美国国家公共电台 NPR Fear Of Deportation Or Green Card Denial Deters Some Parents From Getting Kids Care

 

SCOTT SIMON, HOST:

Fear is leading many immigrant families to cut their ties with health care and other critical government programs. Researchers in Texas say that's one reason why there are more children going without health insurance. Ashley Lopez of member station KUT has the story of one family that is avoiding care even though a little girl needs treatment.

ASHLEY LOPEZ, BYLINE¹: Ana lives in central Texas with her husband and two kids. Danny is a playful, healthy toddler. Sara is 9 years old and was diagnosed with autism a few years ago. Ana says at first it was unclear what was wrong with Sara exactly. When she acted out, it was really hard to calm her down.

ANA: (Speaking Spanish).

LOPEZ: "To other people, Sara just seemed spoiled or a brat," Ana says. After the diagnosis², though, Ana felt a little lost about what to do next. She went to a nonprofit in Austin that helps parents whose children have disabilities. It's called Vela, which means candle in Spanish. There, Ana learned about all these different therapies Sara could get through Medicaid, therapies that would help her communicate better, among other things. But that was right around the time of Trump³'s election, and immigrants like Ana were nervous.

ANA: (Speaking Spanish).

LOPEZ: "I'm looking for groups who are not associated with the government," she says. Ana entered the country without documentation about 10 years ago, so that's why we aren't using her last name. Both her kids were born in the U.S. and automatically got Medicaid coverage⁴. But ever since President Trump took office, Ana has only been using it for the kids' checkups and vaccinations⁵.

ANA: (Speaking Spanish).

LOPEZ: "I'm afraid they will not give me a legal resident status," she says. Ana's husband has a green card, and she's in the process of getting one, too, but the rules could be changing. The Trump administration wants to make it harder for people to get a green card if they use government services or even if they might use them in the future. And so Ana and her husband have decided⁶, just to be safe, not to seek out any more help from the government, even if her daughter, who is a citizen, needs more therapy than she's getting right now.

ANA: (Speaking Spanish).

LOPEZ: "I feel bad doing that," Ana says. For Ana, treating her daughter's autism would be great, but there's nothing more important than keeping the family together. Nadine Reub (ph) works with Ana at Vela. She says she's seeing this a lot.

NADINE REUB: I'm running into families that when it's time for re-enrollment or re-application, they're pausing, and they're questioning if they should.

LOPEZ: Reub says immigrants are foregoing government services for lots of reasons. Some are trying to stay under the radar⁷ to avoid immediate⁸ deportation⁹. Others are more like Ana. They just want to be in the best position possible to finally get legal status and move on with their lives. And in Texas, a quarter of children have a parent who is like that, undocumented or trying to become a legal resident. Cheasty Anderson works with the Children's Defense¹⁰ Fund in Texas. She thinks the parents' fears have led to more kids going without health coverage in Texas.

CHEASTY ANDERSON: The climate of fear is so pervasive¹¹ at this point, and there is so much misinformation out there.

LOPEZ: A recent study from Georgetown found that 1 out of every 5 uninsured kids in the U.S. lives in Texas, and a big percentage of them are Latino. Anderson says this is all happening despite the state's vibrant¹² economy.

ANDERSON: Texas is proud to be Texas in so many ways, but this is one way in which we are failing ourselves.

LOPEZ: Anderson says the failures fall hardest on kids with disabilities. That also worries Nadine Reub, the advocate who is working with Ana. She says when it comes to treating childhood disabilities, earlier is better.

REUB: The sooner you catch it, the sooner you support the child, the sooner you support the family. I think it's just a win-win for everybody, right? You're supporting the emotions of the family and then that supports the child.

LOPEZ: But Ana is still uncomfortable asking Medicaid to do more for Sara. For now, she's relying on services from her daughter's school, and she'll keep doing that until she gets that green card. For NPR News, I'm Ashley Lopez in Austin.

SIMON: And that story is part of a reporting partnership¹³ between NPR, KUT and Kaiser Health News.

1 byline   

n.署名；v.署名

参考例句：

• His byline was absent as well.他的署名也不见了。
• We wish to thank the author of this article which carries no byline.我们要感谢这篇文章的那位没有署名的作者。

2 diagnosis   

n.诊断，诊断结果，调查分析，判断

参考例句：

• His symptoms gave no obvious pointer to a possible diagnosis.他的症状无法作出明确的诊断。
• The engineer made a complete diagnosis of the bridge's collapse.工程师对桥的倒塌做一次彻底的调查分析。

3 trump   

n.王牌，法宝；v.打出王牌，吹喇叭

参考例句：

• He was never able to trump up the courage to have a showdown.他始终鼓不起勇气摊牌。
• The coach saved his star player for a trump card.教练保留他的明星选手，作为他的王牌。

4 coverage   

n.报导，保险范围，保险额，范围，覆盖

参考例句：

• There's little coverage of foreign news in the newspaper.报纸上几乎没有国外新闻报道。
• This is an insurance policy with extensive coverage.这是一项承保范围广泛的保险。

5 vaccinations   

n.种痘，接种( vaccination的名词复数 )；牛痘疤

参考例句：

• Vaccinations ensure one against diseases. 接种疫苗可以预防疾病。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• I read some publicity about vaccinations while waiting my turn at the doctor's. 在医生那儿候诊时，我读了一些关于接种疫苗的宣传。 来自《简明英汉词典》

6 decided   

adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的

参考例句：

• This gave them a decided advantage over their opponents.这使他们比对手具有明显的优势。
• There is a decided difference between British and Chinese way of greeting.英国人和中国人打招呼的方式有很明显的区别。

7 radar   

n.雷达，无线电探测器

参考例句：

• They are following the flight of an aircraft by radar.他们正在用雷达追踪一架飞机的飞行。
• Enemy ships were detected on the radar.敌舰的影像已显现在雷达上。

8 immediate   

adj.立即的；直接的，最接近的；紧靠的

参考例句：

• His immediate neighbours felt it their duty to call.他的近邻认为他们有责任去拜访。
• We declared ourselves for the immediate convocation of the meeting.我们主张立即召开这个会议。

9 deportation   

n.驱逐，放逐

参考例句：

• The government issued a deportation order against the four men.政府发出了对那4名男子的驱逐令。
• Years ago convicted criminals in England could face deportation to Australia.很多年以前，英国已定罪的犯人可能被驱逐到澳大利亚。

10 defense   

n.防御，保卫；[pl.]防务工事；辩护，答辩

参考例句：

• The accused has the right to defense.被告人有权获得辩护。
• The war has impacted the area with military and defense workers.战争使那个地区挤满了军队和防御工程人员。

11 pervasive   

adj.普遍的；遍布的，(到处)弥漫的；渗透性的

参考例句：

• It is the most pervasive compound on earth.它是地球上最普遍的化合物。
• The adverse health effects of car exhaust are pervasive and difficult to measure.汽车尾气对人类健康所构成的有害影响是普遍的，并且难以估算。

12 vibrant   

adj.震颤的，响亮的，充满活力的，精力充沛的，(色彩)鲜明的

参考例句：

• He always uses vibrant colours in his paintings. 他在画中总是使用鲜明的色彩。
• She gave a vibrant performance in the leading role in the school play.她在学校表演中生气盎然地扮演了主角。

13 partnership   

n.合作关系，伙伴关系

参考例句：

• The company has gone into partnership with Swiss Bank Corporation.这家公司已经和瑞士银行公司建立合作关系。
• Martin has taken him into general partnership in his company.马丁已让他成为公司的普通合伙人。