2006年VOA标准英语-Immigration Reform Debate Prompts Political Act

By Brian Wagner
Washington, DC
04 August 2006
 
watch Immigration report

About a million people took part in marches across the United States this year to voice their concerns about immigration reforms under consideration in the Congress.  Young activists¹ played a key role in the protests.  VOA's Brian Wagner reports the demonstrations² have sparked growing interest among other young people -- especially Latinos -- to take political action.

-------

The protests over immigration reform grabbed headlines across the country and demonstrated strength of the nation's largest minority group. 

Latinos represent about 14 percent of the U.S. population, but they often are underrepresented in national and local elections.  Activists are seeking to change that imbalance in this November's legislative³ elections, by organizing voter registration⁴ efforts across the nation.

 
Amy Elliott
  
One of those drives is being organized by Amy Elliott, who says she was motivated by taking part in marches in her hometown of South Bend, Indiana.

"The momentum⁵ is very important to us. We had over 5,000 people walk with us in downtown South Bend.  The majority were of Hispanic origin but a lot of them were not," says Amy. "We are just trying to take that energy and transform that into action.  I think that's happening across the country."

Amy, whose father is from Mexico, was among dozens of young people seeking advice at a political training session for Latinos near Philadelphia.  The trainees⁶ learned about raising money, organizing volunteers, preparing for elections and other skills to operate a campaign for a social cause or elected office.  

 
Jano Cabrera
  
Attendance at the sessions has swelled⁷ since the protests, according to Jano Cabrera, a communications associate for America Votes, which sponsored the session. "There is a great deal of interest to make sure people do not just march and forget about it," he says. "It is about taking the next step.  Marching, being outraged⁸ for that moment but then organizing and making sure that on election day you do something about it."

 
Irasema Garza 
  
The sessions draw on the experience of seasoned political experts like Irasema Garza, who is the political director of Working America, an affiliate⁹ of the AFL-CIO labor¹⁰ group. "On a personal level I'm very interested in making sure that the Latino community trains leaders and that they are going to be ready to go out for 2006 and 2008, for many reasons.  Our community is growing; we are not doing the best in terms of voter turnout, etc.  So just on a personal level I am very interested in that."

Latino leaders have expressed hope that politicians will start paying more attention to their community since the protests.  They say immigration reform is a key issue, but they also have serious concerns about economic, social and other issues.

 
Jamie Miranda
  
College student Jamie Miranda is an intern¹¹ for the National Council of La Raza, a Hispanic civil rights and advocacy group.  She recently attended a conference in Los Angeles to collect signatures for petitions to lawmakers. "The community I grew up in was not as representative of my concerns," says Jamie. "Being that I wanted to make some changes, and I saw that people had a voice and could make some changes by contacting their legislators and helping¹² make decisions that will affect them potentially in the future."

One obstacle to greater political participation¹³ among Latinos is the failure of some immigrants to complete the naturalization process.  That keeps them from voting and receiving other benefits.  But since the protests, more people are requesting information on the process and seeking classes to prepare for the tests.

 
Rebecca Carly 
  
Rebecca Carly coordinates¹⁴ citizenship¹⁵ classes and other services for the Central American Resource Center in Washington. "We have definitely seen an interest.  In fact our session started four weeks ago and every Saturday we have new people trying to sign up.  We do not usually accept people in the middle of the session, but we want to accommodate," says Rebecca. "So we have seen an increase in that, also just applying in general.  We have already exceeded the amount of applications we had last year in the past quarter."

One of the volunteer teachers is Megan Fletcher, who recently graduated from Georgetown University with a master’s degree in Latin American studies. "That is one reason I wanted to get much more involved because the immigration issue is something that is very close to my heart even though I am not an immigrant," says Megan. "A lot of people I have known over the years have faced difficulties with the immigration system and this is a way to give back."

She says students learn English, history and the meaning of citizenship, which has taken on greater importance recently. "Citizenship has a special meaning, particularly in the last few months for a lot of the immigrants here in the United States, as a lot are advocating for immigration reform," says Megan.

