VOA新闻杂志2024--More Undocumented Indian Migrants Enter US through Canada

More Undocumented Indian Migrants Enter US through Canada

　　The number of Indian migrants entering the U.S. without legal permission has grown in recent years.

　　In the past, Indian migrants interested in the U.S. crossed using the border with Mexico. But as the U.S. government has paid more attention to the southern border, migrants are trying to enter from the north.

　　New information shows more Indians than ever trying to cross using the border with Canada.

　　Just five years ago, in 2019, the U.S. Customs and Border Protection agency (CBP) said it "encountered" 16,000 Indian migrants at all borders. An encounter is defined as an apprehension¹ or expulsion.

　　But in 2023, CBP found 97,000 Indian migrants and 30,000 were at the northern border. The numbers do not include the period between last October and February when 14,000 Indians were encountered along Canada's border with the U.S.

　　The increase is being described as a "migration² rush." The CBP said there were 190,000 encounters of all nationalities at the Canadian border last year. That number is six times bigger than in 2021.

　　A spokesperson for the Indian Embassy told VOA that Indian officials are working with the U.S. government to "facilitate legal mobility³ and to (slow down) illegal immigration and human trafficking."

　　Chirag Patel is an immigration lawyer in Maryland who deals with Indian asylum⁴ cases. Patel and other experts say the flow of asylum seekers will continue up to the U.S. presidential election in November. Patel noted⁵, "People are trying to get a lot of things in before November, but also obviously before January...."

　　The increase in the number of Indian migrants is only one example of how unauthorized migration into the United States is changing.

　　"They're coming from all over the globe," said Muzaffar Chisti, a researcher at the Migration Policy Institute in Washington, D.C.

　　Pew Research Center estimates from 2021 identify Indians as the third-largest group of undocumented immigrants in the U.S. That is the most of any country outside of the Western Hemisphere.

　　Devesh Kapur is a professor of Asian Studies at Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore, Maryland. He said most of the migrants come to the U.S. for better jobs.

　　"Very few of these are professionals," he said, noting that they are mostly uneducated young people. Although they are not well educated, Kapur added, some come from families with money. After all, he noted, very poor people cannot pay to get on an airplane headed to Canada.

　　But if they want to get into the U.S., they often have no choice but to enter illegally. Student visas are hard to get, and immigrant visas can often take 20 years to process.

　　Some people attempt to enter the U.S. through Central America, what is called the "donkey route." But others find it safer to try to enter through Canada.

　　The Canadian government is aiming to restrict the number of student visas it offers to Indians. But Canada is still seen as an easy place to enter North America.

　　Shinder Purewal teaches at the Kwantlen Polytechnic⁶ University in British Columbia. He said: "It's easier to get a visa to Canada than to Pakistan." Purewal said: "More and more people are entering Canada, so they can just go straight to the U.S."

　　Canada's immigration agency said, in a statement, that it is observing the effects of its visa policy on countries that require visas and those that do not.

　　The migrants also look to established Indian communities in the U.S. for help. U.S. investigators⁷ recently uncovered a smuggling⁸ network that brought migrants from Gujarat state in India to work for Gujarati businesses in Chicago.

　　Pawan Dhingra teaches at Amherst College in Massachusetts. Dhingra said, "People who come...have a connection to the country. If it was just escaping India, they could go anywhere in the world."

　　There is still a safety risk for any border crossing, however. In January 2022, an Indian family of four froze to death near the border in the Canadian province of Manitoba. About one year ago, the bodies of eight migrants, including four Indians, were recovered from the St. Lawrence River.

　　Maureen Silcoff is an immigration lawyer who works with refugees in Canada. She said the risks migrants take show how difficult their lives are in India. People do not come for "a thrilling adventure," she said, adding: "...They try to alleviate⁹...hardships by relocating to another country."

　　Words in This Story

　　encounter –v. (legal) to officially detain and/or expel a non-U.S. person who is not legally in the U.S.

　　apprehension –n. (legal) the act of officially stopping a person suspected of a crime

　　facilitate –v. to make something easier

　　human trafficking –n. the criminal activity of moving people across borders of jurisdictions¹⁰ for money or illegal purposes

　　unauthorized –adj. something that is not lawful¹¹ or accepted officially

　　thrilling –adj. very exciting and interesting

　　alleviate –v. to make easier or less heavy

　　relocate –v. to go from one place to another usually for a long period of time

1 apprehension   

n.理解，领悟；逮捕，拘捕；忧虑

参考例句：

• There were still areas of doubt and her apprehension grew.有些地方仍然存疑，于是她越来越担心。
• She is a girl of weak apprehension.她是一个理解力很差的女孩。

2 migration   

n.迁移，移居，（鸟类等的）迁徙

参考例句：

• Swallows begin their migration south in autumn.燕子在秋季开始向南方迁移。
• He described the vernal migration of birds in detail.他详细地描述了鸟的春季移居。

3 mobility   

n.可动性，变动性，情感不定

参考例句：

• The difference in regional house prices acts as an obstacle to mobility of labour.不同地区房价的差异阻碍了劳动力的流动。
• Mobility is very important in guerrilla warfare.机动性在游击战中至关重要。

4 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。

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 polytechnic   

adj.各种工艺的，综合技术的；n.工艺(专科)学校；理工(专科)学校

参考例句：

• She was trained as a teacher at Manchester Polytechnic.她在曼彻斯特工艺专科学校就读，准备毕业后做老师。
• When he was 17,Einstein entered the Polytechnic Zurich,Switzerland,where he studied mathematics and physics.17岁时，爱因斯坦进入了瑞士苏黎士的专科学院，学习数学和物理学。

7 investigators   

n.调查者，审查者( investigator的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• This memo could be the smoking gun that investigators have been looking for. 这份备忘录可能是调查人员一直在寻找的证据。
• The team consisted of six investigators and two secretaries. 这个团队由六个调查人员和两个秘书组成。 来自《简明英汉词典》

8 smuggling   

n.走私

参考例句：

• Some claimed that the docker's union fronted for the smuggling ring.某些人声称码头工人工会是走私集团的掩护所。
• The evidence pointed to the existence of an international smuggling network.证据表明很可能有一个国际走私网络存在。

9 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。

10 jurisdictions   

司法权( jurisdiction的名词复数 )； 裁判权； 管辖区域； 管辖范围

参考例句：

• Butler entreated him to remember the act abolishing the heritable jurisdictions. 巴特勒提醒他注意废除世袭审判权的国会法令。
• James I personally adjudicated between the two jurisdictions. 詹姆士一世亲自裁定双方纠纷。

11 lawful   

adj.法律许可的，守法的，合法的

参考例句：

• It is not lawful to park in front of a hydrant.在消火栓前停车是不合法的。
• We don't recognised him to be the lawful heir.我们不承认他为合法继承人。