2006年VOA标准英语-Large Pro-Immigration Rallies Held Accross

By Stephanie Ho
Washington
10 April 2006

Hundreds of thousands of immigrants and supporters of immigrant rights held rallies around the United States Monday in what organizers call a campaign for immigrant dignity. The protests come as efforts to overhaul¹ U.S. immigration law have stalled in Congress.

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Pro-immigration demonstrator in Washington, DC   
  

A large rally in Washington to mark what organizers are calling the National Day of Action for Immigrant Justice drew tens of thousands of people, many waving American flags.

Jose, an immigrant from Guatemala, said he passed out "thousands and thousands" of American flags.

"Everybody is American, everybody," said Jose. "Even if they are from other countries, everybody is American."

Martha, who is from Mexico, says she has a legal permit to work in the United States. But she says she came to show her support for immigrants who do not.

"We want to be here [to live a] better life, and to have documents and be legal here," said Martha.

 
Demonstrators march from Chinatown to a rally at Love Park in Philadelphia, Monday
  
A man named Choung, from the Korean-American Senior Citizens Association, also came to show his solidarity² with other immigrants.

"We need more and more immigrants coming in - immigrants coming into the [United] States," said Choung. "I think it helps in building America, I guess."

During a talk with students at Johns Hopkins University's School of Advanced International Studies, President Bush said the immigration issue has galvanized Americans.

"We're fixing to have a huge immigration march today," he said. "It's a sign that this is an important issue, that people feel strongly about it."

President Bush has been pushing Congress to pass a temporary worker program that would allow illegal immigrants to have some legal status. He said there should be a way to formally document the estimated 11 million people who are already in the United States illegally.

Critics like Susan Wysoki of the Federation³ for American Immigration Reform, or FAIR, say any so-called guest worker program is fundamentally unfair, to American citizens and those who are trying to immigrate⁴ legally.

"Our position on that is that these are people who are demanding rights that they don't have any right to demand," said Susan Wysoki. "We have immigrants here illegally, who are demanding that they be given rights that U.S. citizens have, when their first act in coming into this country was to break the law by coming in illegally. So, that's something that most Americans are angry about."

When asked if he believed it would be unfair to offer illegal immigrants the chance to become legal, demonstrator Alejandro said no. The Mexican-American pastor⁵ came to Washington from the southern U.S. state of Arkansas.

"I don't really think they'll be jumping the line," said Alejandro. "It's basically giving them the opportunity to get in line. Right now, nobody has the opportunity. If you're illegal, if you're an immigrant, you're pretty much stuck there. And all we're asking for is people [to] have the opportunity to get back in line and in the future be able to meet all the requirements to become a U.S. citizen."

There were large demonstrations⁶ Monday across the United States, from New York to Los Angeles. There were a few Mexican flags at a rally in Houston, Texas, although most people waved U.S. flags.

Congress went on a two-week break Friday, without resolving the issue. The House passed a version of the immigration reform bill that calls for tough border security measures and considers illegal immigrants felons⁷. The Senate failed to pass legislation before the recess⁸, but the chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, Arlen Specter, says senators will take up the issue again when they return.

In the meantime, immigrants and their supporters say they hope large-scale demonstrations will help ensure the issue is not ignored.

1 overhaul   

v./n.大修，仔细检查

参考例句：

• Master Worker Wang is responsible for the overhaul of this grinder.王师傅主修这台磨床。
• It is generally appreciated that the rail network needs a complete overhaul.众所周知，铁路系统需要大检修。

2 solidarity   

n.团结；休戚相关

参考例句：

• They must preserve their solidarity.他们必须维护他们的团结。
• The solidarity among China's various nationalities is as firm as a rock.中国各族人民之间的团结坚如磐石。

3 federation   

n.同盟，联邦，联合，联盟，联合会

参考例句：

• It is a federation of 10 regional unions.它是由十个地方工会结合成的联合会。
• Mr.Putin was inaugurated as the President of the Russian Federation.普京正式就任俄罗斯联邦总统。

4 immigrate   

v.（从外国）移来，移居入境

参考例句：

• 10,000 people are expected to immigrate in the next two years.接下来的两年里预计有10，000人会移民至此。
• Only few plants can immigrate to the island.只有很少的植物能够移植到这座岛上。

5 pastor   

n.牧师，牧人

参考例句：

• He was the son of a poor pastor.他是一个穷牧师的儿子。
• We have no pastor at present:the church is run by five deacons.我们目前没有牧师：教会的事是由五位执事管理的。

6 demonstrations   

证明( demonstration的名词复数 )； 表明； 表达； 游行示威

参考例句：

• Lectures will be interspersed with practical demonstrations. 讲课中将不时插入实际示范。
• The new military government has banned strikes and demonstrations. 新的军人政府禁止罢工和示威活动。

7 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

8 recess   

n.短期休息，壁凹（墙上装架子，柜子等凹处）

参考例句：

• The chairman of the meeting announced a ten-minute recess.会议主席宣布休会10分钟。
• Parliament was hastily recalled from recess.休会的议员被匆匆召回开会。