Good evening. My journey to this stage began when I came to America at the age of 17. You see, I'm one of the 84 million Americans who are immigrants or children of immigrants. Each of us has a dream when we come here, a dream that usually has to be rewritten and always has to be repurposed. I was one of the lucky ones. My revised dream led me to the work I do today: training immigrants to run for public office and leading a movement for inclusive democracy.
晚上好。 我登上这个舞台的旅程 从我那时候我17岁 到美国开始。 我是美国公民中 八千四百万移民者 或是移民者的孩子之一。 我们每个人都心怀梦想来到美国, 一个通常会被改变 和不断调整的梦想。 我是幸运儿中的一个, 我改变的梦想使我拥有这份现在工作: 培训移民去竞选公共职位 和领导包容民主制的运动。
But I don't want you to think it was a cakewalk, that America opened its arms wide and welcomed me. It's still not doing that. And I've learned a few lessons along the way that I wanted to share with you, because I think that together we can make American democracy better and stronger.
但是我不希望你认为 让美国敞开怀抱迎接我很简单。 至今都不是这样。 这一路来我学到了一些事情 我想和你分享, 因为我认为共同努力, 我们可以让美国的民主 更好更强大。
I was born in India, the world's largest democracy, and when I was four, my family moved to Belize, the world's smallest democracy perhaps. And at the age of 17, I moved to the United States, the world's greatest democracy. I came because I wanted to study English literature. You see, as a child, I buried my nose in books, and I thought, why not make a living doing that as an adult? But after I graduated from college and got a graduate degree, I found myself moving from one less ideal job to another. Maybe it was the optimism that I had about America that made me take a while to understand that things were not going to change. The door that I thought was open was actually just slightly ajar -- this door of America that would open wide if you had the right name, the right skin color, the right networks, but could just slam in your face if you had the wrong religion, the wrong immigration status, the wrong skin color. And I just couldn't accept that.
我出生在印度, 印度是世界上最大的民主国, 然后在我四岁时 我的家庭移居伯利兹, 可能世上最小的民主国。 在我17岁那年, 我搬到到了美国, 世界上最伟大的民主国, 我踏上这片土地是为了学习英语文学, 小时候我很喜欢看书, 然后我想, 长大后为什么不以此为生呢? 但是当我大学毕业, 拿到了学位证书后, 我发现我的工作一个比一个更不理想。 可能是我对美国的乐观态度, 让我好一阵子后才明白, 事情是不会被改变的。 我曾经以为打开的那扇门, 其实只留了一些缝隙, 这扇美国大门 会敞开,如果你拥有对的名字, 对的肤色, 对的人脉, 但也可以毫不留情地关上, 如果你信奉错的宗教, 是移民身份, 拥有错的肤色, 我无法接受这些,
So I started a career as a social entrepreneur, starting an organization for young people like myself -- I was young at the time that I started it -- who traced their heritage to the Indian subcontinent. In that work, I became and advocate for South Asians and other immigrants. I lobbied members of Congress on policy issues. I volunteered on election day to do exit polling. But I couldn't vote, and I couldn't run for office. So in 2000, when it was announced that the citizenship application fee was going to more than double from 95 dollars to 225 dollars, I decided it was time to apply before I could no longer afford it. I filled out a long application, answering questions about my current and my past affiliations. And once the application was submitted, there were fingerprints to be taken, a test to study for, endless hours of waiting in line. You might call it extreme vetting. And then in December of 2000, I joined hundreds of other immigrants in a hall in Brooklyn where we pledged our loyalty to a country that we had long considered home. My journey from international student to American citizen took 16 years, a short timeline when you compare it to other immigrant stories.
因此我开启了社会企业家的生涯, 创立一个组织,为像我一样的年轻人, 那时候我还很年轻, 为了到南亚次大陆寻根的年轻人, 这个事业,我成为了南亚人 以及其他移民者的发声人, 我在政策方面说服议员, 我自愿在选举日做投票站调查。 但是我不能投票,也不能竞选职位。 所以在2000年,当政府宣布 申请美国公民的费用将要翻一倍多 从95美元升到225美元时, 我决定在我法承担费用前申请。 我填了一份长篇的申请, 回答关于我现在以及 过去的亲属关系的问题。 当申请书被提交上去后, 我还需要录入指纹, 完成一个测试, 无尽的排队。 你可以称这是严格的检验。 到了2000年的12月份 我和上百其他移民, 来到了布鲁克林的一个大厅, 在这里我们宣誓 忠诚于这个我们 早已认为是家的国家。 我从国际学生到 美国公民的旅程花了16年, 比较其他移民,算是短的了。
And soon after I had taken that formal step to becoming an American, the attacks of September 11, 2001, changed the immigration landscape for decades to come. My city, New York City, was reeling and healing, and in the midst of it, we were in an election cycle.
