毒废物到海中。
• There is a risk that toxic chemicals might be blasted into the atmosphere.爆炸后有毒化学物质可能会进入大气层。

15 clinch   

v.敲弯，钉牢；确定；扭住对方 [参]clench

参考例句：

• Clinch the boards together.用钉子把木板钉牢在一起。
• We don't accept us dollars,please Swiss francs to clinch a deal business.我方不收美元，请最好用瑞士法郎来成交生意。

16 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。