数说｜谁来解开那些美国移民面临的“不等式”？

For the millions of immigrants living in the United States, nothing less than opportunities equal to the rest of the population is what they rightfully deserve, just as is enshrined in the national ethos of "American dream."

对于生活在美国的成千上百万移民来说，他们理应得到与土生土长的美国人平等的机会，这也是美国梦作为美国国家精神的内涵所在。

In his 1931 book The Epic of America, the author and historian James Truslow Adams, who later popularized the phrase "American dream," defined it as one of social order in which each man and woman shall be able to attain their fullest capabilities, and be recognized by others for who they are, regardless of their place of birth. 

在1931年出版的著作《美利坚史诗》中，作家和历史学家詹姆斯·亚当斯——就是那个让美国梦这个概念传遍全球的人——将其定义为一种社会秩序，身处其中的每一个男人和女人都能各尽其才，获得他人认同，无论他们生于何地。

But in America today, does place of birth really not matter, and can immigrants still keep their faith in an "American dream" that promised legality, opportunity and equality?

但是在今天的美国，生于何地是否真的不再重要，移民们是否还能继续相信，那个曾经承诺给予他们合法性、机会和平等的美国梦？

To start with, let's dig into the issue of legality. Historical U.S. census data suggests, since the Immigration and Nationality Act was signed into law in 1965, the share of immigrants in the U.S. population nearly tripled from 4.7 percent in 1970 to 13.7 percent in 2019. 

首先，让我们聚焦于合法性的问题。美国人口普查的历史数据显示，自1965年《移民和国籍法案》通过以来，美国人口中的移民比例几乎翻了三倍，从1970年的4.7%增长到2019年的13.7%。

The number of unauthorized immigrants also tripled, from 3.5 million in 1990 to 10.5 million in 2017, though slightly down from the peak in 2007 but still accounting for nearly a quarter of the total U.S. immigrant population in 2017. 

同时翻了三倍的还有非注册移民的数量，从1990年的350万增长到2017年1050万。虽然较2007年的峰值略有下降，但仍占到2017年美国移民总人口的近四分之一。

Although unauthorized immigrants enter the U.S. illegally, a survey conducted by Pew Research Center in 2020 suggests there is strong public support, equal to three quarters of the population, for them to stay in the U.S. legally if certain requirements are met. 

诚然，非注册移民非法进入美国。但是，皮尤研究中心2020年的调查数据显示，在美国仍然有强烈的民意——相当于四分之三的美国人——支持非注册移民在满足条件的情况下合法留在美国。

But even for those who have already gained legal status in the U.S., their pathways for advancement are actually very slim. Take the 117th Congress as an example. There are in total only 18 foreign-born lawmakers, representing just three percent of all the 541 members in Congress, far below the historical high of about 10 percent in the 1st Congress in 1789. 

然而，即便是那些已经获得合法身份的移民，他们在美国的晋级道路实际上也十分狭窄。以第117届美国国会为例，移民议员总计只有18位，仅占全部541位国会议员的3%，大幅低于1789年第一届美国国会近10%的历史最高点。

Secondly, in terms of opportunity and equality, there remains a huge gap between immigrants and the population born within the U.S. when it comes to the attainment of basic education. 

第二，在机会平等方面，移民与土生土长的美国人之间仍然存在着巨大差距，从基础教育资源的获取上就可见一斑。

Data from the 2018 American Community Survey shows that 27 percent of immigrants in the U.S. had not attained high school education, compared with only eight percent of the U.S.-born population. 

2018年美国社区调查的数据显示，移民中有27%尚未受过高中教育，而这个比例在土生土长的美国人中只有8%。

Immigrants from Mexico and Central America, amongst all, are the least likely to reach high school education, partly because they are also the main groups of unauthorized immigrants in the U.S., to whom the educational system cannot be easily accessed. 

其中，墨西哥和中美洲的移民接受高中教育的可能性最低。部分原因是，他们同时也是非注册移民的最大主体。对他们来说，进入教育系统并不那么容易。

Thirdly, a similar gap exists in the job market, as immigrants in the U.S. are disproportionately represented in low-skilled industries, while the people born in the U.S. are more likely to be employed in high-skilled jobs.

第三，类似的鸿沟也存在于就业市场。比如说，移民更多地分布在技术含量较低的产业之中，而土生土长的美国人则更可能从事技术含量较高的工作。

According to Pew Research Center's estimates from the 2017 American Community Survey, immigrants, either legal or unauthorized, accounted for 29 percent of the total workforce in agriculture, 25 percent in construction, 22 percent in household services, and 20 percent in both hospitality and manufacturing, all of which far exceed the 13.7 percent immigrant share of the total U.S. population in 2017. 

根据皮尤研究中心对2017年美国社区调查数据的估算，移民——无论是合法的还是非注册的——共同贡献了农业劳动力的29%，建筑业的25%，家政业的22%，以及服务业和制造业的20%。以上这些都要远超2017年美国人口中13.7%的移民比例。

Moreover, data also shows that in almost all high-skilled jobs, except the mechanical ones, U.S.-born workers have enjoyed a comfortable lead over immigrants, which partly explains the average wage gap between the two groups, that is, 21.5 dollars per hour for U.S.-born workers and 20 dollars per hour for immigrants, data from 2021 reveals. 

此外，在除机械制造类的几乎所有高技术职业中，土生土长的美国人的就业机会也都轻松领先于移民。这也部分解释了二者之间存在的平均工资差异——即在2021年，土生土长的美国人平均每小时挣21.5美元，而移民平均每小时只挣20美元。

So, it is fair to say that the legality, opportunity and equality that the "American dream" has promised for immigrants are far from being fulfilled. In a Global Attitudes Survey conducted in 2020, which asked if being born in the U.S. was important to being "truly American," 35 percent of Americans still said yes, which summarized the reality of an inequitable life between immigrants and U.S.-born Americans. 

所以，平心而论，合法性、机会和平等——这些美国梦的美好承诺——在移民身上还远远没有兑现。在一项2020年开展的全球态度调查中，当被问到“是否出生在美国才是真正的美国人”，35%的美国人仍然回答：是。这也充分说明了移民和土生土长的美国人之间不平等的现实。

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