川普总统希望修改美国移民政策，将接纳移民同工作技能捆绑起来。
In his recent speech to Congress, Trump said changing the way America decides who can immigrate can help the economy.
川普最近在对国会演讲中表示，修改美国的移民遴选方式会有助于经济。
"It's a basic principle that those seeking to enter a country ought to be able to support themselves financially. Yet, in America, we do not enforce this rule, straining the very public resources that our poorest citizens rely upon."
川普说：“寻求移民他国者理应能够经济自立，这是基本原则。然而在美国，我们没有执行这条原则，滥用了贫民赖以生存的公共资源。”
Trump said such a system is used successfully in Canada and Australia. Basing immigration on job skills is sometimes called a "merit-based" system. Under the current system, immigrants are taking jobs away from Americans by agreeing to work for lower pay, he said.
川普表示，这类制度在加拿大和澳大利亚得到了成功应用。基于工作技能移民有时候被称之为“选优”机制。根据目前的制度，移民通过低薪抢走了美国人的就业岗位。
It would be a major change in U.S. policy, which now gives a preference to spouses, children and parents of American citizens. In 2014, family-based immigrants made up 64 percent of all new legal permanent residents in the United States, reports the Migration Policy Institute.
这将是美国政策的一项重大变化，目前的制度对美国公民的配偶、幼儿以及父母优先。移民政策研究所报告称，2014年，美国所有新接纳的合法永久居民中，家庭移民占到了64%。
Marie Price, an immigration expert at George Washington University, said if the U.S. moves to a merit-based immigration system, it needs to do so carefully.
乔治华盛顿大学的移民专家玛丽·普莱斯（Marie Price）表示，如果美国转向“选优”移民制度，就得谨慎行事。
She noted that in Canada admission is based largely on a point system giving higher scores to people with special skills and advanced degrees. But she said many of those admitted ended up driving taxis or delivering food because they could not find jobs to meet their education skills. In some cases, professional licenses from other countries were not accepted in Canada.
她指出，加拿大接纳移民主要是基于给具有特殊技能和高学位者打高分的积分制度。但她表示，许多被接纳的移民最终以开出租车和送快餐为业，因为他们找不到符合其教育技能的工作。在某些情况下，其它国家发出的专业证书也不被加拿大所认可。
Since then, the point system has been changed so that people who can show they have job offers in Canada are given preference, said Sharyn Aiken of Queens University Law School in Canada. In addition, Canada looks at who can fill a range of jobs for which there are shortages of workers – such as child care, not just those requiring advanced college degrees, Aiken said.
加拿大皇后大学法学院的莎琳·艾肯（Sharyn Aiken）表示，自那时起，积分制度已经做出修改，能够提供加拿大聘任书的人士获得了优待。此外，加拿大还考察谁能填补一些人员短缺的工作岗位，例如儿童保育，而不仅仅是那些需要大学高等学位的岗位。
A new U.S. immigration bill
美国新移民法案
Senator Tom Cotton is a Republican from Arkansas. He has proposed a bill that would move the United States to the merit-based system proposed by Trump. His proposal would also reduce legal immigration by half -- from about one million a year to about 500,000.
参议员汤姆·科顿（Tom Cotton）是来自阿肯色州的共和党人。他提出了一项将会把美国转向川普提出的“选优”机制的法案。他的提案还会让合法移民减半，从每年100万人减少为50万人左右。
Under Cotton's bill, people with legal status in the U.S. could continue to get a preference for their children and spouses. But their parents will not get a preference.
根据科顿的提案，在美国具有合法地位的人士可以继续获得孩子和配偶移民美国的优待，但是他们的父母不能得到优待。
Cotton said many Americans believe the current immigration system helps businesses and not people. "These Americans see cheap immigrant labor as a way to enrich the wealthy while creating a near permanent underclass for whom the American dream is always just out of reach," he said.
科顿表示，许多美国人认为目前的移民机制对企业有帮助，而对人们没有帮助。他说，“这些美国人把廉价的移民劳动力视为使富人更富的途径，同时为那些永远无法实现美国梦的人士创造了一个几乎永久性的贫困阶层。”
William Stock is president of the American Immigration Lawyers Association.
威廉·斯多克（William Stock）是美国移民律师协会的主席。
He disputes Cotton's argument that the U.S. is allowing too many immigrants into the United States. Stock said the U.S. admits about one million legal immigrants a year, a lower percentage of America's population than at any time in history.
他驳斥了科顿关于美国允许太多移民进入美国的论点。斯多克表示，美国每年接纳了大约100万合法移民，这在美国人口中所占的百分比要低于历史上任何时候。
Stock also said it would be unfair to change to a merit based system for new immigrants without allowing those who have already applied for family members. He said some have been waiting 15 years or longer for a decision on their relatives.
斯多克还表示，改用“选优”机制接纳新移民，而不考虑那些已经为家人申请移民的人士，这是不公平的。他说，有些人已经为亲属移民的裁决等了15年甚至更长时间。
Stock added people calling for a merit-based immigration system should know that a promise of better wages in America will be not enough to get people to fill job openings in America. Many people will not want to move to the United States without their families -- making continuation of a family preference system important, he said.
斯多克补充说，呼吁采用“选优”移民机制的人士应该知道，美国薪酬更好的承诺不足以让人们填补美国空缺的工作机会。他说，很多人不愿意抛弃家人移民到美国，这使得维持家庭优先制度非常重要。
Trump has also followed through with his campaign promises of extreme vetting for immigrants and of building a wall along the U.S. southern border with Mexico.
川普还坚持了他的竞选承诺，对移民进行极端审查，以及在美国同墨西哥边境修建一道隔离墙。(51VOA.COM对本文翻译保留全部权利，未经授权请勿转载，违者必究！)