VOA常速英语2014--美国商界领袖呼吁移民改革

 

US Business Leaders Argue for Immigration Reform 美国商界领袖呼吁移民改革

HOUSTON—

U.S. President Barack Obama’s proposed comprehensive immigration reform remains¹ stalled in a politically divided Congress, but business leaders around the country say immigration reform is needed to keep the economy growing. The situation was the focus of a recent business forum² in Houston.

In recent years, thousands of the world’s best and brightest people have been denied H1-B visas that are issued to immigrants with special skills or education.

最近几年，数千名全世界最优秀、最聪明的人才在申请颁发给具备特殊技能或教育资历移民的H1-B签证时被拒。

Former governor of New Mexico and U.S. Secretary of Energy Bill Richardson says the system needs to change, “so that skilled workers, engineers, computer specialists that are here on student visas, can stay and create jobs in the American economy."

新墨西哥州州长兼美国能源部长比尔·理查德森称需要改变制度，“这样拥有学生签证的技能工人、工程师能流下来并为美国经济制造工作机会。”

The U.S. Chamber³ of Commerce and other business organizations favor a large expansion of H1-B visas especially for talented people from around the world who study at U.S. universities on student visas, but cannot stay after they graduate.

美国商务部和其他商业组织支持大力增加H1-B签发，尤其是针对来自全世界各地拥有学生签证，但无法在毕业后留下来的留学生。

The ones who do stay are in high demand, according to Massey Villareal, president of Precision Task Group in Houston.

休斯顿Precision Task Group总裁梅西·维拉里尔说，留下来的学生很抢手。

“We spend over $30,000 a month just on recruiting costs, just trying to find these employees, so my clients are asking for highly qualified⁴ skill sets that I have a hard time finding, and then when I find them, my competitor offers them $10,000 a year more and they are gone," said Villareal.

“我们每月在招募上就要花费三万美元，只是为了寻找这样的雇员，所以我的客户们都在寻找有高水平技能的人，我苦苦寻找这些人，我的竞争者给他们每年一万多美金，但他们却离开了

Last year, 172,000 petitions for H1-B visas were filed, but current law allows for only 85,000 each year.

去年，有17.2万人申请H1-B签证，但目前法律只允许每年批准8.5万个。

Attorney Charles Foster headed a task force on immigration for the Greater Houston Partnership⁵.

大法官查理·福斯特是大休斯敦商会移民工作组负责人。

“It is a dysfunctional system; one day a year you can petition for the brightest people in the world, and then you have a 30 percent chance," he said.

“这个系统已经失灵，你可以为全世界最聪明的人才进行请愿，这样有30%的机会。”

Many pro-reform business executives are Republicans, but Foster says the party’s immigration policy is controlled by the Tea Party movement.

很多支持改革的商业总裁都是共和党人，但福斯特说该党的移民政策为茶党运动控制。

“Their anger, their opposition⁶, is mostly based upon rumor⁷ and anecdotal stuff that has little to do with the truth. When you get before them and explain what real immigration reform means, they have a very different position," he said.

“他们的愤怒和反对在很大程度上基于流言和道听途说的东西，与事实几乎没有多少关系。然后你走上前去解释真正的移民改革意味着什么，他们就会改变立场。”

Still, most conservatives remain opposed on principle to any reform that would provide what they see as amnesty for people who entered the country illegally.

不过大多数保守派仍反对任何将提供在他们看来为非法进入美国者提供避难的改革原则。

Bill Richardson, a Democrat⁸, says his party is right to insist on legalization, as well as a pathway to citizenship⁹.

民主党比尔·理查德森说本党在坚持合法化和获得公民资格途径上是正确的。

“We need to bring the 11 million undocumented workers that are currently in this country out of the shadows; make them productive players in the U.S. economy," he said.

“我们需要帮助目前美国1100万非法移民走出阴影，让他们在美国经济中发挥创造性作用。”

Republicans in Congress favor a bill that would increase the number of H1-B visas for skilled workers and leave the larger reform package for later.

国会中的共和党人支持将增加技术工人H1-B签证数量的法案，并将更大的改革方案推迟。

But Democrats¹⁰ reject that, saying it should be part of an overall reform that would open the door to citizenship to those living here illegally, and that stalemate, according to studies done by business groups, is costing the nation tens of thousands of jobs as well as a more competitive edge in the world economy.

但民主党反对这么做，称这为非法拘留者获得公民资格打开大门，且根据商业组织的研究，这样的僵局使得美国损失成千上万就业岗位，并影响其在世界经济中获得更具竞争性的优势。

1 remains   

n.剩余物，残留物；遗体，遗迹

参考例句：

• He ate the remains of food hungrily.他狼吞虎咽地吃剩余的食物。
• The remains of the meal were fed to the dog.残羹剩饭喂狗了。

2 forum   

n.论坛，讨论会

参考例句：

• They're holding a forum on new ways of teaching history.他们正在举行历史教学讨论会。
• The organisation would provide a forum where problems could be discussed.这个组织将提供一个可以讨论问题的平台。

3 chamber   

n.房间，寝室；会议厅；议院；会所

参考例句：

• For many,the dentist's surgery remains a torture chamber.对许多人来说，牙医的治疗室一直是间受刑室。
• The chamber was ablaze with light.会议厅里灯火辉煌。

4 qualified   

adj.合格的，有资格的，胜任的，有限制的

参考例句：

• He is qualified as a complete man of letters.他有资格当真正的文学家。
• We must note that we still lack qualified specialists.我们必须看到我们还缺乏有资质的专家。

5 partnership   

n.合作关系，伙伴关系

参考例句：

• The company has gone into partnership with Swiss Bank Corporation.这家公司已经和瑞士银行公司建立合作关系。
• Martin has taken him into general partnership in his company.马丁已让他成为公司的普通合伙人。

6 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。

7 rumor   

n.谣言，谣传，传说

参考例句：

• The rumor has been traced back to a bad man.那谣言经追查是个坏人造的。
• The rumor has taken air.谣言流传开了。

8 democrat   

n.民主主义者，民主人士；民主党党员

参考例句：

• The Democrat and the Public criticized each other.民主党人和共和党人互相攻击。
• About two years later,he was defeated by Democrat Jimmy Carter.大约两年后，他被民主党人杰米卡特击败。

9 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。

10 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》