-
(单词翻译:双击或拖选)
Thousands of migrants at the border will be affected1 by 'Remain in Mexico' decision
NPR's A Martinez talks to Kevin Johnson of the University of California, Davis Law School about what a Supreme3 Court ruling on the Remain in Mexico policy could mean for migrants living on the border.
A MART?NEZ, HOST:
Let's dig deeper into the Remain in Mexico ruling that we expect later today. We reached out to Kevin Johnson. He's dean of the law school at the University of California, Davis, and we asked him what this could mean for asylum4-seekers waiting at the border and for immigration policy.
KEVIN JOHNSON: Even if the Supreme Court says that the Biden administration didn't follow the proper procedures in rescinding5 the Remain in Mexico policy, the Biden administration could go back, make sure that it provides a reasoned and clear rationale for changing the policy, and in the end, the president does have the authority and the power to change these kinds of policies.
Now, one sticking point here is Texas is claiming that it violates the law not to detain all migrants who cross the border and seek asylum. So if the court were to find that that's the case, then the federal government would have to change the policy, detain the asylum-seekers or come up with some other alternative to ensure that they're kept in custody6. It'd be very difficult and very costly7. There could be more detention8 facilities. There could be working with state and local governments on detention facilities. There could be more private contracting of detention facilities, as we've seen over the last 10 to 15 years.
MART?NEZ: And of course, with immigration issues being so politically sensitive, with an eye toward the midterms some Democrats9 out there probably would prefer that this policy was out of their hands or if the court required the Biden administration to move a lot slower on this. Where do you come down on that?
JOHNSON: Well, I'm certainly not a politician, but the question here is, yes, immigration is an issue in the midterms. Democrats are worried about losing some seats in Congress in the midterm elections. At the same time, on the other side of the equation, you have the human costs of the Remain in Mexico policy, of placing tens of thousands of asylum-seekers in poor - that's probably being generous - conditions in Mexico and waiting indefinitely for their claims to be decided10. Some would say that that kind of system which discourages asylum-seekers violates international law, as well as U.S. law, and that the human costs outweigh11 any political benefits of leaving the Remain in Mexico policy in place.
MART?NEZ: Republicans such as Texas Governor Greg Abbott have blamed the bodies found in a truck in San Antonio on the immigration policies of the Biden administration. With Remain in Mexico on the line in this case and Title 42 continuing - and 42 is a public health order that sealed off the border in the beginning of the pandemic - both are Trump-era policies, yet people still are trying to come over the border. What do you make of that if these two immigration deterrents12 still don't have the desired effect?
JOHNSON: Yeah. No, I think that the tragic13 deaths of migrants in San Antonio is a symptom of a much larger disease, really. You know, the basic immigration statute14 was passed in 1952, and it was designed to keep communists out of the United States. We really haven't comprehensively reformed those immigration laws to deal with the various issues that are important in the 21st century. We do not have immigration laws that allow for relatively15 low- and medium-skilled workers to come to this country legally, and we've created in our laws incentives16 for undocumented immigration. I think it's an issue of the nation as a whole and any president who's in place.
And it really, to me, shows the need for comprehensive immigration reform, rethinking our borders, rethinking immigration laws because the human costs of our immigration policy, they have been ongoing17 for a number of years, with people dying along the desert on a daily basis as we've militarized large cities and ports of entry. I think it tells you a lot when people are willing to risk life and death to come to this country despite border walls, more enforcement, mandatory18 detention, Title 42 policy and the Remain in Mexico policy.
MART?NEZ: That's professor Kevin Johnson, immigration law expert at UC Davis law school. Professor, thanks.
JOHNSON: Thank you very much.
1 affected | |
adj.不自然的,假装的 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
2 transcript | |
n.抄本,誊本,副本,肄业证书 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
3 supreme | |
adj.极度的,最重要的;至高的,最高的 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
4 asylum | |
n.避难所,庇护所,避难 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
5 rescinding | |
v.废除,取消( rescind的现在分词 ) | |
参考例句: |
|
|
6 custody | |
n.监护,照看,羁押,拘留 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
7 costly | |
adj.昂贵的,价值高的,豪华的 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
8 detention | |
n.滞留,停留;拘留,扣留;(教育)留下 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
9 democrats | |
n.民主主义者,民主人士( democrat的名词复数 ) | |
参考例句: |
|
|
10 decided | |
adj.决定了的,坚决的;明显的,明确的 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
11 outweigh | |
vt.比...更重,...更重要 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
12 deterrents | |
制止物( deterrent的名词复数 ) | |
参考例句: |
|
|
13 tragic | |
adj.悲剧的,悲剧性的,悲惨的 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
14 statute | |
n.成文法,法令,法规;章程,规则,条例 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
15 relatively | |
adv.比较...地,相对地 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
16 incentives | |
激励某人做某事的事物( incentive的名词复数 ); 刺激; 诱因; 动机 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
17 ongoing | |
adj.进行中的,前进的 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
18 mandatory | |
adj.命令的;强制的;义务的;n.受托者 | |
参考例句: |
|
|