WEEKLY ADDRESS: Celebrating Immigrant Heritage Month

WEEKLY ADDRESS: Celebrating Immigrant Heritage Month 每周电视讲话：庆祝移民传统月

WASHINGTON, DC — In this week's address, the President recognized Immigrant Heritage Month, an occasion that allows us to celebrate our origins as a nation of immigrants. The basic idea of welcoming people to our shores is central to our ancestry and our way of life. That’s why the President asked everyone to visit whitehouse.gov/NewAmericans and share stories of making it to America. And as we celebrate our heritage and our diversity, the President promised to continue to fight to fix our current broken immigration system and make it more just and more fair, strengthening America in the process. 华盛顿：在本周的讲话中，总统称移民传统月让我们有机会庆祝美国作为一个移民国家的传统。欢迎移民这一基本思想自我们的祖先开始就十分重视，也是我们的生活方式。因此，总统邀请所有人都访问whitehouse.gov/NewAmericans，在白宫网站上与大家分享自己的故事，讲述美国的发展历史。在我们庆祝这一传统和我们的民族多样性的同时，总统也承诺将继续努力修改当前问题百出的移民管理体系，使其更加公正、公平，为美国未来的发展提供动力。

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. 大家好！美国最显著的标志之一就是几乎所有的家庭都不是原生的美国家庭。我们是一个移民国家。这是我们发展动力的源泉，也是我们赖以自豪的东西。这个月是移民传统月，这是大家共同分享成为美国人的故事的机会。

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. 我记得我的外祖父母生活在堪萨斯，他们在那里相识相爱，生下了我的妈妈。这个家庭谱系可以追溯至英格兰和爱尔兰等地。他们把我抚养长大，教我基本的价值观：勤劳努力、知恩图报、推己及人。

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. 我还记得我在夏威夷的成长岁月，那里居住着各种各样的人，有夏威夷原住民，菲律宾人、日本人、中国人、葡萄牙人还有其他地方的人。在这种大融合的环境中长大塑造了今天的我。由于我的父亲不是移民，我自己也就是非裔美国人，我的妻子米歇尔和一双女儿也是如此，有些人的祖先当年带着锁链来到此地，而今才有了我们这样的家庭。

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. 这个月，我希望大家与我一起分享你的故事。登录whitehouse.gov/NewAmericans，我们希望你能讲述你或你的家人是如何来到美国的，无论你自己是移民还是你的曾曾祖父是移民都可以。

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. 当然，我们不仅仅是要庆祝这一传统，更要通过修改陈旧的移民管理体系来捍卫这一传统。两年前，参议院的民主党人和共和党人共同完成过这一使命。当时他们通过了一项基本法案，加强我们的边境保卫，减少积压案件，为已经在我国生活但未登记的移民提供获得公民身份的途径，只要他们缴纳罚金、正常纳税，守规矩按顺序办理即可。但近两年来，众议院的共和党领导人却拒绝就此事进行投票表决。

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. 因此，在这种情况下，我一直在尽我的努力调整我们的移民管理体系，使其更公正、更公平。去年秋天，我采取措施为边境安保部门提供更多资源；加强对我们的安全产生切实威胁的执法检查；对工人、员工、学生等合法移民的管理系统进行现代化改造；让更多的非注册移民从地下走出来，让他们获得法律的保护。有些人到现在还在反对这些措施。但我将继续努力为之奋斗。因为法律站在我们这边。这是正义的事业。会让美国变的更加强大。

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.” 我希望大家记住弗吉尼亚州亚历山大市的安·德摩迪。她来自爱尔兰，来美国合法居住多年。她工作努力、遵纪守法、梦想成为美国公民。去年三月，他的梦想终于成真。在她宣誓入籍之前，她给我写了一封信。在信中她说：“我们收到的批文不会改变我们的口音或肤色，但至少到这天为止，我才会觉得到家了。”

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. 当然，对安以及像她一样的移民，来到这个国家就是要追求更美好的生活，你说得对，你们到家了。通过分享我们的故事，传承我们作为移民国家的传统，我们才能让未来来到这个国家的人可以实现自己的梦想。

Thanks, and have a great weekend 谢谢大家，祝周末愉快！