美新移民政策：有人欢喜有人忧

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.

在奥巴马政府宣布美国将把遣返非法移民的主要关注点放在那些拥有犯罪记录或者对美国国家安全构成威胁的非法移民身上之后，华盛顿的舆论炸开了锅。这项新规定还提到那些面临遣返，但是没有犯罪记录的非法移民如何才能继续留在美国，甚至申请工作许可。

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.

移民活动人士尽管庆祝这个消息，但是同时表示，将继续向奥巴马总统施压，让他采取更加亲移民的行动。包括很多共和党议员在内的反对者，则称这项规定是大规模的赦免计划。

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.

美国土安全部部长纳波利塔诺表示，她的机构将审查在移民法庭待审的所有30万个案子，但是新的工作重点将放在遣返那些犯罪分子和严重违反移民法律的人。被列为较后处理的非法移民可以看到对他们的遣返暂停，并将得到机会申请工作签证。

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

支持移民活动人士立即对这个举措表示欢迎。移民权益团体Casa de Maryland的执行主任托雷斯说：

“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.

“他们将更加允许非法居住在美国的人们，为这个伟大的国家做出贡献。他们会继续这样做。这就是我们对这个决定非常高兴的原因。”

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.

国土安全部纳波利塔诺部长8月18日星期四致函国会参议员说，奥巴马政府已经多次表示，把执法资源放在较后处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.

奥巴马政府宣布这个规定，激怒了一些共和党的议员以及其他反对非法移民的人士。他们说，奥巴马总统越权操作。

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.

来自美国移民改革联合会的梅尔曼预计国会，尤其是共和党主导下的众议院，将挑战奥巴马总统。“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.”

他说：“国会不能，也一定不会允许行政当局篡夺宪法赋予国会的权力，来制定我们的移民政策。执行由国会制定的法律才是行政当局的职责。不管行政当局是否喜欢这些法律，他们都必须按照宪法执行这些法律。”

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

梅尔曼表示，是普通的美国人在养活那些非法移民。

“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.

他说：“这不是什么廉价劳工。这是享受补贴的劳工。当你让人们来到这里，以低于标准的工资报酬工作，那么所有人就肯定要补贴他们。如果他们带着孩子，把孩子放在学校，我们其他人就要支付这些孩子的费用。如果他们要就医，我们也要支付这些费用。这些就是那些雇主转嫁给美国纳税人的所有各种费用。”

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.

随着2012年大选逐渐升温，奥巴马行政当局的计划将可能引发政治紧张局势。共和党人谴责奥巴马向数十万的移民提供大赦。

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.

支持移民的活动人士则希望看到奥巴马总统为了他们的利益做得更多。就像托雷斯他们所说，在奥巴马执政以来，已经有1百多万移民被遣返。

“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.

托雷斯说：“如果他像过去2年半以来所做的那样，继续遣返我们的社区成员，那么我怀疑拉美社区是否还会投票给他。”

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

尽管遣返人数近年来有所增加，但是非法移民的数量实际上下降。