亞裔移民讓美國移民面孔發生變化(上)

No Country on earth is in the same league as the U.S. when it comes to the quantity of immigrants who have come here and the quality of their contributions. But lately, in our generally sour mood, Americans have been questioning the benefits of immigration. Many worry that today's immigrants differ from those of the past: less ambitious, less skilled, less willing and able to assimilate.

就一個國家所吸引移民的數量、以及這些移民所做出貢獻的質量而言，這世上沒有哪個國家能和美國相提並論。不過近來，美國人開始質疑移民能給這個國家帶來多少好處，這其中蔓延着一股酸溜溜的情緒。許多人擔心今天的移民同過去不再一樣：不再那麼雄心勃勃，掌握的技能水平較低，融入美國本土文化的意願和能力都比較低。

The conventional picture is of an unstoppable wave of unskilled, mostly Spanish-speaking workers-many illegal-coming across the Mexican border. People who see immigration this way fear that, instead of America assimilating the immigrants, the immigrants will assimilate us. But this picture is both out of date and factually wrong.

提到移民，人們腦子裏過去常有的印象是：一羣沒有技能、大多說西班牙語的勞工──很多人是非法移民──源源不斷地越過美國和墨西哥邊境進入美國。認爲移民是以這種方式進入美國的人們擔心，這樣一來，美國無法將移民融入本土文化，相反，美國人將會被移民所同化。然而，這樣的印象其實已經過時了，而且從事實上看也並不正確。

A report released this month by the Pew Research Center shows just how much the face of immigration has changed in the past few years. Since 2008, more newcomers to the U.S. have been Asian than Hispanic (in 2010, it was 36% of the total, versus 31%). Today's typical immigrant is not only more likely to speak English and have a college education, but also to have come to the U.S. legally, with a job already in place.

皮尤研究中心(Pew Research Center)上個月發佈了一份報告，對過去幾年里美國移民面孔發生了多大的變化進行了調查。自2008年以來，進入美國的新移民中，來自亞洲的移民一直多於拉美裔移民（2010年來自亞洲的移民佔36%，拉美裔移民則爲31%）。如今的新移民一般而言不僅很有可能會說英文，接受過大學教育，而且很可能是在已經有工作的前提下，合法進入美國的。

What's responsible for the change? The reasons include a rapidly falling birthrate in Mexico, dramatic economic growth there and the collapse of the U.S. residential construction industry-a traditional market for low-skilled, non-English speaking immigrants whose documentation was often subject to question.

爲何會出現這樣的變化？其中的原因包括：墨西哥的出生率迅速下降，同時那裏的經濟在飛速增長，而美國的住宅建築業卻大舉收縮──住宅建築業過去接納了大量低技能、不會英語且身份通常有問題的移民。

A great deal of mythology has grown up around American immigration. Images of Irish and Italians forced by starvation to emigrate, Jews fleeing Russian persecution-this was all real, but just part of the story. Waves of educated and professional middle-class people also arrived-men like Albert Gallatin fleeing the radicalism of the French Revolution, disappointed liberals abandoning Europe after the failure of the revolutions of 1848, and of course the generations of educated exiles from the terrible totalitarianisms of the 20th century.

一直以來，關於美國移民的傳奇故事層出不窮。愛爾蘭人和意大利人因飢餓而被迫離開家園，猶太人逃離俄羅斯的迫害──這些都曾經真實發生過，但並非所有的故事都是如此。受過良好教育、職業技能較高的中產階級也一波接一波地來到美國──比如說，像阿伯特•加拉廷(Albert Gallatin)這樣的人爲躲避激進的法國革命而逃至美國；在1848年歐洲革命失敗後，失望的自由主義者們棄走歐洲；當然還有一代又一代在20世紀可怕的極權統治下被迫流亡的知識分子們。

America needs and benefits from both kinds of immigration. Like all waves, the Asian influx mixes the skilled and the unskilled. But overall it resembles earlier waves of educated and already urbanized immigrants more than the desperate and often unskilled rural groups from Europe and Latin America.

這兩類移民都是美國所需要的，而且都給這個國家做出了貢獻。如同所有移民人羣一樣，亞洲移民中也包括了高技能和低技能這兩類人。不過總體而言，同那些無路可走、通常技能較低、來自農村的歐洲和拉美移民相比，如今亞洲移民的特徵與那些受教育程度高且已經城市化的早期移民更爲相似。

The Pew study found that the new Asian immigrants identify themselves, surprisingly, as 22% Protestant and 19% Catholic, but whatever their religion, most of them have in spades what Max Weber called the Protestant work ethic. Arguably, in America's long history of immigration, the group that the new immigrants resemble most is the original cohort of Puritans who settled New England.

皮尤研究中心的報告發現，來自亞洲的新移民中，自稱是新教徒的人佔到22%，自稱爲天主教徒的人佔19%，比例之高讓人有些意外，不過無論他們信仰什麼宗教，他們中的大多數人都篤信馬克思•韋伯(Max Weber)所謂的新教工作倫理(Protestant work ethic)。可以說，從美國漫長的移民歷史來看，和如今這批新移民的特徵最爲接近的應該是定居在新英格蘭地區的那批早期清教徒。

Like them, the Asians tend to be better-educated than most of the people in their countries of origin. Steeped in the culture of enterprise and capitalism, they're more likely than native-born Americans to have a bachelor of arts degree. While family sponsorship is still the most important entry route for Asians (as for all immigrants), this group is three times more likely than other recent immigrants to come to the U.S. on visas arranged through employers.

如同當年的清教徒一樣，這些亞洲移民的受教育程度往往比他們原來所在國家中的大多數人都要高。在進取精神和資本主義文化的薰陶下，他們比在美國本土出生的人更有可能擁有大學本科學位。雖然同所有移民一樣，家庭關係仍是亞洲移民進入美國的主要途徑，但同近來進入美國的其他地區移民相比，亞洲移民通過僱主協助申請工作簽證進入美國的比率要高出三倍。

In many cases, they're not coming to the U.S. because of the economic conditions back home. After all, places like China, Korea and India have experienced jumps in prosperity and an explosion in opportunity for the skilled and the hardworking. But most of the new immigrants like it here and want to stay (only 12% wish they had stayed home).

很多情況下，他們來到美國並不是因爲他們在原先所在國家時經濟狀況不佳。畢竟，對於那些掌握較高技能且工作勤奮的人來說，若是生活在像是中國、韓國和印度這樣的地方，則都經歷過財富與機遇的迅速增長。然而，大多數新移民喜歡他們在美國的生活，而且希望留下來（只有12%的人後悔他們離開了家鄉）。

More Asian-Americans (69%) than other Americans (58%) believe that you will get ahead with hard work. Also, 93% say that their ethnic group is 'hardworking.'

相信努力工作能夠帶來回報的亞裔美國人（比例爲69%）要多於其他美國人（比例爲58%）。而且，93%的人認爲他們所屬的民族是“勤奮”的民族。

There also seems to be some truth in the "Tiger Mom" syndrome described by author Amy Chua. While 39% of Asian-Americans say their group puts "too much" pressure on kids to succeed in school, 60% of Asian-Americans think that other Americans don't push their kids hard enough.

此外，《虎媽戰歌》一書的作者蔡美兒(Amy Chua)在她書中所描述的虎媽症候羣似乎也不無道理。儘管有39%的亞裔美國人表示，亞裔美國人爲子女能夠在學校獲得成功而對子女施加了“太多”壓力，但認爲其他美國人在孩子身上所施加壓力不足的亞裔美國人比例則是60%。