2006年VOA标准英语-Bush Administration Continues to Seek Immigrati

By Michael Bowman
Washington
29 June 2006

The Bush administration says it is taking effective steps to stem illegal immigration to the United States, but Congress must act to overhaul¹ America's immigration system. Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff delivered a speech urging comprehensive immigration reform.

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Michael Chertoff   
  
Secretary Chertoff says Americans have every right to be concerned about the hundreds-of-thousands of illegal immigrants that stream across U.S. borders every year.

"The vast majority of people who come into this country illegally do so for benign² reasons - they want to work," he said. "[But] There are certain segments that want to commit crimes, or even potentially commit terrorist acts. Illegal immigration has brought with it violence, trespassing³ and disturbance⁴ to our border communities. There has been an impact all across the country in [burdening] emergency rooms, hospitals and schools."

Responding to this concern, Chertoff says, the Bush administration has increased the number of border patrol agents, deployed⁵ advanced technology to monitor remote border areas, and mobilized National Guard units to aid in the task of border enforcement. In addition, the homeland security chief said the administration has augmented⁶ the ability of immigration agents to return illegal immigrants to their countries of origin, and boosted efforts to crack down on American businesses that hire illegal aliens.

But, speaking at the American Enterprise Institute, Chertoff said, more needs to be done. He said additional funding is required to further enhance border security, and that the United States must initiate⁷ a guest worker program to provide a secure, legal means for law-abiding foreigners to get work, and for American businesses to satisfy labor⁸ needs.

For this, he said legislative⁹ action is urgently needed.

"Congress has an opportunity and a responsibility to act this year to tackle this problem [of illegal immigration]. It has to be clear to everybody that we cannot allow this problem to continue to fester. If we do not address it comprehensively, it is not going to go away of its own accord. It will be here next year and the next decade, and decades afterwards," he said.

In recent months, President Bush repeatedly has called for comprehensive immigration reform. The U.S. Senate recently passed a bill that closely mirrors an administration proposal to strengthen border enforcement, create a guest worker program, and provide a rigorous path for many undocumented workers to eventually gain legal status.

Late last year, however, the House of Representatives passed a bill that focuses on law enforcement to solve America's immigration dilemma¹⁰. The bill would classify illegal immigrants as felons¹¹, and criminalize those who provide assistance to the country's undocumented population. Many representatives in President Bush's own Republican Party object to any measure that would allow illegal immigrants to remain in the country - a measure they regard as amnesty.

A bi-cameral conference is to attempt to reconcile the sharply divergent bills generated by the two chambers¹². But analysts are increasingly skeptical that Congress will pass final immigration reform legislation before November elections

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 benign   

adj.善良的，慈祥的；良性的，无危险的

参考例句：

• The benign weather brought North America a bumper crop.温和的气候给北美带来大丰收。
• Martha is a benign old lady.玛莎是个仁慈的老妇人。

3 trespassing   

[法]非法入侵

参考例句：

• He told me I was trespassing on private land. 他说我在擅闯私人土地。
• Don't come trespassing on my land again. 别再闯入我的地界了。

4 disturbance   

n.动乱，骚动；打扰，干扰；(身心)失调

参考例句：

• He is suffering an emotional disturbance.他的情绪受到了困扰。
• You can work in here without any disturbance.在这儿你可不受任何干扰地工作。

5 deployed   

（尤指军事行动）使展开( deploy的过去式和过去分词 )； 施展； 部署； 有效地利用

参考例句：

• Tanks have been deployed all along the front line. 沿整个前线已部署了坦克。
• The artillery was deployed to bear on the fort. 火炮是对着那个碉堡部署的。

6 Augmented   

adj.增音的 动词augment的过去式和过去分词形式

参考例句：

• 'scientists won't be replaced," he claims, "but they will be augmented." 他宣称：“科学家不会被取代；相反，他们会被拓展。” 来自英汉非文学 - 科学史
• The impact of the report was augmented by its timing. 由于发表的时间选得好，这篇报导的影响更大了。

7 initiate   

vt.开始，创始，发动；启蒙，使入门；引入

参考例句：

• A language teacher should initiate pupils into the elements of grammar.语言老师应该把基本语法教给学生。
• They wanted to initiate a discussion on economics.他们想启动一次经济学讨论。

8 labor   

n.劳动，努力，工作，劳工；分娩；vi.劳动，努力，苦干；vt.详细分析；麻烦

参考例句：

• We are never late in satisfying him for his labor.我们从不延误付给他劳动报酬。
• He was completely spent after two weeks of hard labor.艰苦劳动两周后，他已经疲惫不堪了。

9 legislative   

n.立法机构，立法权；adj.立法的，有立法权的

参考例句：

• Congress is the legislative branch of the U.S. government.国会是美国政府的立法部门。
• Today's hearing was just the first step in the legislative process.今天的听证会只是展开立法程序的第一步。

10 dilemma   

n.困境，进退两难的局面

参考例句：

• I am on the horns of a dilemma about the matter.这件事使我进退两难。
• He was thrown into a dilemma.他陷入困境。

11 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

12 chambers   

n.房间( chamber的名词复数 )；（议会的）议院；卧室；会议厅

参考例句：

• The body will be removed into one of the cold storage chambers. 尸体将被移到一个冷冻间里。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Mr Chambers's readable book concentrates on the middle passage: the time Ransome spent in Russia. Chambers先生的这本值得一看的书重点在中间：Ransome在俄国的那几年。 来自互联网