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。 我站上這個講台的旅程 從我17歲 來到美國時開始。 要知道,我是8400萬 美國移民中的一員 或者說是移民後代的一員。 我們中的每一個人在來到 這裡時,都有一個夢想, 一個通常需要被改寫 並且總是被賦予 新的意圖的夢想。 我是一名幸運兒。 我重新訂立的夢想 引導我從事如今的工作: 培訓移民, 讓他們能夠競選公職, 並且領導社會運動, 追求包容性民主。
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.
但是我不想讓你們認為 這是一件很容易的事情, 認為美國向我敞開懷抱 然後歡迎我。 美國現在仍然沒有那麼做。 在這個過程中, 我學到了一些經驗教訓, 想在這裡與你們分享, 因為我認為通過共同努力 我們可以讓美國的民主 更好、更強大。
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, 世界上人口最多的民主國家, 當我4歲的時候, 我的家庭搬到了伯利茲, 那裡可能是世界上 人口最少的民主國家。 我17歲的時候, 搬到了美國, 世界上最偉大的民主國家。 我來到美國因為 我想學習英文文學。 要知道,我小的時候, 總是沈浸在書本中, 我想,何不長大以後以此為生呢? 但是當我大學畢業 拿到碩士學位以後, 我發現自己從一個 不盡人意的工作跳到另一個。 也許是我對美國 過於樂觀的態度 讓我在一段時間以後才明白 這種情況是不會改變的。 我曾經認為對我敞開的大門 實際上只留了一條縫隙 -- 美國的這扇大門 是敞開的, 如果你有恰當的姓名 合適的膚色, 關鍵的人脈, 但是這扇門會在你面前 砰地一聲關上, 如果你有著不合適的 宗教信仰, 移民身份, 和膚色。 我就是沒辦法接受 那樣的事實。
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.
所以我開始自己創業, 作為社會企業家, 為像我一樣具有 印度血統的年輕人 創建一個組織 -- 我創建那個組織的時候 還很年輕。 在那份工作中,我成為了 南亞和其他移民的維權代表。 我在政策方面遊說國會議員。 我在選舉日那天做志願者, 負責選後民意調查。 但是我不能投票, 我不能競選公職。 所以在2000年, 當政府宣佈 入籍申請費將會翻倍, 從95美元到225美元, 我決定申請入籍, 以免以後負擔不起這筆費用。 我填了一張很長的申請表, 回答了我現在和過去在政治、 宗教等方面隸屬關係的問題。 一旦遞交了申請, 我需要準備採指紋, 準備考試, 還要陷入無止境的等待。 你可以把這個過程 叫作極端審查。 然後在2000年12月, 我和其他幾百名移民一起 去了布魯克林的一個禮堂, 我們在那裡承諾會盡忠於 一個我們一直視為家的國家。 我從一名國際生變為 美國公民,一共花了16年, 如果你將這段時間和其他的 移民故事相比,它很短。
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.
在我正式成為美國人 不久之後, 2001年9月11日的恐怖襲擊 改變了之後幾十年 的移民狀況。 我的城市,紐約, 很震驚,需要時間 撫平傷痛, 並且在這期間, 我們還處於大選。
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.
當我們在紐約 應對損失和復原的時候, 兩件事情發生了。 選民選擇麥克爾.彭博 作為紐約市市長。 我們也通過公投 在紐約市設立了 移民事務局。 選舉後5個月, 新上任的市長 任命我成為這個新成立的 移民事務局的 第一位局長。
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.
我想讓你們回到那個時候。 我還是來自伯利茲的 年輕女移民。 當我在皇后區 一個教堂的地下室 成立一個以社區為基礎的 組織以前, 我在美國的各種工作中掙扎。 9月11日的恐怖襲擊讓 我所屬的團體震驚。 我的家人以及 和我共事過的年輕人 在學校、工作場所和機場 被不斷騷擾。 現在我將會在政府中 代表他們發聲。 沒有其他工作比這份工作 更適合我了。
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.
我成為移民事務局局長以後, 學到了兩件事。 第一,在紐約市政府中 擔任公職的 善意的紐約人 不知道移民們多麼害怕 法律的執行。 我們中的大多數人 都不知道 地方治安官、地方警察 和聯邦調查局之間的區別。 我們大多數人 見到穿著制服的人 在我們的社區穿行的時候, 感到好奇,如果不是擔憂。 如果你是無證明文件的家長, 每天當你和你的孩子道別 送他們去學校, 然後去上班的時候, 你不知道 當一天結束的時候 你還能見到他們 的機會有多大。 因為對你工作場所的 一次突擊檢查, 你與當地警察的一次偶遇, 都可能永遠改變 你的人生軌跡。
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.
