VOA慢速英语2021 官员就抵达美国边境的移民潮展开争论

U.S. officials are struggling with the problem of thousands of Central American migrants arriving at the southern U.S. border and seeking entry. Many are children who do not have a parent with them.

美国官员正在努力应对抵达美国南部边境并寻求入境的数千名中美洲移民。其中多数移民是是没有父母陪伴的儿童。

Democratic Party members in the U.S. House of Representatives say they are "trying to fix a broken system" left behind by the administration of former President Donald Trump¹.

美国众议院民主党议员表示，他们正在“试图修复前总统特朗普的政府遗留的破损系统”。

The leaders of the Republican Party in the House say President Joe Biden's administration created a new crisis. Kevin McCarthy, the Republican leader in the House of Representatives called what is going on "a Biden border crisis."

众议院共和党领袖则表示，拜登政府制造了一场新的危机。众议院共和党领袖凯文·麦卡锡称目前发生的是“拜登边境危机”。

The Biden administration wants to call what is going on "a challenge."

拜登政府想将正在发生的事情称为“挑战”。

Nancy Pelosi, the Speaker of the House of Representatives, said it is a "humanitarian² crisis."

众议院议长南希·佩洛西表示，这是一场“人道主义危机”。

Even Trump is talking about it, saying Biden's administration was "recklessly eliminating our border."

特朗普也对此事发表了看法，他称拜登政府在“不计后果地消除我们的边境”。

Jen Psaki, Biden's press secretary, said Republicans who say Biden opened the border were "absolutely incorrect."

拜登的新闻秘书詹·普萨基表示，共和党人称拜登开放了边境，这种说法是“绝对错误的”。

However, Roberta Jacobson, who works in the White House, said many people may now be trying to get into the U.S. after Biden took office. She said they think a more "humane³" policy is in place now that Trump is no longer president. She also noted⁴ that people who smuggle⁵ migrants into the U.S. may have been giving people false information.

不过，白宫工作人员罗伯塔·雅各布森表示，拜登上台后，可能有许多人会试图进入美国。她说，因为他们认为，特朗普已不再担任总统，而现行政策更为“人道”。她还指出，将移民偷渡到美国的人可能给移民提供了虚假信息。

The Biden administration stopped the building of a border wall which Trump started during his presidency⁶. However, some policies from the Trump administration have stayed in place. The U.S. continues to prevent some people from coming into the country because of the COVID-19 health crisis.

拜登政府下令停止特朗普任期内开始修建的边境墙工程。然而，特朗普政府的部分政策仍然有效。由于新冠肺炎卫生危机，美国阻止部分人入境的政策仍在实施。

Alejandro Mayorkas is the Homeland Security secretary. On Tuesday, he said that children coming into the U.S. are "vulnerable" and the U.S. has ended a policy of sending them back.

亚历杭德罗马·约卡斯是美国国土安全部长。他在周二表示，入境美国的儿童是“弱势群体”，美国已经终止将他们遣返的政策。

The number of children trying to cross the border without adults increased by 60 percent from January to February. More than 9,400 tried to enter the United States last month.

1月至2月，试图越境的无成人陪伴儿童人数增加了60%。上个月有超过9400人试图入境美国。

U.S. Customs and Border Protection supervises security at the border. It dealt with 100,000 people, mostly adults, in February. The last time the number was that high was in June 2019.

美国海关和边境保护局负责监督边境安全。今年2月，该部门处理了10万名移民，其中大部分是成年人。上一次移民数量达到如此之高还要追溯到2019年6月。

While the U.S. is still sending adults and families home, children under the age of 18 who come by themselves are permitted to stay. The U.S. is considering whether they should be offered asylum⁷ or another reason to remain.

虽然美国依然会将成年人和家庭遣返回国，但18岁以下独自抵达边境的孩子可以留下。美国正在考虑是否应为他们提供庇护或其他留下的理由。

Mayorkas said the majority of the children who are coming to the border have a relative or parent in the U.S.

马约卡斯表示，大多数抵达边境的孩子都有亲属或父母在美国。

Biden's administration is working with FEMA, the Federal Emergency Management Agency, to set up temporary places for migrant children to live in both Texas and Arizona. It is also working with the Central American countries of Honduras, Guatemala and El Salvador to make more shelters available south of the U.S. border and slow down the number of people who want to come north.

拜登政府正在与联邦紧急事务管理局（简称FEMA）合作，为得克萨斯州和亚利桑那州的移民儿童设立临时住所。政府也在与中美洲国家洪都拉斯、危地马拉和萨尔瓦多合作，在美国边境以南提供更多的避难所，并减缓希望北上的移民人数。

Mayorkas said his agency is working hard but called the situation "a difficult one."

马约卡斯表示，他领导的机构正在努力工作，但称情况“很困难”。

Words in This Story

challenge –n. a difficult task or problem

recklessly –adv. not showing proper concern about the possible bad results of your actions

eliminating –v. to remove something

absolutely –adv. completely or totally

humane –adj. kind or gentle to people or animals

smuggle –v. to move (someone or something) from one country into another illegally and secretly

vulnerable –adj. open to attack, harm, or damage

1 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。

2 humanitarian   

n.人道主义者，博爱者，基督凡人论者

参考例句：

• She has many humanitarian interests and contributes a lot to them.她拥有很多慈善事业，并作了很大的贡献。
• The British government has now suspended humanitarian aid to the area.英国政府现已暂停对这一地区的人道主义援助。

3 humane   

adj.人道的，富有同情心的

参考例句：

• Is it humane to kill animals for food?宰杀牲畜来吃合乎人道吗？
• Their aim is for a more just and humane society.他们的目标是建立一个更加公正、博爱的社会。

4 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。

5 smuggle   

vt.私运；vi.走私

参考例句：

• Friends managed to smuggle him secretly out of the country.朋友们想方设法将他秘密送出国了。
• She has managed to smuggle out the antiques without getting caught.她成功将古董走私出境，没有被逮捕。

6 presidency   

n.总统(校长，总经理)的职位(任期)

参考例句：

• Roosevelt was elected four times to the presidency of the United States.罗斯福连续当选四届美国总统。
• Two candidates are emerging as contestants for the presidency.两位候选人最终成为总统职位竞争者。

7 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。