美國移民新規：依賴公共福利者難獲綠卡
美國聯邦政府12日發佈限制合法移民新規定，提高移民在美長期合法居留經濟門檻，凡被發現可能成爲“公共負擔”的外國公民或被禁止進入美國或調整移民身份。這項規定將於今年10月15日生效。
US President Donald Trump's administration is to make it more difficult for poorer legal migrants to extend their visas or gain permanent resident status (a green card).
美國政府將加大貧困合法移民申請續簽簽證或獲得永久居民身份（綠卡）的難度。
The rule targets migrants who rely on public benefits, such as food aid or public housing, for more than a year.
這項規定針對的是那些依賴食品券和公共住房等公共福利生活超過一年的移民。
Their applications will be rejected if the government decides they are likely to rely on public assistance in future.
如果政府認爲他們未來可能依賴公共援助，其申請將被拒絕。
The rule change would reinforce "ideals of self-sufficiency," officials said.
有官員表示，這一規則的改變將強化“自給自足的理念”。
self-sufficiency['selfsə'fiʃənsi]：n.自給自足
Anyone who relies on one or more publicly funded social safety net benefits, such as Medicaid or food stamps, is known as a “public charge.”
任何依賴一項或多項公共社會保障福利（如醫療補助計劃或食品券）的人都被視爲“公共負擔”。
According to this rule, an immigrant will be designated as a “public charge” if that person “receives one or more designated public benefits for more than 12 months in the aggregate within any 36-month period.”
根據規定，在任意36個月內，“累計領取一項或多項指定公共福利超過12個月”的移民將被視爲“公共負擔”。
The new regulation, known as a "public charge rule", was published in the Federal Register on Monday and will take effect on October 15.
這項“公共負擔”新規於週一（8月12日）發表在《聯邦公報》上，將於10月15日生效。
哪些人會受此影響？
Immigrants who are already permanent residents in the US are unlikely to be affected by the rule change.
已經是美國永久居民的移民不太可能受到新規的影響。
Undocumented immigrants would not be affected -- unless an avenue opens up for them to apply for green cards or visas since they are largely ineligible for public aid.
非法移民不會受到影響，除非他們有機會申請綠卡或簽證，因爲他們大部分沒有資格獲得公共援助。
It also does not apply to refugees and asylum applicants.
這項新規也不適用於難民和庇護申請人。
But applicants for visa extensions, green cards or US citizenship will be subject to the change.
但申請續簽簽證、綠卡或美國公民身份的人將受此影響。
Those who do not meet income standards or who are deemed likely to rely on benefits such as Medicaid (government-run healthcare) or housing vouchers in future may be blocked from entering the country.
那些收入不達標或被認爲未來可能依賴醫療補助計劃（政府醫療保健）或住房券等福利的人可能被禁止入境。
Those already in the US could also have their applications rejected.
已經身在美國的人，申請也可能會被拒絕。
An estimated 22 million legal residents in the US are without citizenship, and many of these are likely to be affected.
據估計，美國約有2200萬合法居民沒有公民身份，其中許多人可能會受到影響。
Civil rights groups have said the move unfairly targets low-income immigrants. The National Immigration Law Center (NILC) has said it will sue the Trump administration to stop the regulation from taking effect.
民權組織表示，此舉專門針對低收入移民，有失公允。美國國家移民法律中心表示，將起訴特朗普政府，以阻止該規定生效。
But the White House said the current system favors immigrants with family ties rather than those who "are self-sufficient and do not strain our public resources".
但白宮方面表示，目前的移民體系更青睞在美國有家庭關係的移民，而不是那些“自給自足、不會造成公共資源緊張”的移民。
新規與特朗普政府移民政策一致
Since his inauguration, Mr Trump has cut the number of refugees admitted to the US each year. The White House blocked a Senate compromise immigration proposal in January 2018 in part because it did not include changes to the legal immigration system.
自就職以來，特朗普每年都在削減進入美國的難民人數。2018年1月，白宮否決了參議院的移民提案，部分原因是提案未包括對合法移民體系的改革，而這一提案是此前兩黨妥協的結果。
inauguration [ɪ,nɔːgjʊ'reɪʃ(ə)n]：n.就職典禮
Now the administration is making it more difficult for less affluent individuals to obtain legal US residency - or perhaps even enter the country at all.
如今，特朗普政府加大了經濟能力較差的個人獲得美國合法居留權的難度，他們甚至可能根本無法入境。
This sets up an election clash next year between a president sharpening and broadening his immigration rhetoric and Democrats, many of whom have said they believe all immigrants, legal or otherwise, should be eligible for public aid.