我學到的第二件事就是, 當像我這樣的人, 這種理解那種恐懼, 學會了新語言 了解了新體系的人, 聚在一起的時候, 我們會以一種其他人無法做到的 方式來我們表達我們團體的訴求。 我理解那種恐懼的 感覺是怎樣的。 我的家人曾經經歷過。 和我一起共事過的年輕人 不僅被同學 還被他們的老師騷擾過。 我的丈夫, 那時是我的男朋友, 在背上背包或者留鬍子之前 都要反覆思量 因為他出行太頻繁了。
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年學到的是 我的選票很重要 但是我的想法和 視角也很重要。 我認為正是這三樣東西 -- 移民的選票、意見 和視角 -- 可以讓我們的民主更強大。 事實上,我們有能力 改變選舉的結果, 在政策辯論中 加入新的議題, 改變我們國家現在這種 白人男性主導的 陳腐的領導風格。
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.
那麼,我們該如何做呢? 我們先來談談選票吧。 美國大多是選民 是白人的事實 一定不會讓你覺得驚訝。 但是三分之一的選民 是黑人,拉丁美裔或者亞裔 的事實可能會讓你吃驚。 事情的關鍵在這兒: 誰有權投票不重要, 重要的是誰真的投票了。 一半的拉丁美裔 和亞裔選民在2012年 沒有投票。
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.
這些選民不僅在 總統選舉中很重要, 他們在地方和各州選舉中 也很重要。 2015年,葉世麟, 一名越南政治難民的長子, 參選聖荷西市議員。 他以13票之差落選。 今年他重披戰袍 再次競選那個議席, 這一次他以12票的優勢當選。 我們的每一張選票都很重要。
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.
當像葉世麟一樣的人 參與政策制定的時候, 他們會帶來改變。 我們需要那些人發聲。 我們需要那些人的意見 一方面因為美國 領導層的結構 沒有反映美國居民的組成。 美國有超過50萬的 地方和州級職務。 那些職務中,少於2%的職位 是由亞裔或者拉丁美裔擔任的, 亞裔和拉丁美裔是我們國家 最大的兩個移民群體。 在華盛頓亞吉瓦, 49%的人都是拉丁美裔, 但在今年之前市議會中 沒有一個拉丁美裔人。 三個新當選的拉丁美裔人 在2016年加入了亞吉瓦市議會。 他們其中的一個是卡門·門德斯。 她是第一代移民,一名大學生。 她在墨西哥科力馬和 華盛頓亞吉瓦長大。 她是單親媽媽, 一位社區維權者。 她在亞吉瓦市議會上 為亞丁美裔團體 和所有亞吉瓦居民爭取權益。 她是她女兒和其他 拉丁美裔人士 的偶像。
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.
但是美國民主第三大 尚未利用的資源 是移民帶來的新視角。 我們經過奮鬥留在了這裡。 我們為了經濟和教育的 機會而來到這裡。 我們為了政治和宗教 自由而來到這裡。 我們來追求愛。 我們也把那種奉獻精神 以及對美國的責任感 帶到公共事業中。 人們喜歡雅典娜·薩爾曼, 她上個星期剛剛贏得 亞利桑那州眾議院 議員的初選。 雅典娜的爸爸長在 巴勒斯坦·以色列西岸, 然後搬到了芝加哥, 在那裡遇到了雅典娜的媽媽。 她的媽媽有義大利、 墨西哥和德國血統。 他們一起搬到了亞利桑那州, 開始新的生活。 當雅典娜進入議會大廈以後, 她會努力爭取教育資助 等資助項目, 這些資助將會幫助到 與她的家庭處境相同的家庭, 從而讓他們實現 我們都想擁有的財務穩定。
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.
我們需要把移民的選票, 意見和視角 融入美國民主。 這不僅是我的工作。 也是你們的工作。 這項任務並不容易。 我們從不知道 把一個新的因子放入 等式中會有怎樣的結果。 這有點可怕。 你怕我會搶走屬於你的位置, 我怕我永遠得不到我的位置。 我們都很害怕, 怕我們會失去這個 我們了解又熱愛的國家。 我怕你會把這樣一個 國家從我身邊帶走, 你怕我會把這樣一個 國家從你身邊帶走。
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.
瞧,今天的選舉很殘酷, 它預示著像我一樣 有移民背景的人 可能因為一個領導者的 意願而被驅逐。 但是我經過奮鬥 留在了這個國家, 以後的每一天我 都會這樣做。 我的樂觀從未減退, 因為我知道美國有 幾百萬像我一樣的移民, 在我面前,在我身後, 在我身邊。 美國也是我們的國家。
Thank you.
謝謝。
(Applause)
(掌聲)