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VOA慢速英语2014 AS IT IS 2014-04-29 Americans Debate Illegal Immigration 美国人对非法移民有争议

时间:2014-05-04 13:28:37

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AS IT IS 2014-04-29 Americans Debate Illegal Immigration 美国人对非法移民有争议

Then, we have another story about the U.S.  The highest court in the land has just decided1 that minority students may not get the help they have been given for years, when it comes to getting into college. 

Immigration and education ...two very important subjects ...presented in the Learning English style, are coming your way.

The United States has expelled about two million illegal immigrants in the five years since Barack Obama has been president.  Some Americans say the Obama administration is too aggressive in enforcing immigration law.  But others say it has not been aggressive enough.  

Greg Chen is with the American Immigration Lawyers Association.  He says the Obama administration is expelling illegal immigrants from the country in record numbers.

“Those numbers, under both President Bush and Obama, have increased steadily2 in the past decade and are currently at a real high point.  So overall, it’s important to recognize that the administration has been incredibly robust3 in its enforcement practices.” 

But others say the number of people being expelled is down.  Jon Ferre works for the Center for Immigration Studies.

“What we need to see is a serious commitment to immigration enforcement.  We need to see deportation4 numbers actually going up, instead of going down, as they are now.  But thus far, the White House just doesn’t seem all that serious about immigration enforcement.” 

How can the same numbers be seen so differently?  Because of the difference between what the government calls “returns” and “removals.”  The number of returns – immigrants seized at the border and sent back home – has dropped over the past 10 years.  But the number of removals has risen to an all-time high.  The term removals means immigrants who have been officially expelled and barred from returning to the United States.

Jon Ferre is concerned that the combined total of returns and removals is down.

“So if you’re looking at this idea of removals, which is a type of deportation, the numbers do appear to be going up slightly.  But if you look at overall deportation numbers, which is removals plus returns, which occur along the border, you see that the numbers are actually going down.”

But Gren Chen says the government is still taking steps against illegal immigration.

“The thing to recognize is that President Obama has increased the border presence and he has made the actual outcomes, the consequences of having been apprehended5 and deported6 out of the country, more severe by having a greater number of removals.”

Jim Tom Haynes has worked for a long time as an immigration lawyer.  He says fewer new deportation cases are going to immigration courts.  Such courts, he adds, already have far more cases than they can deal with.

“The cases that do get into the court are taking years to get through. So I think that you have fewer deportations now simply because the courts can’t process all this work.” 

The debate over whether more or less enforcement is needed is likely to influence any effort to reform the U.S. immigration system.  It may also affect the result of the congressional elections in November.

Highest Court Makes Major Ruling on Education

 

The United States Supreme7 Court ruled in an affirmative action case last week.  The Court said the state of Michigan has a right to stop public colleges and universities from considering a person’s race when they decide which students to admit.  VOA national correspondent Jim Malone has been following the case.  June Simms has his report.

The Supreme Court agreed with the right to Michigan voters to bar public colleges and universities from considering race on admissions decisions.  Michigan voters approved

the ban as an amendment8 to the state’s constitution in 2006. 

Affirmative action programs have long sought to help racial and ethnic9 minorities compete and gain acceptance to American colleges and universities.  But over the years, such programs have also been the subject of much political debate.

Suzanna Sherry is a law professor at the Vanderbilt Law School in Tennessee.  She says reaction to the decision may be limited because the court was concerned mainly about the right of voters to express their opinion. 

“What the court held is that the voters of Michigan are allowed to decide whether they want affirmative action or not, and that’s really not a ruling on affirmative action.  It’s a case about whether affirmative action is required, and the action is no.  It’s not required.  People can decide, the people of Michigan, can decide not to engage in it.”

The Supreme Court voted six-to-two to support the ban.  Justice Sonia Sotomayor was one of the two justices in the minority.  She said judges should face the racial inequality that exists in the United States, and not just sit back and wish it away.

The American Civil Liberties Union also criticized the ruling.  The group said the Michigan law “unfairly” keeps students from asking universities to consider race in their admissions decisions.

But a group of conservative African-Americans praised the decision.  The group is called Project 21.  It said the ruling moved the country closer to the ideas expressed by the former civil rights leader Martin Luther King, Jr.

California and Washington State have voter-approved laws banning affirmative action in education admissions.  A few other states also have laws or executive orders barring race as a consideration.

Bisi Okubadejo is a lawyer.  She has represented colleges and universities in civil rights cases.  She predicts limited legal effects from the Supreme Court ruling.

