Hello, and welcome back1. I'm Jim Tedder in Washington. Let's
learn2 some American English and find out some
interesting things3 about our world at the same time4.
Today
we hear about illegal immigration5 in the United
States. This is about people who have
come to live6 in America, but have not obeyed7
the country's citizenship laws8.
Then, we have another story about the
U.S. The highest court9
in the land10 has just decided that minority
students may not get11 the help they have been
given12 for years, when it comes to13
getting into college14.
Immigration and education ...two very
important subjects15 ...presented16 in
the Learning English style, are coming your way.
The United States has expelled17
about two million illegal immigrants in the five years since18
Barack Obama has been19 president. Some Americans say the Obama administration
is too aggressive20 in enforcing21 immigration
law. But others say it has not been
aggressive enough22.
Greg Chen is with the American Immigration Lawyers23
Association. He says the Obama
administration is expelling illegal immigrants from the country in record
numbers.
“Those numbers, under24
both President Bush and Obama, have increased25 steadily26
in the past decade and are currently27 at a
real high point. So overall28,
it’s important to recognize29 that the administration
has been incredibly30 robust in its enforcement
practices.”
But others say the number of people being31
expelled is down. Jon Ferre
works for the Center for Immigration Studies.
“What we need to see is a serious
commitment32 to immigration enforcement. We need to see deportation numbers actually33
going up, instead of34 going down, as they are
now. But thus far35,
the White House just doesn’t seem36 all that
serious about immigration enforcement.”
How can37 the same38 numbers be seen39 so
differently? Because of the difference
between what the government calls “returns” and “removals40.” The number of returns – immigrants seized
at the border41 and sent back home42 –
has dropped43 over the past 10 years44.
But the number of removals has risen45
to an all-time high46.
The term removals means47 immigrants
who have been officially expelled and barred from returning48 to
the United States.
Jon Ferre is concerned49
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 be50
going up slightly51. But if you look at overall deportation
numbers, which is removals plus52 returns, which occur53
along the border, you see that the numbers are actually going down.”
But Gren Chen says the government is still taking
steps against54 illegal immigration.
“The thing to recognize is that President
Obama has increased the border presence and he has made the actual
outcomes55, the consequences of having been apprehended and
deported out of the country, more severe56 by having a
greater number of removals.”
Jim Tom Haynes has worked for a long time as
an immigration lawyer. He says fewer57
new deportation cases are going to immigration courts. Such courts, he adds, already have far
more58 cases than they can deal with59.
“The cases that do get into the court60
are taking61 years to get through62.
So I think that you have fewer deportations now simply63 because
the courts can’t process all this work.”
The debate over whether64
more or less enforcement is needed65 is likely66
to influence any effort67 to reform the U.S.
immigration system. It may also
affect68 the result of the congressional elections in
November.
Vocabulary
1.
welcome back = bem-vindo de volta
2.
Let's learn = vamos aprender
3.
find out some interesting things = descobrir
algumas coisas interessantes
4.
at the same time = ao mesmo tempo
5.
illegal immigration = imigração ilegal
6.
live = morar
7.
have not obeyed = não tem obedecido
8.
citizenship laws = leis de cidadania
9.
The highest court = o tribunal mais alto
10.
land = terra, país
11.
may not get = podem não conseguir
12.
they have been given = que eles tem recebido
13.
when it comes to = quando se trata de
14.
getting into college = entrar para a faculdade
15.
subjects = assuntos
16.
presented = apresentado
17.
expelled = expulsaram
18.
since = desde
19.
has been = tem sido
20.
too aggressive = agressivo demais
21.
enforcing = impor pela lei
22.
enough = o suficiente
23.
Lawyers = advogados
24.
under = sob
25.
have increased = tem aumentado
26.
steadily = regularmente
27.
currently = atualmente
28.
overall = no geral
29.
recognize = reconhecer
30.
incredibly = incrivelmente
31.
being = sendo
32.
serious commitment = compromisso sério
33.
actually = na verdade
34.
instead of = ao invés de
35.
thus far = até agora
36.
seem = parecer
37.
How can = como pode (como é possível)
38.
same = mesmos
39.
seen = vistos
40.
removals = remoções
41.
seized at the border = apreendidos na
fronteira
42.
sent back home = enviados de volta para casa
43.
has dropped = tem caído
44.
over the past 10 years = ao longo dos ultimos
10 anos
45.
has risen = tem aumentado
46.
all-time high = o ponto mais alto
47.
means = significa
48.
barred from returning = proibidos de retornar
49.
concerned = preocupado
50.
do appear to be = parecem mesmo esta
51.
slightly = ligeiramente
52.
plus = mais
53.
occur = ocorre
54.
taking steps against = tomando medidas contra
55.
actual outcomes = resultados reais
56.
severe = rigoroso
57.
fewer = menos
58.
far more = muito mais
59.
deal with = lidar com
60.
get into the court = vão para o tribunal
61.
taking = levando
62.
get through = ser concluido
63.
simply = simplesmente
64.
whether = se (ou não)
65.
needed = necessário
66.
likely = provável
67.
effort = esforço
68.
may also affect = pode tambem afetar
