VOA标准英语2013--Changes in US Town Reflect Easing of Anger Over Illegal Immigration

 

Changes in US Town Reflect Easing of Anger Over Illegal Immigration

Undocumented day laborers² from Central America still gather at the 7/11 convenience store in Herndon, Virginia, hoping for work. But since 2006, their numbers have decreased.

Back then, public anger at illegal immigrants came to a head when the town opened a publicly funded center to get the workers off the street. A local anti-immigrant group called The Minutemen protested the center, photographing and reporting suspected illegal immigrants to federal authorities. In 2007, the city council closed the center.

But over time, the number of minority voters, especially Latinos, has grown. Cesar del Aguila is chairman of the Fairfax County Democratic Party, which covers Herndon. He says anti-immigrant zeal³ has dissipated.

“What you have now versus⁴ five years ago, you have people on the town council that understand that diversity is a good thing. It is not something to be feared,” Del Aguila said.

He says Herndon is now considered, in national elections, a Democratic stronghold. But Herndon’s Virginia state delegate, Republican Tom Rust⁵, is also courting the Latino vote, and recently sponsored a bill to allow undocumented immigrants who came when they were children to attend state universities and colleges.

“We do have a large immigrant population in Virginia, a large immigrant population in our population centers. They’re good citizens. They’re good people. They work hard. These kids, through no fault of their own, were brought into the country,” Rust said.

The bill failed because of a lack of Republican support and concerns that a move to legalize undocumented workers would encourage more illegal immigration.

Nearby, in Centerville, a day laborer¹ center that receives no public funding opened in 2011. Most of the men here came to the U.S. alone. Cesar Kolindres from El Salvador says if immigration reform passes, they intend to bring their wives and children.

“One day then, if they make it a reality to have this permit or citizenship⁶ or something equal or as good as that, and then we can bring our families and live here in this country,” Kolindres said.

Rust and Herndon’s mayor declined to talk to VOA about the day laborers. Del Aguila says illegal immigration is a national, not a local problem.

“If you look at the charter of the town council, it is about land use, zoning and budget items. It has nothing to do with expelling people or rounding people up,” Del Aguila said.

While there is growing support for the bipartisan reform proposal in Congress, in Herndon there is concern that a key component⁷ of that legislation - giving legal status to millions of undocumented workers - could again spark division. 

1 laborer   

n.劳动者，劳工

参考例句：

• Her husband had been a farm laborer.她丈夫以前是个农场雇工。
• He worked as a casual laborer and did not earn much.他当临时工，没有赚多少钱。

2 laborers   

n.体力劳动者，工人( laborer的名词复数 )；（熟练工人的）辅助工

参考例句：

• Laborers were trained to handle 50-ton compactors and giant cranes. 工人们接受操作五十吨压土机和巨型起重机的训练。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》
• Wage-labour rests exclusively on competition between the laborers. 雇佣劳动完全是建立在工人的自相竞争之上的。 来自英汉非文学 - 共产党宣言

3 zeal   

n.热心，热情，热忱

参考例句：

• Revolutionary zeal caught them up,and they joined the army.革命热情激励他们，于是他们从军了。
• They worked with great zeal to finish the project.他们热情高涨地工作，以期完成这个项目。

4 versus   

prep.以…为对手，对；与…相比之下

参考例句：

• The big match tonight is England versus Spain.今晚的大赛是英格兰对西班牙。
• The most exciting game was Harvard versus Yale.最富紧张刺激的球赛是哈佛队对耶鲁队。

5 rust   

n.锈；v.生锈；(脑子)衰退

参考例句：

• She scraped the rust off the kitchen knife.她擦掉了菜刀上的锈。
• The rain will rust the iron roof.雨水会使铁皮屋顶生锈。

6 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。

7 component   

n.组成部分，成分，元件；adj.组成的，合成的

参考例句：

• Each component is carefully checked before assembly.每个零件在装配前都经过仔细检查。
• Blade and handle are the component parts of a knife.刀身和刀柄是一把刀的组成部分。