美国国家公共电台 NPR--Biden speech acknowledges immigration and pathway to citizenship issues

Biden speech acknowledges immigration and pathway to citizenship¹ issues

Transcript²

NPR's Steve Inskeep talks to Yalidy Matos, assistant professor of at Rutgers University, who specializes in Latinx politics, about President Biden's State of the Union address.

STEVE INSKEEP, HOST:

The people watching last night's State of the Union speech include Yalidy Matos, who is at Rutgers, where she studies politics and its intersection³ with American diversity, things like race and gender⁴. Welcome to the program.

YALIDY MATOS: Thank you so much, Steve. Thanks for having me.

INSKEEP: OK. So given your specialty⁵ there in New Brunswick, N.J., what were you watching for?

MATOS: I was really looking to see what Biden had to say about immigration. You know, as an immigration scholar, I wanted to see what the administration was going to say. It's been a tough issue for the administration, so I wanted to see how much he was going to talk about it or how little.

INSKEEP: Well, let's think that through for a moment. This is an issue where there's been very little movement for about a decade. About a decade ago, it was thought there would be bipartisan immigration reform, which didn't happen then, hasn't happened since. The president continues to talk about some pathway to citizenship for millions of people who are in the United States without documents. Republicans have a different view that focuses much more on border security. Did you hear anything new last night?

MATOS: Not really. I mean, I think Biden was - you know, his strategy was a very bipartisan strategy. He focused on his border plan. He talked about his new plan. Briefly⁶, he talked about, you know, Republicans being able to at least find a pathway to citizenship for DREAMers, which I think is his sort of plan, you know, trying to get Republicans what they want in terms of border funding and border security and try to get Democrats⁷ something that they want - right? - which is this pathway, you know, legalizing DACAmented students.

INSKEEP: Well, let's remember, DACA students, DREAMers, these are people who were brought to the United States as children. So not by their own decision, under their own steam. The idea is to legalize them, which is the most popular form of legalization, is it not?

MATOS: Yes, it is. I mean, since 2001, it's been - it's had a majority of Americans wanting to pass a pathway for DREAMers and support among Americans across race and gender and party. And so it is the most likely to get passed. Republicans, of course, would want more border funding, border security, border technology to do that.

INSKEEP: Can you talk me through the concept of a bipartisan agreement on immigration, given what you know about the state of the country, about public opinion, about various positions over time on these issues? Biden was able to sign a bipartisan infrastructure⁸ bill. It turned out that Republicans and Democrats agreed on enough to sign a bill that was not as big as Biden might have liked but is a pretty big bill. Biden was able to sign a bipartisan gun regulation this last year, which was very, very minor⁹ by the standards of gun control advocates, but there was a narrow slice of agreement. Do you see anywhere that people could stand on that would be bipartisan when it comes to immigration? And if so, what is it?

MATOS: You know, immigration reform I don't see as happening. Maybe that's an incredibly negative view. But I do see this much more narrower path in terms of, like, border funding and the Dream Act. I do think that's possible. Of course, even within the Democratic Party, I mean, you have individuals who might want other things. You know, Biden didn't mention Manchin or Sinema, right? But we know that they've been a little bit problematic within his own party.

INSKEEP: Yeah.

MATOS: But, you know, I believe the Dream Act might be something that could have the potential to pass. And, of course, those individuals who are not interested in more border funding or more border security - right? - are not going to be happy about that. But I think that it is a compromise.

INSKEEP: Can I ask about the highlight of this televised speech in some people's minds? President Biden mentioned that some Republicans have, in fact, talked of changes to Social Security and Medicare. Republicans booed because they're not specifically calling for that right now in the current debate, the current crisis. When you listened, given the kinds of people you study, how did that argument sound to you?

MATOS: You know, I thought that his State of the Union was really - the highlight was the economy. It really was the state of the economy for me. You know, he briefly mentioned things like Tyre Nichols and immigration and a pathway to citizenship and Roe¹⁰ v. Wade¹¹. But I thought when he talked about the economy, it was good. And I thought that he really went back and forth¹² with Republicans about Social Security, about Medicare and, you know, telling Republicans that they wanted to sunset both of those things and the booing and the back-and-forth. You know, he really did call on them on national television, you know, and said, you know, if that's not what you're saying, then I hope that we're agreeing, right? And so I think that he really put them on blast and said, well, I hope that we can get this done.

INSKEEP: In a couple of seconds, does that debate about retirement¹³ speak to younger voters?

MATOS: You know, I wouldn't think so right now.

INSKEEP: OK.

MATOS: You know, I think that younger voters are really thinking about student loan debt and education and getting a job after college.

INSKEEP: Yalidy Matos. Thanks so much.

MATOS: Thank you.

1 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。

2 transcript   

n.抄本，誊本，副本，肄业证书

参考例句：

• A transcript of the tapes was presented as evidence in court.一份录音带的文字本作为证据被呈交法庭。
• They wouldn't let me have a transcript of the interview.他们拒绝给我一份采访的文字整理稿。

3 intersection   

n.交集，十字路口，交叉点；[计算机] 交集

参考例句：

• There is a stop sign at an intersection.在交叉路口处有停车标志。
• Bridges are used to avoid the intersection of a railway and a highway.桥用来避免铁路和公路直接交叉。

4 gender   

n.（生理上的）性，（名词、代词等的）性

参考例句：

• French differs from English in having gender for all nouns.法语不同于英语，所有的名词都有性。
• Women are sometimes denied opportunities solely because of their gender.妇女有时仅仅因为性别而无法获得种种机会。

5 specialty   

n.(speciality)特性，特质；专业，专长

参考例句：

• Shell carvings are a specialty of the town.贝雕是该城的特产。
• His specialty is English literature.他的专业是英国文学。

6 briefly   

adv.简单地，简短地

参考例句：

• I want to touch briefly on another aspect of the problem.我想简单地谈一下这个问题的另一方面。
• He was kidnapped and briefly detained by a terrorist group.他被一个恐怖组织绑架并短暂拘禁。

7 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》

8 infrastructure   

n.下部构造，下部组织，基础结构，基础设施

参考例句：

• We should step up the development of infrastructure for research.加强科学基础设施建设。
• We should strengthen cultural infrastructure and boost various types of popular culture.加强文化基础设施建设，发展各类群众文化。

9 minor   

adj.较小(少)的，较次要的；n.辅修学科；vi.辅修

参考例句：

• The young actor was given a minor part in the new play.年轻的男演员在这出新戏里被分派担任一个小角色。
• I gave him a minor share of my wealth.我把小部分财产给了他。

10 roe   

n.鱼卵；獐鹿

参考例句：

• We will serve smoked cod's roe at the dinner.宴会上我们将上一道熏鳕鱼子。
• I'll scramble some eggs with roe?我用鱼籽炒几个鸡蛋好吗？

11 wade   

v.跋涉，涉水；n.跋涉

参考例句：

• We had to wade through the river to the opposite bank.我们只好涉水过河到对岸。
• We cannot but wade across the river.我们只好趟水过去。

12 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。

13 retirement   

n.退休，退职

参考例句：

• She wanted to enjoy her retirement without being beset by financial worries.她想享受退休生活而不必为金钱担忧。
• I have to put everything away for my retirement.我必须把一切都积蓄起来以便退休后用。