“It’s likely that this action by the Supreme Court will bolster10 other groups that continue to file similar suits.  It is not representing a step forward with regard to the use of race, but taken in context I think that any negative effects on diversity and the use of race on campus has already occurred in the states where voters have spoken at the polls.”

Supporters of affirmative action programs say they have helped many minorities.  But they note that the number of African-American and Hispanic students has dropped at the University of Michigan since the ban took effect.  I’m June Simms.

And I’m Jim Tedder11 in Washington.  Before we step aside for more Learning English programs, we invite you to have a piece of birthday cake as we celebrate the birth anniversary of one of America’s greatest song writers and performers. 

On this date in 1899, not far from where I am sitting, Edward Kennedy “Duke” Ellington was born.  He started playing music professionally when he was 17. He is, perhaps, best known as the leader of a big band that played his beautiful, complex, and sophisticated kind of jazz.  Duke wrote for motion pictures, operas, ballets, and Broadway shows.  When “Duke” died in 1974, one of VOA’s own was at his funeral.  Willis Conover was there to say goodbye to his good friend. 

So we will leave you with the song that “Duke” and Willis made famous.  The title says the quickest way to get to Harlem, then the home of so many great jazz clubs in New York City, was to “Take the A Train.”


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点击收听单词发音收听单词发音  

1 decided lvqzZd     
adj.决定了的,坚决的;明显的,明确的
参考例句:
  • This gave them a decided advantage over their opponents.这使他们比对手具有明显的优势。
  • There is a decided difference between British and Chinese way of greeting.英国人和中国人打招呼的方式有很明显的区别。
2 steadily Qukw6     
adv.稳定地;不变地;持续地
参考例句:
  • The scope of man's use of natural resources will steadily grow.人类利用自然资源的广度将日益扩大。
  • Our educational reform was steadily led onto the correct path.我们的教学改革慢慢上轨道了。
3 robust FXvx7     
adj.强壮的,强健的,粗野的,需要体力的,浓的
参考例句:
  • She is too tall and robust.她个子太高,身体太壮。
  • China wants to keep growth robust to reduce poverty and avoid job losses,AP commented.美联社评论道,中国希望保持经济强势增长,以减少贫困和失业状况。
4 deportation Nwjx6     
n.驱逐,放逐
参考例句:
  • The government issued a deportation order against the four men.政府发出了对那4名男子的驱逐令。
  • Years ago convicted criminals in England could face deportation to Australia.很多年以前,英国已定罪的犯人可能被驱逐到澳大利亚。
5 apprehended a58714d8af72af24c9ef953885c38a66     
逮捕,拘押( apprehend的过去式和过去分词 ); 理解
参考例句:
  • She apprehended the complicated law very quickly. 她很快理解了复杂的法律。
  • The police apprehended the criminal. 警察逮捕了罪犯。
6 deported 97686e795f0449007421091b03c3297e     
v.将…驱逐出境( deport的过去式和过去分词 );举止
参考例句:
  • They stripped me of my citizenship and deported me. 他们剥夺我的公民资格,将我驱逐出境。 来自《简明英汉词典》
  • The convicts were deported to a deserted island. 罪犯们被流放到一个荒岛。 来自《简明英汉词典》
7 supreme PHqzc     
adj.极度的,最重要的;至高的,最高的
参考例句:
  • It was the supreme moment in his life.那是他一生中最重要的时刻。
  • He handed up the indictment to the supreme court.他把起诉书送交最高法院。
8 amendment Mx8zY     
n.改正,修正,改善,修正案
参考例句:
  • The amendment was rejected by 207 voters to 143.这项修正案以207票对143票被否决。
  • The Opposition has tabled an amendment to the bill.反对党已经就该议案提交了一项修正条款。
9 ethnic jiAz3     
adj.人种的,种族的,异教徒的
参考例句:
  • This music would sound more ethnic if you played it in steel drums.如果你用钢鼓演奏,这首乐曲将更具民族特色。
  • The plan is likely only to aggravate ethnic frictions.这一方案很有可能只会加剧种族冲突。
10 bolster ltOzK     
n.枕垫;v.支持,鼓励
参考例句:
  • The high interest rates helped to bolster up the economy.高利率使经济更稳健。
  • He tried to bolster up their morale.他尽力鼓舞他们的士气。
11 tedder 2833afc4f8252d8dc9f8cd73b24db55d     
n.(干草)翻晒者,翻晒机
参考例句:
  • Jim Tedder has more. 吉姆?特德将给我们做更多的介绍。 来自互联网
  • Jim Tedder tells us more. 吉姆?泰德给我们带来更详细的报道。 来自互联网

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