美国总统奥巴马每周电台演讲2015.06.07
Hi everybody. One of the remarkable things about America is that nearly all of our families originally came from someplace else. We’re a nation of immigrants. It’s a source of our strength and something we all can take pride in. And this month – Immigrant Heritage Month – is a chance to share our American stories.
I think about my grandparents in Kansas – where they met and where my mom was born. Their family tree reached back to England and Ireland and elsewhere. They lived, and raised me, by basic values: working hard, giving back, and treating others the way you want to be treated.
I think of growing up in Hawaii, a place enriched by people of different backgrounds – native Hawaiian, Filipino, Japanese, Chinese, Portuguese and just about everything else. Growing up in that vibrant mix helped shape who I am today. And while my father was not an immigrant himself, my own life journey as an African-American – and the heritage shared by Michelle and our daughters, some of whose ancestors came here in chains – has made our family who we are.
大家好。美国最显著的特征之一就是几乎所有我们的家庭都是从其它地方来的。我们是一个移民国家。这是我们的实力的源泉和我们引以为豪的。本月—移民遗产月—就是我们分享美国故事的一个机会。
我想谈谈我在堪萨斯州的姥姥姥爷—他们在那里相遇并且我的妈妈诞生在那里。他们的家谱可以追溯到英格兰和爱尔兰和其它地方。他们本着一些基本价值生活和抚养了我:勤奋工作、回报社会和待人如己。
我想谈谈在夏威夷长大,那里是一个极富来自不同背景的人们的地方—夏威夷本地人、菲律宾人、日本人、中国人、葡萄牙人以及其它一切等等。在这个充满活力的多元文化环境下成就了我的今天。尽管我的父亲自己不是移民,我自己作为一个非洲裔美国人的人生旅程—和米切尔和我们的两个女儿,还有那些祖先相即来到这里的人们继承的遗产—使我们的家庭有了今天。
This month, I’m inviting you to share your story, too. Just visit whitehouse.gov/NewAmericans. We want to hear how you or your family made it to America – whether you’re an immigrant yourself or your great-great-grandparents were.
Of course, we can’t just celebrate this heritage, we have to defend it – by fixing our broken immigration system. Nearly two years ago, Democrats and Republicans in the Senate came together to do that. They passed a commonsense bill to secure our border, get rid of backlogs, and give undocumented immigrants who are already living here a pathway to citizenship if they paid a fine, paid their taxes, and went to the back of the line. But for nearly two years, Republican leaders in the House have refused to even allow a vote on it.
That’s why, in the meantime, I’m going to keep doing everything I can to make our immigration system more just and more fair. Last fall, I took action to provide more resources for border security; focus enforcement on the real threats to our security; modernize the legal immigration system for workers, employers, and students; and bring more undocumented immigrants out of the shadows so they can get right with the law. Some folks are still fighting against these actions. I’m going to keep fighting for them. Because the law is on our side. It’s the right thing to do. And it will make America stronger.
本月,我也将邀请你们分享你们的故事。访问whitehouse.gov/NewAmericans网站吧。我们想听听你们或你们的家庭是如何来到美国的—无论你本人是移民或你们的祖辈是移民。
当然,我们不能仅仅欢庆这个遗产,我们必须捍卫它—通过修补我们的破损的移民体系。近两年前,参议院的民主党人和共和党人就已经共同做这件事了。他们通过了一个正确的法案确保我们的边境安全、处理了大量积压问题并且给已经在此生活的无证移民们成为公民的途径—如果他们缴纳罚款、缴税和排队等候了。但是近两年以来,众议院的共和党领导人甚至一直拒绝就此投票。
这就是为什么,与此同时,我将继续竭尽全力使我们的移民体系越来越公正和公平。去年秋天,我采取行动给了边界安全更多资源;致力于对我们的安全的真正威胁的执法;使工人们、雇主们和学生们的移民体系现代化;并且使更多无证移民走出阴影得到合法权利。有些人还在竭力反对这些行动。我将继续为之奋斗。因为法律站在我们一边。这是正确的事。它将使美国更加强大。
I want us to remember people like Ann Dermody from Alexandria, Virginia. She’s originally from Ireland and has lived in America legally for years. She worked hard, played by the rules and dreamed of becoming a citizen. In March, her dream came true. And before taking the oath, she wrote me a letter. “The papers we receive…will not change our different accents [or] skin tones,” Ann said. “But for that day, at least, we’ll feel like we have arrived.”
Well, to Ann and immigrants like her who have come to our shores seeking a better life – yes, you have arrived. And by sharing our stories, and staying true to our heritage as a nation of immigrants, we can keep that dream alive for generations to come.
Thanks, and have a great weekend
我希望我们不要忘了来自弗吉尼亚州的亚历山大的Ann Dermody一样的人们。她的原籍是爱尔兰,在美国合法生活多年了。她辛勤工作、遵纪守法梦想成为公民。在三月份,她的梦想实现了。在宣誓之前,她给我写了一封信。“我们得到的公民证件不会改变我们的不同口音或肤色,” Ann 说。“但是为了这一天,至少我们感觉已经圆梦了。”
好,Ann以及和她一样来到我国谋求更好的生活的人们—是啊,你们已经圆梦了。通过分享你们的故事、弘扬我们作为一个移民国家的遗产,我们就可以让这个梦想照进未来的几代人。
谢谢,周末快乐。