在我正式成为 美国公民后不久, 2001年9月11号的袭击, 改变了移民几十年的命运。 我的城市,纽约, 踌躇着,恢复着, 期间, 我们正在选举,
Two things happened as we coped with loss and recovery in New York City. Voters elected Michael Bloomberg mayor of New York City. We also adopted by ballot referendum the Office of Immigrant Affairs for the City of New York. Five months after that election, the newly elected mayor appointed me the first Commissioner of Immigrant Affairs for this newly established office.
发生了两件事情, 当我们适应纽约的损失和恢复时, 选民选举迈克尔彭博当纽约市长。 我们也通过投票记名的方式 成立了纽约市移民事务局。 选举后的五个月, 新上任的市长 指名我成为移民局这个新成立的机关 的第一个局长。
I want you to come back to that time. I was a young immigrant woman from Belize. I had basically floundered in various jobs in America before I started a community-based organization in a church basement in Queens. The attacks of September 11 sent shock waves through my community. People who were members of my family, young people I had worked with, were experiencing harassment at schools, at workplaces and in airports. And now I was going to represent their concerns in government. No job felt more perfect for me.
我想让你追溯到那个时候。 我是一个年轻的伯利兹女性移民。 我基本上在美国挣扎着做过几份工作 在我开始一个社区机构之前 在皇后区的一个教堂地下室。 911的袭击震惊了我的社区。 我的家人,我工作过的年轻人, 都遭受侵扰, 在学校,在工作场所,在机场。 然而现在我要在政府 表达他们的顾虑。 没有工作能比这更完美了。
And here are two things I learned when I became Commissioner. First, well-meaning New Yorkers who were in city government holding government positions had no idea how scared immigrants were of law enforcement. Most of us don't really know the difference, do we, between a sheriff and local police and the FBI. And most of us, when we see someone in uniform going through our neighborhoods feel curiosity, if not concern. So if you're an undocumented parent, every day when you say goodbye to your child, send them off to school and go to work, you don't know what the chances are that you're going to see them at the end of the day. Because a raid at your workplace, a chance encounter with local police could change the course of your life forever.
我当局长学会了两件事, 第一,在纽约市政府 工作的善良的公职人员, 完全不知道移民对法律的实施 有多么害怕。 绝大多数人并不知道 治安官,地方警察和FBI的区别。 大多数人,当我们看到穿着制服的人 走过我们的社区 我们会感到好奇。 所以如果你是一个未注册的父母, 每天当你对你的孩子说再见, 送他们到学校或去工作, 你不知道你会不会 在那天结束再看到他们。 因为一个对你工作场所的突然袭击, 可能遇见一个地方警察 可能永远改变你的人生。
The second thing I learned is that when people like me, who understood that fear, who had learned a new language, who had navigated new systems, when people like us were sitting at the table, we advocated for our communities' needs in a way that no one else could or would. I understood what that feeling of fear was like. People in my family were experiencing it. Young people I had worked with were being harassed, not just by classmates, but also by their teachers. My husband, then boyfriend, thought twice before he put a backpack on or grew a beard because he traveled so much.
我学会的第二件事 是当像我一样的, 能够体会那种恐惧, 学会了一种新语言, 体验过新体制的人 担任政府官员, 我们代表着其他人没有的社区需求。 我知道那种恐惧的感觉, 我家里的人正在经历这种恐惧。 我工作的年轻人被骚扰, 不仅仅被同学, 还被他们的老师。 我的丈夫,男朋友, 会在背上包或者蓄胡子之前三思, 因为他逃亡的太多了。
What I learned in 2001 was that my vote mattered but that my voice and vantage point also mattered. And it's these three things -- immigrants' votes, voices and vantage points -- that I think can help make our democracy stronger. We actually have the power to change the outcome of elections, to introduce new issues into the policy debate and to change the face of the pale, male, stale leadership that we have in our country today.
我在2001年学到 我的选票很重要, 但是我的声音和地位也很重要。 这三件事, 移民的选票,声音和地位 我认为能够帮助使我们的民主更强大。 我们有能力 改变选举的结果, 在政策辩论中引入新话题, 并改变我们国家现在有的 白色,男性,一成不变的领导人。
So how do we do that? Well, let's talk first about votes. It will come as no surprise to you that the majority of voters in America are white. But it might surprise you to know that one in three voters are black, Latino or Asian. But here's the thing: it doesn't just matter who can vote, it matters who does vote. So in 2012, half of the Latino and Asian-American voters did not vote.
所以我们该怎么做? 我们先来说说投票。 美国大多数选民都是白人, 这不会让你感到惊讶。 但是你可能会吃惊,当你了解到 三分之一的选民是黑人, 拉丁美洲裔,或亚洲人。 但事情是这样的, 不仅谁能投票重要, 谁投了票也很重要。 所以在2012年, 一半的拉丁美洲裔和亚裔美国人 没有投票。
And these votes matter not just in presidential elections. They matter in local and state elections. In 2015, Lan Diep, the eldest son of political refugees from Vietnam, ran for a seat in the San Jose City Council. He lost that election by 13 votes. This year, he dusted off those campaign shoes and went back to run for that seat, and this time he won, by 12 votes. Every one of our votes matters.
