Biden administration aims to lift pandemic border restriction known as Title 42

Biden administration aims to lift pandemic border restriction¹ known as Title 42

　　Transcript²

　　NPR's Steve Inskeep talks to Theresa Cardinal³ Brown of the Bipartisan Policy Center about plans to lift a public health order that kept migrants out of the U.S. to prevent the spread of COVID-19.

　　STEVE INSKEEP, HOST:

　　The CDC is expected to issue guidance soon on whether to end a COVID policy known as Title 42. It's a public health order enacted⁴ under the Trump⁵ administration, which allowed the federal government to expel or stop migrants from entering the United States. Customs and Border Protection has counted more than 1.7 million expulsions under Title 42 in just the past two years, mostly under President Biden's administration, which up to now has kept the policy in place. Let's discuss this with Theresa Cardinal Brown, a former DHS official who now manages immigration and cross-border policy at the Bipartisan Policy Center. Good morning.

　　THERESA CARDINAL BROWN: Good morning.

　　INSKEEP: Does it make sense to drop the Title 42 enforcement now?

　　CARDINAL BROWN: Well, there's lots of people who would argue that it never should have been put in place in the first place because it's overcoming or superseding⁷ our immigration laws and not allowing people to apply for asylum⁸ who otherwise would have the chance. It was initiated⁹ as a response to COVID, and technically¹⁰ it is a CDC order. But even a judge in D.C. recently - a decision about Title 42 on families - said it seems that the rationale - the public health rationale for Title 42 is declining as we're getting a better handle on COVID.

　　INSKEEP: I guess we should be really frank about this. Of course, you don't want COVID in the United States, but COVID was already in the United States. In fact, the United States had some of the worst case rates. So the idea that you were going to keep COVID out by keeping migrants out was kind of absurd to begin with. Is that correct?

　　CARDINAL BROWN: It is, especially when you realize that this order only applied¹¹ to particular migrants. It applied to migrants who were coming to the border without documents seeking asylum. At the same time, we were allowing thousands of people to cross the border regularly for essential services and work and school. And now even those restrictions¹² have come down. So this is sort of the last border restriction. And as I said, a lot of people believed it really wasn't about public health in the first place.

　　INSKEEP: OK. Did this policy then artificially suppress the number of people entering the United States for a period of years?

　　CARDINAL BROWN: Well, I would say that it certainly was the primary tool of managing the migration⁶ at the border under the Trump administration and the Biden administration. As you mentioned, 1.7 million encounters, almost more than half of those people that were encountered at the border in the last year were expelled under Title 42. And so what it was used for primarily was a migration management tool.

　　INSKEEP: But let's be frank about the consequences of lifting it now. Is there massive pent-up demand that is going to cause a massive surge toward the border?

　　CARDINAL BROWN: Well, the government itself is preparing for as many as 12,000 to 16000 people a day that they may have to encounter and manage and process if Title 42 comes down. So even the government believes that there's a surge coming. The question is whether it's a temporary increase or whether there's a lot - that this would just be a continuation of a phenomenon that we've been seeing, frankly¹³, for the last five or six years, which is we've been seeing increasing numbers of migrants, particularly families and children from all over the place, not just Mexico as been traditional for decades but Central America, South America, other places around the world, including Ukraine and Russia. This is now a new migration phenomenon, and I think our responses have to change to how we're going to manage this.

　　INSKEEP: Does the United States just have to let a lot more people in? We've got about 15 seconds here.

　　CARDINAL BROWN: I don't think so. They do have the capacity to process people for asylum and do so in a regular way. But they haven't really got all the pieces in place yet. So if Title 42 comes down quickly, I think we're going to see some crowded facilities, some overrun Border Patrol stations and a lot more people in the short term.

　　INSKEEP: Theresa Cardinal Brown of the Bipartisan Policy Center, thanks so much.

　　CARDINAL BROWN: Thank you.

1 restriction   

n.限制，约束

参考例句：

• The park is open to the public without restriction.这个公园对公众开放，没有任何限制。
• The 30 mph speed restriction applies in all built-up areas.每小时限速30英里适用于所有建筑物聚集区。

2 transcript   

n.抄本，誊本，副本，肄业证书

参考例句：

• A transcript of the tapes was presented as evidence in court.一份录音带的文字本作为证据被呈交法庭。
• They wouldn't let me have a transcript of the interview.他们拒绝给我一份采访的文字整理稿。

3 cardinal   

n.(天主教的)红衣主教；adj.首要的，基本的

参考例句：

• This is a matter of cardinal significance.这是非常重要的事。
• The Cardinal coloured with vexation. 红衣主教感到恼火，脸涨得通红。

4 enacted   

制定（法律），通过（法案）( enact的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• legislation enacted by parliament 由议会通过的法律
• Outside in the little lobby another scene was begin enacted. 外面的小休息室里又是另一番景象。 来自英汉文学 - 嘉莉妹妹

5 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。

6 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。

7 superseding   

取代，接替( supersede的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• This mechanism has such functions as integrating relations, resolving contradictions, superseding the old, improving efficiency. 公务员流动机制具有整合关系、化解矛盾、新陈代谢、提高效能等功能。
• The issuance, revision, superseding, and withdrawal of all documents should be controlled by maintaining revision histories. 11所有文件的发放、修订、替换和收回应当通过保存修订历史来控制。

8 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。

9 initiated   

n. 创始人 adj. 新加入的 vt. 开始，创始，启蒙，介绍加入

参考例句：

• He has not yet been thoroughly initiated into the mysteries of computers. 他对计算机的奥秘尚未入门。
• The artist initiated the girl into the art world in France. 这个艺术家介绍这个女孩加入巴黎艺术界。

10 technically   

adv.专门地，技术上地

参考例句：

• Technically it is the most advanced equipment ever.从技术上说，这是最先进的设备。
• The tomato is technically a fruit,although it is eaten as a vegetable.严格地说，西红柿是一种水果，尽管它是当作蔬菜吃的。

11 applied   

adj.应用的；v.应用，适用

参考例句：

• She plans to take a course in applied linguistics.她打算学习应用语言学课程。
• This cream is best applied to the face at night.这种乳霜最好晚上擦脸用。

12 restrictions   

约束( restriction的名词复数 )； 管制； 制约因素； 带限制性的条件（或规则）

参考例句：

• I found the restrictions irksome. 我对那些限制感到很烦。
• a snaggle of restrictions 杂乱无章的种种限制

13 frankly   

adv.坦白地，直率地；坦率地说

参考例句：

• To speak frankly, I don't like the idea at all.老实说，我一点也不赞成这个主意。
• Frankly speaking, I'm not opposed to reform.坦率地说，我不反对改革。