Protests against some of the most controversial immigration reform proposals have now largely died down along with the chances of a major immigration reform bill passing in Congress before the end of this legislative session.  But mid-term elections are set for November and Hispanic leaders are hoping the energy seen in this spring's protests will be on display for Election Day in the fall.

1 activists   

n.（政治活动的）积极分子，活动家( activist的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• His research work was attacked by animal rights activists . 他的研究受到了动物权益维护者的抨击。
• Party activists with lower middle class pedigrees are numerous. 党的激进分子中有很多出身于中产阶级下层。 来自《简明英汉词典》

2 demonstrations   

证明( demonstration的名词复数 )； 表明； 表达； 游行示威

参考例句：

• Lectures will be interspersed with practical demonstrations. 讲课中将不时插入实际示范。
• The new military government has banned strikes and demonstrations. 新的军人政府禁止罢工和示威活动。

3 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。

4 registration   

n.登记，注册，挂号

参考例句：

• Marriage without registration is not recognized by law.法律不承认未登记的婚姻。
• What's your registration number?你挂的是几号？

5 momentum   

n.动力，冲力，势头；动量

参考例句：

• We exploit the energy and momentum conservation laws in this way.我们就是这样利用能量和动量守恒定律的。
• The law of momentum conservation could supplant Newton's third law.动量守恒定律可以取代牛顿第三定律。

6 trainees   

新兵( trainee的名词复数 )； 练习生； 接受训练的人； 训练中的动物

参考例句：

• We've taken on our full complement of new trainees. 我们招收的新学员已经满额了。
• The trainees were put through an assault course. 受训人员接受了突击训练课程。

7 swelled   

增强( swell的过去式和过去分词 )； 肿胀； （使）凸出； 充满（激情）

参考例句：

• The infection swelled his hand. 由于感染，他的手肿了起来。
• After the heavy rain the river swelled. 大雨过后，河水猛涨。

8 outraged   

a.震惊的，义愤填膺的

参考例句：

• Members of Parliament were outraged by the news of the assassination. 议会议员们被这暗杀的消息激怒了。
• He was outraged by their behavior. 他们的行为使他感到愤慨。

9 affiliate   

vt.使隶(附)属于；n.附属机构，分公司

参考例句：

• Our New York company has an affiliate in Los Angeles.我们的纽约公司在洛杉矶有一个下属企业。
• What is the difference between affiliate and regular membership?固定会员和附属会员之间的区别是什么？

10 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。

11 intern   

v.拘禁，软禁；n.实习生

参考例句：

• I worked as an intern in that firm last summer.去年夏天我在那家商行实习。
• The intern bandaged the cut as the nurse looked on.这位实习生在护士的照看下给病人包扎伤口。

12 helping   

n.食物的一份&adj.帮助人的，辅助的

参考例句：

• The poor children regularly pony up for a second helping of my hamburger. 那些可怜的孩子们总是要求我把我的汉堡包再给他们一份。
• By doing this, they may at times be helping to restore competition. 这样一来, 他在某些时候,有助于竞争的加强。

13 participation   

n.参与，参加，分享

参考例句：

• Some of the magic tricks called for audience participation.有些魔术要求有观众的参与。
• The scheme aims to encourage increased participation in sporting activities.这个方案旨在鼓励大众更多地参与体育活动。

14 coordinates   

n.相配之衣物；坐标( coordinate的名词复数 )；（颜色协调的）配套服装；[复数]女套服；同等重要的人（或物）v.使协调，使调和( coordinate的第三人称单数 )；协调；协同；成为同等

参考例句：

• The town coordinates on this map are 695037. 该镇在这幅地图上的坐标是695037。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, headed by the Emergency Relief Coordinator, coordinates all UN emergency relief. 联合国人道主义事务协调厅在紧急救济协调员领导下，负责协调联合国的所有紧急救济工作。 来自《简明英汉词典》

15 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。