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U.S. President Barack Obama is ordering the most sweeping overhaul of the immigration system in decades, despite the fact that Republicans claim he is acting illegally by moving unilaterally to shield five million undocumented immigrants. |
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美國總統歐巴馬下令針對移民制度做出數十年來最大規模的修改，儘管共和黨聲稱他單方面採取措施庇護五百萬無證移民的做法是違法的舉動。 |
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Obama rejected accusations by conservatives that he is offering a free pass to undocumented immigrants and warned in a prime-time address that he would bolster border security and make it harder for unauthorized outsiders to get into the country. |
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歐巴馬反駁了保守派聲稱他縱容無證移民的指控，並且在一場黃金時段的電視演說中提出警告，表示他會加強邊境安全措施，讓未經許可的外國人士更難進入美國。 |
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"Today our immigration system is broken, and everybody knows it," Obama said. "It's been this way for decades, and for decades we haven't done much about it." |
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「如今，我們的移民制度已千瘡百孔，而且大家也都知道，」歐巴馬說：「這種情形已經存在數十年之久，而我們在這數十年來卻都沒有採取什麼行動。」 |
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Obama is pressing ahead and making broad changes to the immigration system without the consent of Congress, which has failed to pass a comprehensive reform bill. |
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The announcement prompted an angry response from House Speaker John Boehner. |
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由於國會沒有通過一項全面性的改革法案，歐巴馬在沒有獲得國會同意的情況下堅決對移民制度做出廣泛改變。這項宣布引來了眾議院議長約翰．貝納的憤怒回應。 |
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"By ignoring the will of the American people, President Obama has cemented his legacy of lawlessness and squandered what little credibility he had left," Boehner said. "Republicans are left with the serious responsibility of upholding our oath of office." |
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「歐巴馬總統無視美國人民的意志，確立了他目無法紀的歷史定位，也浪擲他僅存微乎其微的可信度，」貝納表示：「共和黨因此必須負起維護我們的就職誓言的重責大任。」 |
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A key element of Obama's plan is to instruct immigration authorities to target those undocumented immigrants who are dangerous rather than law-abiding undocumented parents of U.S. citizens and residents and others. |
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歐巴馬的計畫當中有一項關鍵要素，就是指示移民當局針對危險的無證移民，而不是美國公民、居民等等這些人無證但守法的父母。 |
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He said they will go after "felons, not families; criminals, not children; gang members, not a mom who's working hard to provide for her kids." |
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他說，他們將會追捕「重罪犯，而不是家庭；犯罪人士，而不是兒童；幫派份子，而不是努力工作賺錢養育子女的母親」。 |
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The changes will offer those who qualify the chance to stay temporarily in the country for three years, as long as they pass background checks and pay back taxes, but they will not be offered a path to eventual citizenship or be eligible for federal benefits or health care programs. |
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And, in theory, the measures could be reversed by a future president. |
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這些改變將會為合格人士提供在美國暫時停留三年的機會，只要他們通過背景調查並且償付欠稅。不過，他們不會因此得到取得永久公民身分的途徑，也不具備享有聯邦福利與健保方案的資格。此外，這些措施在理論上也可能遭到未來的總統撤銷。 |
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