VOA常速英语2013--活动人士绝食要求移民改革（在线收听）

活动人士绝食要求移民改革

CAPITOL HILL — A group of activists has been fasting in Washington for more than two weeks to pressure Speaker of the House John Boehner to allow a vote on  comprehensive immigration reform. A landmark immigration bill has already been passed by the Senate by a wide margin, but House leaders say they are unlikely to take  up the bill this year.

Several members of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus visited the hunger strikers to express solidarity.

美国国会拉丁裔联盟的几名成员看望了绝食者以示团结。

Cristian Avila, from Arizona, said he is fasting because he lives in fear of his family being divided by deportation.

克里斯蒂安·阿维拉来自亚利桑那州，他说之所以绝食是因为他生活在恐惧中，担心家人因驱逐而分开。

“Fortunately my brother, sister and I are privileged with a deferred action, but my parents are still undocumented. So every day that goes by is another day that I  wonder if I am going to see my parents again, whether they are going to get picked up,” said Avila.

“幸运的是我兄弟、姐妹和我得到延期遣返，而我父母却仍没有登记。所以一天一天过去了，我想知道是否可以再次见到父母，他们是否能被接纳。”

Democrat Ruben Hinojosa, who heads the Congressional Hispanic Caucus, wants the Republican majority in the House to act.

民主党人鲁本·西诺荷沙是国会拉丁裔联盟领袖，他希望众议院中的共和党多数派能采取行动。

"There has been a lot of discussion about there not being any time left in the legislative calendar to do immigration reform, but that is not correct. The Speaker of  the House has the power to bring it to the floor and to allow all 435 members of Congress to have a vote on it," said Hinojosa.

“人们纷纷讨论，称立法议程上已经没有多少时间来进行移民改革了，但这是不对的。众议院议长有权力提交上来，让国会全体435名议员进行表决。”

Democratic Congressman Luis Gutierrez had harsh words for House Speaker John Boehner.

民主党议员路易斯·古铁雷斯言辞批评众议院议长约翰·博纳。

"So you might dictate the schedule of the House of Representatives, but we dictate the movements of this fight and this struggle. And we will be consistent and  persistent," declared Gutierrez.

“你可能会命令决定众议院的日程，但我们会决定这次斗争这次战斗，我们会一直坚持到底的。”

Speaking in San Francisco, President Obama said immigration reform is long overdue, and expressed support for those who are fasting.

总统奥巴马在旧金山发表讲话，称早就应该进行移民改革了，他表示支持绝食的群众。

“Right now, I'm seeing brave advocates who have been fasting for two weeks in the shadow of the Capitol, sacrificing themselves in an effort to get Congress to act,”  said Obama.

“现在我看到勇敢的倡导者在国会山的阴影下绝食了两周，他们牺牲自己只为努力让国会采取行动。”

At that point, the president was interrupted by an immigrant from South Korea.

当时总统的话被一位来自韩国的移民打断。

“You have a power to stop deportation for all undocumented immigrants in this country,” said the immigrant.

“你有权力阻止对这个国家所有非法移民的驱逐活动。”

“Actually, I don’t. And that’s why we’re here,” replied Obama.

“事实上不是的，这就是我们来这里的原因。”

Obama explained that Congress has to act first. But House Speaker Boehner says the process takes time.

奥巴马解释说国会必须首先采取行动，但众议院议长博纳说这要花费时间。

“Our committees are continuing to do their work, there are a lot of private conversations that are under way, to try to figure out how we best move on a common sense,  step by step basis to address this very important issue,” said Boehner.

“我们委员会还在继续工作，目前在进行大量的私下讨论，来弄清楚如何能更好地合乎常理地、一步步解决这个重要问题。”

Meanwhile, for hunger striker Avila, the fast is starting to take its toll.

同时，对绝食者阿维拉来说，绝食已经开始造成不好的结果了。

“At day nine, I think we are starting to see a little bit of the effects of the fasting. Just walking, standing up for long periods of time, you feel the fatigue a  little bit more,” explained Avila.

“在第九天，我想我们开始看到绝食的一点影响了，只要走走路，站起来久一些，就能感到越来越疲惫。”

Advocates of immigration reform say there is no time to waste.

移民改革的倡导者称不能浪费时间。