奥巴马宣布大规模移民改革方案
President Barack Obama has unveiled the biggest changes to the US immigration system in decades, removing the threat of deportation hanging over nearly 5m people but intensifying a fierce battle with Republicans over the limits of his power.
美国总统巴拉克•奥巴马(Barack Obama)公布了美国移民制度几十年来最大规模的改革方案，让近500万人免受被驱逐出境威胁。不过，此举也进一步激化了他与共和党人在其权限问题上的争端。In a high-profile televised address, Mr Obama appealed directly to America’s history as a nation of immigrants, saying allowing unauthorised immigrants with long-term ties to the US to “come out of the shadows and get right with the law” was part of the American ideal.
在一次备受关注的电视讲话中，奥巴马回顾了美国作为移民国家的历史，并表示，让那些与美国建立了长期联系的非法移民“不再生活在阴影中，得到法律认可”是美国理想的一部分。
“For all the back-and-forth of Washington, we have to remember that this debate is about something bigger. It’s about who we are as a country, and who we want to be for future generations,” the president said.
奥巴马计划为美国许多非法移民授予临时法律地位，这些移民的人数估计高达1100万。这一计划是美国现代历史上对移民问题动用总统权力最为激进的一次，并引发了共和党人的愤怒反弹。
“Are we a nation that tolerates the hypocrisy of a system where workers who pick our fruit and make our beds never have a chance to get right with the law?”
在11月中期选举中取得了一系列压倒性胜利之后，共和党人将从明年1月开始执掌美国国会参众两院。对于奥巴马绕开国会，就移民改革采取单边行动的决定，资深共和党人誓要迅速予以强硬回应。Mr Obama’s plan to grant temporary legal status to a large chunk of America’s estimated 11m unauthorised immigrants is the most sweeping use of presidential authority on the issue in modern US history, and has already prompted a furious backlash from the GOP.
美国政府高级官员表示，白宫在周四勾勒出的改革计划将令逾400万非法移民免遭驱逐出境。这些人除了是美国公民或合法永久居民的父母之外，还要满足在美国居留了5年以上的条件。根据这一计划，他们还将有权获得工作许可。With the party set to take charge of both the Senate and the House of Representatives in January after a stunning series of wins in November’s midterm elections, senior Republicans have vowed to respond immediately and forcefully to the president’s decision to bypass Congress and take unilateral action on immigration reform.
其他改革举措还会影响到另外几十万人，其中包括了部分来自国外的熟练技术员工——尽管硅谷企业的呼吁并未全部得到满足。此前，这些硅谷企业曾游说要求发放更多工作许可。While some members of the party are still pushing for a government shutdown similar to the one it precipitated last year over the president’s equally contentious healthcare law, other senior figures are advocating a more measured tone.
其他商业团体对该计划却反应冷淡。他们警告说，这些改革措施弊大于利，原因是它们会降低更大范围立法改革的可能性。而后者才能促进劳工市场的发展、提高消费以及增加税收。“He needs to understand something,” said Mitch McConnell, the incoming Republican Senate majority leader, on Thursday. “If President Obama acts in defiance of the people and imposes his will on the country, Congress will act.”
奥巴马政府高级官员表示，此举将有助于美国经济，并为美国家庭带来更多安全感。不过，共和党人却抨击奥巴马越权，并批评他奖励的是那些违反美国法律的人。The White House plans outlined on Thursday will shield more than 4m unauthorised immigrants from deportation, said senior administration officials. They are the parents of US citizens or legal permanent residents who have been in the country for more than five years and will also become eligible for work permits.
对于与高科技有关的移民，白宫表示，将努力帮助在美国大学学习科学技术的外国学生毕业后留在美国，不过具体细节仍有待研究。Other changes will affect several hundreds of thousands more people – including some highly skilled tech workers from overseas, although Silicon Valley companies that had lobbied for more work permits will not get everything they called for.
此外，针对那些能证明他们拥有创业计划并能找到投资者，从而能开办企业增加就业的外国创业者，美国政府还设立了一种“有条件许可(parole)”项目。
