American citizenship, part I

American citizenship   audio     

  

Welcome to THIS IS AMERICA in VOA Special English. I’m Faith Lapidus. And I’m Steve Ember. Today we have the second of two programs on theissue of immigration in America.

1. An estimated eleven million or more people are living in the United States illegally. What to do about them is at the heart of the debate overimmigration reform. Yet questions about legal immigrants also remain unanswered.

2. For example, should the United States open its doors to more skilled workers? Many employers would like that. Or should Congress lower thecurrent limits, to get employers to hire more American citizens? Or would that only lead them to move more jobs to other countries.

3. What about a temporary worker program, as President Bush proposed? Or what about welcoming more skilled workers but fewer less educated immigrants? Or would that beseen as unfair in the land of the American dream?

4. Congress tried to pass an immigration reform bill last year. But the Senate was unable to reach agreement. So, in place of legislative action, the administration announced newmeasures to increase border security and immigration enforcement.

5. The steps include more workplace raids to catch illegal immigrants and higher civil fines for their employers. Immigrant rights activists say stronger enforcement makeseven legal immigrants fearful of being treated with suspicion.

6. But activists against illegal immigration say providing for millions of people has a huge cost for public services. An activist in California says that state could be using the money to work on bridges and other public structures at risk from earthquakes.

7. In two thousand six, Congress passed the Secure Fence Act to build hundreds of kilometers of additional fencing along the southern border. The reasoning goes that secure borders with Mexico and Canada will help keep out illegal immigrants as well as drugs and terrorists.

8. But securing thousands of kilometers of borderline is easier said than done. A high-tech "virtual fence" using sensors, cameras and radar systems has met with technical problems in a test project in Arizona.

9. We talked a lot last week about illegal immigration. But how can someone legally move to the United States? Listeners often ask this question. There are five ways to become a permanent resident. But the process can be difficult and involve much waiting.

10. A permanent resident is a foreign-born person who has most of the same rights as an American citizen. Permanent residents can work but they cannot vote or hold politicaloffice. They can also face expulsion in addition to any other punishment if they are found guilty of a serious crime.

11. Proof of permanent residency is a small identification card commonly known as a green card. The current color is light red. But the card was green once and the name stuck. Green cards come from United States Citizenship and Immigration Services, an agency in the Department of Homeland Security.

13. Christopher Bentley is an agency spokesman. He says most people immigrate to the United States these days through family sponsorship. This means that a family memberalready in the United States takes responsibility for the immigrant.

14. Sponsors must be United States citizens or permanent residents. In addition, they must be at least eighteen years old and a blood relation of the person seeking residency.

15. Chris Bentley says immediate relatives can immigrate without waiting. Immediate relatives include parents and unmarried children under the age of twenty-one. Other relatives can also come to the United States but they must wait for their visas. This can take, in some cases, as long as twelve to fifteen years.

16. People who marry American citizens are also immediate relatives. But they receive a conditional green card at first. It can be made permanent after two years if investigators aresatisfied that the marriage was not just for immigration purposes.

17. Sponsors must meet financial requirements and accept responsibility for the immigrants they are sponsoring. This financial responsibility continues until the immigrant becomes a citizen, or works in the United States for about ten years or moves away.

Vocabulary

1. against = contra
2. age = idade
3. Already = já
4. As = como
5. as long as = por volta de
6. as well as = assim como
7. at first = no início
8. at least = pelo menos
9. at the heart of = no centro de
10. Become = tornar-se
11. bill = projeto de lei
12. blood relation = parente consanguíneo
13. border = fronteira
14. bridges = pontes
15. cannot = não podem
16. catch = apanhar
17. children = filhos
18. Citizens = cidadãos
19. Citizenship = didadania
20. Commonly = comumente
21. Current = atual
22. earthquakes = terremotos
23. easier = mais fácil
24. Employers = empregadores
25. enforcement = reforço, aplicação de uma lei
26. even = até mesmo
27. face = enfrentar
28. fearful = temeroso
29. Fence = cerca, muro
30. Fewer = menos
31. fines = multas
32. foreign-born = nascido no exterior
33. guilty = culpado
34. has met with = deparou-se com
35. higher = mais alto(a)
36. high-tech = de alta tecnologia
37. Hire = contratar
38. hold = possuir
39. Homeland = pátria
40. huge = imenso
41. in addition to = além de
42. in place of = no lugar de
43. increase = aumentar
44. Issue = questão
45. Jobs = empregos
46. keep out = manter do lado de fora
47. known as = conhecido como
48. land = terra

49. Lead = levar a, conduzir
50. Listeners = ouvintes
51. Lower = diminuir
52. marriage = casamento
53. marry = casar-se com
54. Means = significa
55. measures = medidas
56. meet = atender a
57. must be = devem ser
58. office = cargo
59. Often = frequentemente
60. once = outrora,. uma vez
61. over = sobre
62. Proof = prova
63. providing = provisionamento, abastecimento
64. punishment = punição
65. purposes = propósitos
66. raids = incursão, batida
67. reach agreement = chegar a um acordo
68. Reasoning = raciocínio
69. relatives = parentes
70. Remain = permanecem
71. requirements = exigências
72. rights = direitos
73. satisfied = satisfeitos
74. seeking = buscando
75. seen as = visto como
76. Should = deveria
77. Skilled = qualificado
78. Spokesman = porta-voz
79. Sponsors = responsável por, fiador, padrinho
80. Sponsorship = apadrinhamento, patrocínio
81. steps = passos
82. stronger = mais forte
83. take = levar
84. the name stuck = o nome “pegou”
85. Through = através de
86. unable = incapaz
87. Unanswered = sem respostas
88. unfair = injusto
89. unmarried = solteiro(a)
90. until = até
91. visas = vistos
92. Waiting = espera
93. Welcoming = acolher
94. What about = que tal
95. workplace = local de trabalho
96. Yet = porém