US Farmers Keep Eye on Immigration Reform

美国农场主密切关注移民改革

From VOA Learning English, this is the Agriculture Report.

这里是美国之音慢速英语农业报道。

Farmers in the United States are experiencing a shortage of people to work their fields. The workers they do have are mostly from Latin America but enter the country with false documents. Farmers say that without immigration reform, both problems will continue.

美国农场主正缺耕种土地的人手。他们急需的工人多大来自拉丁美洲，但他们都持假证件进入美国。农场主表示，如果不进行移民改革，这两个问题都将继续。

Imperial Valley is an agricultural area near the border of the western state of California and Mexico. Temperatures there are always above 38 degrees Celsius in the summer month, as a result, not much grows in the Imperial Valley at this time of year, but in the winter the fields are filled with lettuce and celery. And in the spring, farmers grow foods like cantaloupes and watermelons.

帝王谷（Imperial Valley）是西部的加利福尼亚州和墨西哥之间边境附近的一个农业区。这里夏天的气温常常在38度以上，因此，每年的这个时间帝王谷都没种什么。但在冬天，这里的田地里满是生菜和芹菜。而在春天，农场主会种植哈密瓜和西瓜等。

There is work to do in the fields in the summer, Francisco Saucedo uses farm equipment to prepare the land for planting in the autumn. He lives in Mexico and wakes up in the middle of the night everyday, so he can avoid long lines at the border crossing.

夏天地里也有活可干，弗朗西斯科·萨瑟多（Francisco Saucedo）会使用农机设备平整土地以待秋种。他住在墨西哥，每天半夜起床，这样就能避免过境的长队。

Mr Saucedo says that if he did this kind of work in Mixico, he would earn about $6 a day. But in the United States, he makes as much as $90 a day.

萨瑟多先生表示，如果在墨西哥做这类工作他每天可以赚到6美元。但在美国，他每天可以赚到多达90美元。

Farmer Larry Cox says growing and harvesting vegetables depends on immigrants or day laborers from Mexico, but he says not enough migrants are crossing the border.

农场主拉里·考克斯（Larry Cox）表示种植和收获蔬菜依赖来自墨西哥的移民或短工，但他表示越境的移居者还不够多。

"We have had a chronic shortage of help almost for the last 10 years."

他说，“最近十年我们一直存在长期的劳动力短缺。”

Larry Cox says it has been difficult getting visas to work in the United States, as a result, many farm workers from Latin America carry fake documents.

考克斯表示，获得美国工作签证一直都很难。因此许多拉丁美洲的农场工人都有假证件。

Western Growers President Tom Nassif says there are about 11 million workers in the United States with false documents, over 1 million of them work in agriculture.

西部农场主协会(Western Growers)的主席汤姆·纳斯夫（Tom Nassif）表示，美国大约有1100万携带假证件的工人，其中有100万以上从事农业。

Mr Nassif has been working with American lawmakers on immigration reform. He supports of bill to legalize the workers who are already in the United States. The bill will provide a way for the workers to become American citizens in the future. The Senate has approved the measure.

纳斯夫一直在移民改革方面同美国国会议员合作。他支持参议院让已经在美国的工人合法化的议案。该法案为工人未来成为美国公民提供了一种途径。参议院已经批准了这项措施。

The United Farm Workers Foundation represents the farm workers. It supports the Senate bill. The group's Erica Lomeli says immigration reform will improve the working conditions of many migrants.

美国农场工人基金会代表了美国的农场工人。该组织支持这项参议院议案。该组织的埃里卡·洛美莉（Erica Lomeli）表示，移民改革可以改善许多移居者的工作条件。

"So they will have a right to stand up for themselves and not be intimidated or in many states be put in slave-like positions."

她说，“这样他们就能有权利为自己维权，不会被吓到，不会在许多州被当作奴隶对待。”

American Jack Vessey owns a farm. he says without immigration reform, the labor shortage on farms will continue, as a result, he says, Americans might have to pay more for fruits and vegetables.

美国人杰克·维西(Jack Vessey)有家农场。他说如果不进行移民改革，农场的劳动力短缺就会继续，这样一来，美国人在水果和蔬菜上就得花更多钱。