2006年VOA标准英语-Illegal Immigration Shaping Congressional Elect

By Greg Flakus
Tucson, Arizona
13 October 2006

The issue of illegal immigration has stirred passions around the nation in the past year and it is playing a role in some congressional races around the country. One place where it is a big issue is southern Arizona, where the majority of illegal entries from Mexico occur.  The candidates for Congress from one district on the Mexican border are competing over who has the best approach to the problem.

-----

Republican candiate for Congress Randy Graf, left, discuss the 14th amendment¹ with Bill Roh, center, and his wife Colleen Roh  
  
The Republican candidate for Congress in Arizona's Eighth District, Randy Graf, won his party's primary in spite of opposition² from the Republican National Committee in Washington.  National party leaders believed the Golf professional and former state legislator was too focused on immigration and not prepared to replace retiring Republican Congressman³ Jim Kolbe, who has held the seat for more than 20 years.

But Randy Graf says the party strategists in Washington don't understand what the immigration issue means for those who live in a district that includes half of the state's total border with Mexico.

"The folks in Washington, D.C. looking at this district from 2,300 miles away I do not think have a complete grasp on what is important to the voters down here and, at the end of the day, this issue of illegal immigration and our open border in a district that has 80 miles [128 kilometers] of border will be one of the primary issues in this campaign," he said.

Although the Republican party is not helping⁴ Graf, a private group promoting better enforcement of immigration laws known as The Minutemen is running ads attacking his Democratic opponent, former state legislator Gabrielle Giffords. They and Graf claim she favors policies that would encourage illegal immigration.

 
Democratic candiate for the 8th District of Congress Gabrielle Giffords, right, shares a private joke with Paul Clinco in the parking lot of the Faith Tabernacle church in Tucson, Arizona
  
"Illegal immigration impacts our communities, impacts on our schools, our health system and our courts," he added.  "It impacts the taxpayers⁵ here in Arizona. At the end of the day, Gabrielle Giffords has to explain why she supports amnesty and open borders."

Giffords rejects that charge.

"We need to solve this problem with a comprehensive approach. I support the approach of Senator John McCain, the approach of Governor Napolitano, Congressman Kolbe, and, yes, even President Bush, in solving this problem," she said.  "We need to address this problem with electronic surveillance, high-tech⁶ solutions. We need to be able to crack down on employers who are employing these people illegally and we need a guest worker program."

Giffords argues that a guest worker program with a path to citizenship⁷ is not a pardon for those who broke immigration laws and therefore not an amnesty. She says she understands the burden illegal immigration has put on this state.

"We are angry in southern Arizona," she explained.  "We bear the costs in our law enforcement, our first responders, our hospitals, our clinics and even our schools. It is a federal crisis and the federal government needs to step up and take responsibility."

Bill Dixon    
  
But University of Arizona Political Science Professor Bill Dixon says other issues, like terrorism, the war in Iraq and health care are more important to most voters.

One recent poll shows Giffords with a substantial overall lead and, Dixon notes, even on the issue of immigration Graf has no advantage.

"It turns out that Graf and Giffords are evenly split, which is quite an interesting result when you think about it," said Mr. Dixon.  "On all the other issues, Giffords holds a rather strong lead over Graf. So Graf really will need to go beyond the border issue if he is to make any headway."

Professor Dixon says voters who rally to the cause of defending the border are countered by those who rally behind the immigrants. He says while some taxpayers may resent paying for social services and health care for illegals, others sympathize with them and see them helping the economy.

"Quite frankly⁸, if enforcement started getting really tough on employers, the agriculture industry in southern Arizona would be in deep, deep trouble," he added.

Randy Graf says some new polls show him narrowing the gap and he hopes he will get a boost from a series of upcoming debates in which he can directly challenge his opponent on the immigration issue.  Giffords is ahead by anywhere from six to 13 points in recent polls, but so far she has avoided any events in which she would have appeared together with her rival, preferring to wait for the televised debates.

1 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。

2 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。

3 Congressman   

n.（美）国会议员

参考例句：

• He related several anecdotes about his first years as a congressman.他讲述自己初任议员那几年的几则轶事。
• The congressman is meditating a reply to his critics.这位国会议员正在考虑给他的批评者一个答复。

4 helping   

n.食物的一份&adj.帮助人的，辅助的

参考例句：

• The poor children regularly pony up for a second helping of my hamburger. 那些可怜的孩子们总是要求我把我的汉堡包再给他们一份。
• By doing this, they may at times be helping to restore competition. 这样一来, 他在某些时候,有助于竞争的加强。

5 taxpayers   

纳税人，纳税的机构( taxpayer的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Finance for education comes from taxpayers. 教育经费来自纳税人。
• She was declaiming against the waste of the taxpayers' money. 她慷慨陈词猛烈抨击对纳税人金钱的浪费。

6 high-tech   

adj.高科技的

参考例句：

• The economy is in the upswing which makes high-tech services in more demand too.经济在蓬勃发展，这就使对高科技服务的需求量也在加大。
• The quest of a cure for disease with high-tech has never ceased. 人们希望运用高科技治疗疾病的追求从未停止过。

7 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。

8 frankly   

adv.坦白地，直率地；坦率地说

参考例句：

• To speak frankly, I don't like the idea at all.老实说，我一点也不赞成这个主意。
• Frankly speaking, I'm not opposed to reform.坦率地说，我不反对改革。