VOA慢速英语2019 美国机构称边境拘留所存在 “过度拥挤”的危险

US Agency Calls Border Detention¹ 'Dangerously Overcrowded'

A new report by the Homeland Security Inspector² General describes bad conditions and overcrowding at centers along the border in Texas.

国土安全部督察长发表的一份新报告描绘了沿德克萨斯州边境各个中心的恶劣条件和拥挤不堪。

The centers are where U.S. border officials detain migrants who try to enter the country illegally. One supervisor³ of a center said he is concerned about the safety of his workers. He called the situation a "ticking time bomb."

美国边境官员将试图非法进入美国的移民拘押在这些中心。一家中心的主管表示，他担心自己员工的安全，他称这种状况是“一颗随时爆炸的定时炸弹。”

Report Documents Overcrowding

报告记录下的拥挤

The report was released Tuesday. The document includes pictures of people behind chain-link fencing and other barriers. Some are lying on bare floors with nothing to do. Some men are in a room where they can only stand because the room is small and there are too many people.

该报告于周二发布。文件中包含人们站在铁丝网和栅栏背后的照片。有人躺在光秃秃的地板上无所事事，有些男性挤在一个只能站立的房间内，因为房间太小，而人又太多了。

In other rooms, men and women wear surgical⁴ masks and put their hands on the window. One photo shows 88 men crowded inside a small room meant to fit only 41 people. One man holds a cardboard sign which says "help" against a window in another picture.

还有些房间里，男男女女都戴着口罩，并将手放在窗户上。有张照片上有88名男子挤在一个只能容纳41人的小房间里。还有一张照片上，有一名男子拿着纸板标牌贴着窗户，纸板上面写着救命。

The report says some migrants put socks and blankets in the toilets so they can get out of the cells while the toilets are repaired.

该报告称，有些移民把袜子和毯子塞进厕所里，这样他们就可以在厕所修理期间离开牢房。

The inspector general's report says it is difficult for the migrants to keep clean because there are few showers. Many migrants become sick and have stomach problems from the poor diet that they are given.

这位督察长的报告称，由于淋浴室很少，移民们不方便洗澡。因为饮食不良，很多移民生病并且患上了胃病。

Government rules state that migrants should “generally not be held for longer than 72 hours in CBP hold rooms or holding facilities.” The CBP is the Customs and Border Protection agency. Many of the migrants said they were in the centers for more than 10 days.

政府规定声称，移民们在海关和边境保护局的拘留室中的扣留时间不应超过72小时。很多移民说他们在拘留中心被扣押了10天以上。

Immediate⁵ Steps Needed

需要立即采取的措施

The inspector general called on the DHS to "take immediate steps to alleviate⁶ dangerous overcrowding and prolonged detention of children and adults in the Rio Grande Valley."

该督察长呼吁国土安全部立即采取措施，以减轻儿童和成人在里奥格兰德河谷的过度拥挤和长期拘押。

A group of Democratic Party lawmakers who visited one facility in Texas Monday called conditions there "horrifying⁷."

一群民主党议员周一访问了德克萨斯州的一家拘留中心，称那里的条件非常恐怖。

Critics blame U.S. President Donald Trump⁸. They say the Trump administration has caused the overcrowding by refusing to release migrants entering the country, some of whom are seeking asylum⁹.

批判者将此归咎于川普总统。他们称川普政府拒绝释放进入该国的移民，从而导致了这种拥挤不堪。其中一些移民正在寻求庇护。

The DHS report says, in the past year, there has been a 124 percent increase in the number of migrants detained at the border in the Rio Grande Valley of Texas. Information for the U.S. Customs and Border Protection says that the number of people detained at the southwest border has sharply increased since January. In May, 144,278 were detained.

国土安全部的这份报告称，在过去1年里，德克萨斯州里奥格兰德河谷拘押的移民人数增加了124%，他们是在边境被拘押的。美国海关和边境保护局的消息称，自1月以来，西南边境被拘押的人数急剧上升。今年5月有144278人被拘押。

Several children have died while being held by U.S. agencies in the past year.

过去一年里，有数名孩子在被美国机构关押期间死亡。

I’m Jill Robbins.

Words in This Story

migrant –n. a person who travels from one area to another in search of work

asylum – n. protection given by a government to someone who has left another country in order to escape being harmed

surgical masks –n. cloth face coverings meant to prevent the spreading of germs in hospitals and other places

toilets –n. a large bowl with pipes attached used to remove bodily waste

cell –n. a small room in a prison or detention center

facility –n. a building or piece of equipment used for a certain purpose

alleviate – v. to reduce the pain or trouble of (something)

prolonged – adv. lasting longer than usual or expected

1 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。

2 inspector   

n.检查员，监察员，视察员

参考例句：

• The inspector was interested in everything pertaining to the school.视察员对有关学校的一切都感兴趣。
• The inspector was shining a flashlight onto the tickets.查票员打着手电筒查看车票。

3 supervisor   

n.监督人，管理人，检查员，督学，主管，导师

参考例句：

• Between you and me I think that new supervisor is a twit.我们私下说，我认为新来的主管人是一个傻瓜。
• He said I was too flighty to be a good supervisor.他说我太轻浮不能成为一名好的管理员。

4 surgical   

adj.外科的，外科医生的，手术上的

参考例句：

• He performs the surgical operations at the Red Cross Hospital.他在红十字会医院做外科手术。
• All surgical instruments must be sterilised before use.所有的外科手术器械在使用之前，必须消毒。

5 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。

6 alleviate   

v.减轻，缓和，缓解(痛苦等)

参考例句：

• The doctor gave her an injection to alleviate the pain.医生给她注射以减轻疼痛。
• Nothing could alleviate his distress.什么都不能减轻他的痛苦。

7 horrifying   

a.令人震惊的，使人毛骨悚然的

参考例句：

• He went to great pains to show how horrifying the war was. 他极力指出战争是多么的恐怖。
• The possibility of war is too horrifying to contemplate. 战争的可能性太可怕了，真不堪细想。

8 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。

9 asylum   

n.避难所，庇护所，避难

参考例句：

• The people ask for political asylum.人们请求政治避难。
• Having sought asylum in the West for many years,they were eventually granted it.他们最终获得了在西方寻求多年的避难权。