VOA慢速英语--美国一些城市开始停止驱逐移民

Some US Cities, States Start Efforts to Prevent Deportations

In the United States, the federal government is working to detain undocumented immigrants and get them removed from the country.

Yet some U.S. city and state governments have started programs to defend undocumented individuals.

More than 10 state and local governments have joined a group to expand legal representation for immigrants facing detention³ and possible expulsion, officials said.

Helping⁴ local communities

That group is called the Safe Cities Network. It promises to keep communities "safe and strong by protecting due process and providing legal representation to immigrants facing deportation²."

"We're not just talking about one person going through,” noted⁵ Annie Chen. “One person going to court. One in detention and going through the deportation process. You're talking about families, entire families and communities being impacted, she said.

Chen is program director at the New York-based VERA Institute of Justice. Her group partners with state and local officials to change the U.S. justice system.

She added that with increased enforcement of immigration policies, local officials have a better understanding of the issue, and see how it affects their communities.

Recently, the city of Baltimore, Maryland established a legal defense⁶ fund for undocumented immigrants. City officials approved $100,000 in public money to help immigrants fight deportation.

The money was added to a collection of private money, with additional financial support coming from VERA.

Catalina Rodriguez is director of the Baltimore Mayor's Office of Immigrant and Multicultural⁷ Affairs. She told VOA that after the launch of a campaign for increased immigration enforcement in February 2017, city officials started hearing from people living there.

"All of these individuals [arrested] were not necessarily criminals. Their ‘crime' was they were here [in the U.S.] undocumented, and they had already a deportation order. However, they were members of our city, (and) business owners,” said Rodriguez. She added that a lot of people in Baltimore were concerned.

Being in the U.S. unlawfully is not a criminal violation⁸, but a civil one. Rodriguez said Baltimore officials learned from New York, the first U.S. city to have a legal fund program. The Baltimore fund is expected to help about 40 people identified for deportation.

Good and bad effects

The immigration data tracker TRAC reports that out of 304,642 immigrants detained from 2002 to February 2018, only 62,697 had legal representation.

Immigration lawyers and activists⁹ told VOA that access to legal representation "greatly" increases an immigrant's chance to win their case.

Chen said that in the U.S. criminal justice system, if you do not have enough money for a lawyer, you have a right to a public defender¹⁰. However in immigration court, you do not have that right. This means that someone who cannot pay for a lawyer will not have one to represent them in court.

Not everyone agrees with public money going into a legal defense fund for undocumented immigrants.

A spokesman for Maryland's Republican Party chairman Dirk Haire said that Maryland Republicans questioned whether the money is being wisely spent.

Haire said that most people in the city, “would prefer to have that money spent on heat and air conditioning in Baltimore public schools" instead of legal costs. The Baltimore Sun newspaper reported his comments.

Baltimore city councilman Zeke Cohen told the Sun that increased enforcement of immigration laws has resulted in the arrest of many community members.

“What kind of a country do we live in that would orphan¹¹ a child in order to enforce its broken immigration laws?" Cohen said.

A recent study found that the Baltimore area is home to 281,109 immigrants, or about 10 percent of the local population.

In 2014, immigrants paid about $3.4 billion in taxes and had a spending power of $7.7 billion in the same region.

The story was a project of a group called the New American Economy. It is a coalition¹² of business leaders and city mayors working toward immigration reform.

I’m Phil Dierking.

Words in This Story

air conditioning - n. a system used for cooling and drying the air in a building, room, etc.?

deport¹ - v. to force (a person who is not a citizen) to leave a country?

due process - n. fair treatment through the normal judicial¹³ system, especially as a citizen's entitlement.

fund - n. an amount of money that is used for a special purpose?

impact - n. a powerful or major influence or effect?

orphan - n. a child whose parents are dead?

jurisdiction¹⁴ - n. the power or right to make judgments¹⁵ about the law, to arrest and punish criminals, etc.

1 deport   

vt.驱逐出境

参考例句：

• We deport aliens who slip across our borders.我们把偷渡入境的外国人驱逐出境。
• More than 240 England football fans are being deported from Italy following riots last night.昨晚的骚乱发生后有240多名英格兰球迷被驱逐出意大利。

2 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。

3 detention   

n.滞留，停留；拘留，扣留；(教育)留下

参考例句：

• He was kept in detention by the police.他被警察扣留了。
• He was in detention in connection with the bribery affair.他因与贿赂事件有牵连而被拘留了。

4 helping   

n.食物的一份&adj.帮助人的，辅助的

参考例句：

• The poor children regularly pony up for a second helping of my hamburger. 那些可怜的孩子们总是要求我把我的汉堡包再给他们一份。
• By doing this, they may at times be helping to restore competition. 这样一来, 他在某些时候,有助于竞争的加强。

5 noted   

adj.著名的，知名的

参考例句：

• The local hotel is noted for its good table.当地的那家酒店以餐食精美而著称。
• Jim is noted for arriving late for work.吉姆上班迟到出了名。

6 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。

7 multicultural   

adj.融合多种文化的，多种文化的

参考例句：

• Children growing up in a multicultural society.在多元文化社会中长大的孩子们。
• The school has been attempting to bring a multicultural perspective to its curriculum.这所学校已经在尝试将一种多元文化视角引入其课程。

8 violation   

n.违反(行为)，违背(行为)，侵犯

参考例句：

• He roared that was a violation of the rules.他大声说，那是违反规则的。
• He was fined 200 dollars for violation of traffic regulation.他因违反交通规则被罚款200美元。

9 activists   

n.（政治活动的）积极分子，活动家( activist的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• His research work was attacked by animal rights activists . 他的研究受到了动物权益维护者的抨击。
• Party activists with lower middle class pedigrees are numerous. 党的激进分子中有很多出身于中产阶级下层。 来自《简明英汉词典》

10 defender   

n.保卫者，拥护者，辩护人

参考例句：

• He shouldered off a defender and shot at goal.他用肩膀挡开防守队员，然后射门。
• The defender argued down the prosecutor at the court.辩护人在法庭上驳倒了起诉人。

11 orphan   

n.孤儿；adj.无父母的

参考例句：

• He brought up the orphan and passed onto him his knowledge of medicine.他把一个孤儿养大，并且把自己的医术传给了他。
• The orphan had been reared in a convent by some good sisters.这个孤儿在一所修道院里被几个好心的修女带大。

12 coalition   

n.结合体，同盟，结合，联合

参考例句：

• The several parties formed a coalition.这几个政党组成了政治联盟。
• Coalition forces take great care to avoid civilian casualties.联盟军队竭尽全力避免造成平民伤亡。

13 judicial   

adj.司法的，法庭的，审判的，明断的，公正的

参考例句：

• He is a man with a judicial mind.他是个公正的人。
• Tom takes judicial proceedings against his father.汤姆对他的父亲正式提出诉讼。

14 jurisdiction   

n.司法权，审判权，管辖权，控制权

参考例句：

• It doesn't lie within my jurisdiction to set you free.我无权将你释放。
• Changzhou is under the jurisdiction of Jiangsu Province.常州隶属江苏省。

15 judgments   

判断( judgment的名词复数 )； 鉴定； 评价； 审判

参考例句：

• A peculiar austerity marked his judgments of modern life. 他对现代生活的批评带着一种特殊的苛刻。
• He is swift with his judgments. 他判断迅速。