美新移民政策：有人歡喜有人憂

Washington is buzzing following an announcement by President Barack Obama's administration that the U.S. now will focus its deportation efforts on illegal immigrants with criminal records or those who pose a threat to national security. The new rules also outline ways for those facing deportation, but having no criminal record, to remain in the U.S. and even apply for a work permit.

在奧巴馬政府宣佈美國將把遣返非法移民的主要關注點放在那些擁有犯罪記錄或者對美國國家安全構成威脅的非法移民身上之後，華盛頓的輿論炸開了鍋。這項新規定還提到那些面臨遣返，但是沒有犯罪記錄的非法移民如何才能繼續留在美國，甚至申請工作許可。

Advocates, while celebrating the news, said they would press the president for even more pro-immigration action. Opponents, including many Republican lawmakers, called it a massive amnesty plan.

移民活動人士儘管慶祝這個消息，但是同時表示，將繼續向奧巴馬總統施壓，讓他採取更加親移民的行動。包括很多共和黨議員在內的反對者，則稱這項規定是大規模的赦免計劃。

Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano said her agency will review all of the 300,000 cases pending in immigration courts, but the new focus will be deporting criminals and serious violators of immigration law. Undocumented immigrants classified as low-priority could see their deportation stayed and be offered a chance to apply for a work visa.

美國土安全部部長納波利塔諾表示，她的機構將審查在移民法庭待審的所有30萬個案子，但是新的工作重點將放在遣返那些犯罪分子和嚴重違反移民法律的人。被列爲較後處理的非法移民可以看到對他們的遣返暫停，並將得到機會申請工作簽證。

Pro-immigration activists immediately lauded the move. Gustavo Torres is Executive Director of Casa de Maryland, a group that advocates for immigrants.

支持移民活動人士立即對這個舉措表示歡迎。移民權益團體Casa de Maryland的執行主任託雷斯說：

“They are going to pretty much allow people who are undocumented here, making a contribution in this great nation, to keep doing that, so that is the reason we are very happy about that decision,” said Torres.

“他們將更加允許非法居住在美國的人們，爲這個偉大的國家做出貢獻。他們會繼續這樣做。這就是我們對這個決定非常高興的原因。”

Napolitano told senators in a letter Thursday that the Obama administration repeatedly has said it makes no sense to expend enforcement resources on low-priority cases.

國土安全部納波利塔諾部長8月18日星期四致函國會參議員說，奧巴馬政府已經多次表示，把執法資源放在較後處理的案子上是不合理的。

The announcement angered some Republican lawmakers and others who oppose illegal immigration. They say Obama has simply overstepped his bounds.

奧巴馬政府宣佈這個規定，激怒了一些共和黨的議員以及其他反對非法移民的人士。他們說，奧巴馬總統越權操作。

Ira Mehlman is with FAIR, the Federation for American Immigration Reform. He expects Congress, especially the Republican-dominated U.S. House of Representatives, will challenge the President.

來自美國移民改革聯合會的梅爾曼預計國會，尤其是共和黨主導下的衆議院，將挑戰奧巴馬總統。“Congress cannot and must not allow the administration to usurp the constitutional authority that Congress has to make our immigration policies. It is the responsibility of the administration to carry out the laws written by Congress," said Mehlman. "Whether the administration likes those laws or not, they are bound constitutionally to enforce them.”

他說：“國會不能，也一定不會允許行政當局篡奪憲法賦予國會的權力，來制定我們的移民政策。執行由國會制定的法律纔是行政當局的職責。不管行政當局是否喜歡這些法律，他們都必須按照憲法執行這些法律。”

Mehlman said it is average Americans who pay the bill for illegal immigrants.

梅爾曼表示，是普通的美國人在養活那些非法移民。

“This is not cheap labor. It is subsidized labor. When you have people coming here and working for substandard wages, they have to be subsidized by everybody else. If they bring kids and put their kids in the schools, the rest of us pay for that. If they have to use healthcare, we pay for that. There are all sorts of costs that come along with that that the employer passes to the American taxpayer,” he said.

他說：“這不是什麼廉價勞工。這是享受補貼的勞工。當你讓人們來到這裏，以低於標準的工資報酬工作，那麼所有人就肯定要補貼他們。如果他們帶着孩子，把孩子放在學校，我們其他人就要支付這些孩子的費用。如果他們要就醫，我們也要支付這些費用。這些就是那些僱主轉嫁給美國納稅人的所有各種費用。”

The administration’s plan likely will stoke political tensions as the 2012 campaign season ramps up. Republicans are accusing Obama of granting amnesty to hundreds of thousands of immigrants.

隨着2012年大選逐漸升溫，奧巴馬行政當局的計劃將可能引發政治緊張局勢。共和黨人譴責奧巴馬向數十萬的移民提供大赦。

And pro-immigration activists would like to see the president do more for their cause. Like Torres, they say more than 1 million immigrants have been deported on the president’s watch.

支持移民的活動人士則希望看到奧巴馬總統爲了他們的利益做得更多。就像託雷斯他們所說，在奧巴馬執政以來，已經有1百多萬移民被遣返。

“If he keeps deporting our community as he has been doing in the last two-and-a-half years, I doubt the Latino community is going to vote for him,” said Torres.

託雷斯說：“如果他像過去2年半以來所做的那樣，繼續遣返我們的社區成員，那麼我懷疑拉美社區是否還會投票給他。”

Although the number of deportations has grown in recent years, the number of those immigrating illegally actually has dropped.

儘管遣返人數近年來有所增加，但是非法移民的數量實際上下降。