這將在明年的美國總統大選中引發一場衝突，一方是正在強化和擴大其移民言論的總統，另一方是民主黨人。許多民主黨人曾表示，他們認爲所有移民，無論合法與否，都應有資格得到公共援助。
爲什麼要頒佈移民新規？
President Trump has made immigration a central theme of his administration. This latest move is part of his government's efforts to curb legal immigration.
特朗普總統將移民問題作爲政府的中心議題。這是其減少合法移民數量的最新舉措。
"To protect benefits for American citizens, immigrants must be financially self-sufficient," a White House statement read after the rule change was announced.
在新規公佈後，白宮發表聲明稱：“爲了保護美國公民的利益，移民必須在經濟上自給自足。”
It said two-thirds of immigrants entering the US "do so based on family ties rather than on skill or merit".
聲明稱，三分之二的移民“基於家庭關係，而不是技能或優勢”進入美國。
Ken Cuccinelli, the acting director of the US Citizenship and Immigration Service, announced the regulation at a press conference on Monday.
週一（8月12日），美國公民及移民服務局代理局長肯•庫奇內利在新聞發佈會上宣佈了這一規定。
He said finances, education, age, and the level of an applicant's English-language skills will all be considered in green card applications. "No one factor alone" will decide a case, he added.
他說，經濟、教育、年齡和申請者的英語水平都將被視爲綠卡申請的考量因素。他補充說，“不會單憑某一個因素”決定一個申請是否通過。
“We expect people of any income to stand on their own two feet,” Cuccinelli said on Monday.
他表示：“我們希望所有收入階層的人們都能夠自食其力。”
The Trump administration has also cracked down on illegal immigration. Last week, about 680 people were arrested in Mississippi on suspicion of being undocumented migrants.
特朗普政府也對非法移民進行打擊。上週，密西西比州約有680人因涉嫌非法移民而被捕。
The number of would-be migrants apprehended at the US southern border with Mexico has been rising over the last two years.
過去兩年，在美國南部與墨西哥邊境被捕的潛在移民人數一直在上升。
apprehend[æprɪ'hend]：vt.逮捕
However, the number of undocumented immigrants in the US is falling, according to recent analysis from the Pew Research Center.
然而，皮尤研究中心最新分析顯示，美國的非法移民人數正在下降。
In May, President Trump put forward proposals for a new skills-based immigration system, designed to favor younger, better educated, English-speaking workers.
今年5月，特朗普總統提出了一項以技能爲基礎的新移民體系提案，旨在吸引更年輕、受教育程度更高、會說英語的人移民美國。
新規會產生“寒蟬效應”？
The 837-page rule applies to those seeking to come to or remain in the United States via legal channels and is expected to impact roughly 382,000 people seeking to adjust their immigration, according to the Department of Homeland Security. However, immigration advocates say millions of people could be affected by the regulation.
根據美國國土安全部的數據，這項長達837頁的規定適用於那些尋求通過合法途徑來美國或定居美國的人，預計將影響約38.2萬打算調整移民身份的人。然而，移民支持者表示，這一新規可能影響到數百萬人。
New York Attorney General Letitia James announced Monday evening that she plans to sue to block the rule.
紐約司法部長莉蒂夏·詹姆斯週一晚間宣佈，她計劃提起訴訟，阻止這項規定實施。
Immigrant advocates have argued that the rule goes beyond what Congress intended and would discriminate against those from poorer countries, keep families apart and prompt legal residents to forgo needed public aid, which could also impact their US citizen children.
移民維權人士辯稱，該規定超出了國會的本意，是對來自較貧窮國家移民的歧視，使家庭分離，還會導致合法居民放棄必要的公共援助，或將影響其美國公民子女。
forgo [fɔː'gəʊ; fə-]：vi.放棄；停止
They also said it would penalize even hard-working immigrants who only need a small bit of temporary assistance from the government.
他們還表示，即使是辛勤工作、只需要政府提供少許臨時援助的移民，也會處於不利境地。
About one in seven adults in immigrant families reported that either the person or a family member did not participate in a non-cash safety net program last year because of fear of risking his or her green card status in the future, an Urban Institute study found.
美國城市研究所調查發現，在移民家庭中，約七分之一的成年人表示，由於擔心將來失去綠卡，去年自己或家人沒有參加非現金保障計劃。