这些选票不仅对总统选举重要, 还对当地和州选举重要。 在2015年,兰迪普, 越南政治难民最年长的儿子, 竞选圣荷西市城市议员。 他13票失去了那场竞选。 今年,他卷土重来, 重新竞选那个位置, 这次他以12票赢得了竞选。 每一个选民都很重要。
And when people like Lan are sitting at the policy table, they can make a difference. We need those voices. We need those voices in part because American leadership does not look like America's residents. There are over 500,000 local and state offices in America. Fewer than 2 percent of those offices are held by Asian-Americans or Latinos, the two largest immigrant groups in our country. In the city of Yakima, Washington, where 49 percent of the population is Latino, there has never been a Latino on the city council until this year. Three newly elected Latinas joined the Yakima City Council in 2016. One of them is Carmen Méndez. She is a first-generation college student. She grew up partly in Colima, Mexico, and partly in Yakima, Washington. She's a single mother, a community advocate. Her voice on the Yakima City Council is advocating on behalf of the Latino community and of all Yakima residents. And she's a role model for her daughter and other Latinas.
当像兰这样的人能够制定政策时, 他们能够做出改变。 我们需要那些声音。 我们需要那些声音 部分因为美国的领导人 长得不像美国居民。 在美国有50万个地方和州政府官职。 低于2%的政府官职是 亚裔美国人或拉丁美洲裔, 我们国家的最大的两个移民群体。 在华盛顿州的雅基马, 49%的人口是拉丁美洲裔, 直到今年都没有 一个拉丁美洲裔城市议员。 2016年三个新竞选的 拉丁美洲裔加入了雅基马城市议会。 其中之一是卡门蒙德滋。 她是第一代大学学生。 她在墨西哥克利马州 和华盛顿州雅基马长大。 她是一个单亲妈妈,一个社区倡导者。 她在雅基马城市议会的声音 代表着拉丁美洲裔社区, 和所有雅基马居民。 她是她女儿和其他拉丁美洲裔的 道德模范。
But the third most untapped resource in American democracy is the vantage point that immigrants bring. We have fought to be here. We have come for economic and educational opportunity. We have come for political and religious freedom. We have come in the pursuit of love. That dedication, that commitment to America we also bring to public service. People like Athena Salman, who just last week won the primary for a seat in the Arizona State House. Athena's father grew up in the West Bank and moved to Chicago, where he met her mother. Her mother is part Italian, part Mexican and part German. Together they moved to Arizona and built a life. Athena, when she gets to the statehouse, is going to fight for things like education funding that will help give families like hers a leg up so they can achieve the financial stability that we all are looking for.
美国民主第三大未使用的资源 就是移民带来的有利地位。 我们为了来到这里斗争。 我们为了经济和教育机会来到这里。 我们为了政治和宗教自由来到这里。 我们为了追求爱情来到这里。 那个宣誓典礼, 那个对美国的承诺, 也把我们带向公众服务。 像雅典娜萨尔曼一样的人, 上周刚刚赢得亚利桑那州 议会位置的初选。 雅典娜的父亲在约旦河西岸长大, 搬到芝加哥, 他遇到了她的母亲。 她的母亲有意大利, 墨西哥和德国血统。 他们一起搬到亚利桑那州生活。 雅典娜,当她入驻州议会时, 会为像教育资金这样 能够帮助家庭的事情奋斗, 这样那些家庭能够实现 他们寻求已久的经济平衡。
Immigrants' votes, voices and vantage points are what we all need to work to include in American democracy. It's not just my work. It's also yours. And it's not going to be easy. We never know what putting a new factor into an equation will do. And it's a little scary. You're scared that I'm going to take away your place at the table, and I'm scared that I'm never going to get a place at the table. And we're all scared that we're going to lose this country that we know and love. I'm scared you're going to take it away from me, and you're scared I'm going to take it away from you.
移民的选票,声音和地位 是我们要共同努力 使其包括在美国民主中。 这不仅只是我的任务,也是你的。 而且这不会很简单。 我们永远不知道 在等式中加入什么 变量能够完成这个任务。 而且还有点令人害怕。 你害怕我会在政府里夺走你的位置, 然而我害怕我永远 不会成为政府公职人员。 我们都害怕 我们会失去这个 我们熟悉和热爱的国家。 我害怕你会从我手中夺走它, 你害怕我会从你手中夺走它。
Look, it's been a rough election year, a reminder that people with my immigration history could be removed at the whim of a leader. But I have fought to be in this country and I continue to do so every day. So my optimism never wavers, because I know that there are millions of immigrants just like me, in front of me, behind me and all around me. It's our country, too.
听着,今年是一个困难的竞选年, 跟我一样的移民 会被领导人的一时兴起而驱逐。 但是我曾为了这个国家奋斗过, 每天我也会继续这样做。 我的乐观不会消失, 因为我知道有百万像我一样的移民, 在我身前,身后和身边。 这也是我们的国家。
Thank you.
谢谢。
(Applause)
(鼓掌)