美国国家公共电台 NPR--Migration Policy Institute discusses which states shoulder the burden of immigration

Migration¹ Policy Institute discusses which states shoulder the burden of immigration

Transcript²

NPR's Steve Inskeep asks Muzaffar Chishti a senior fellow at the Migration Policy Institute, about the impact of immigration policy on U.S. communities.

STEVE INSKEEP, HOST:

The Texas Senator Ted³ Cruz once said on this program that politics is storytelling. Today, we check the facts behind the story of immigration. Florida Governor Ron DeSantis arranged to fly asylum-seekers from Texas to Martha's Vineyard. And he justified⁴ that in a divisive way, saying that blue states should share the problem of immigration.

(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)

RON DESANTIS: Every community in America should be sharing in the burdens. It shouldn't all fall on a handful of red states.

INSKEEP: OK. So does the burden, quote, "all fall on a handful of red states?" We called Muzaffar Chishti of the Migration Policy Institute.

The underlying⁵ presumption⁶ of this gambit of sending people North is that border states face a disproportionate burden. They're getting all the migrants. And liberals in the North are making them do it and not paying any of the price. So do the border states pay a disproportionate burden when people come to the United States?

MUZAFFAR CHISHTI: Well, this is a nuanced question. I mean, obviously, by the very location of the border states, they get the initial brunt of the border flows because people come to Arizona and Texas. But they don't stay in Arizona and Texas. So the short-term impact on the border states is obviously higher than any other state. But they then disperse⁷ into the rest of the country - California, New York, Texas, Florida, Massachusetts, Illinois, Virginia and New Jersey⁸, Maryland.

INSKEEP: You just gave me a list of the top destinations for immigrants and asylum-seekers. And they were both red and blue states.

CHISHTI: Exactly. Exactly.

INSKEEP: OK. So then the next question, looking at this premise⁹, is whether migrants and asylum-seekers are a burden when they get wherever they're going. Our first idea is that they're concentrated in places like Texas. That turns out not to be true. They're very widely distributed. But are they a burden to whatever state they go to?

CHISHTI: I think they become a burden if they don't get a job. I mean, the magic of our immigration compared to Europe is that almost everyone who tries to get a job gets a job. The problem becomes if they don't get a job. States don't provide any public benefits to the unauthorized. The only two public benefits that - under our law and the Constitution that we provide are basic public schooling¹⁰ and emergency medical care. And I think there's an argument to be made that federal government should reimburse¹¹ states for the asylum-seekers that they settle.

INSKEEP: You're telling me that they might be considered a burden on the school system because states will allow them school, for example. But on the whole, as a group, are they a burden?

CHISHTI: Every study that has been done for the last 30 years have shown that immigrants, including the unauthorized, are a net gain for the country, mostly because a large majority of them are not eligible¹² for any social benefits, and mostly, also, because almost all of them pay taxes. Even they may not be working in the formal sector¹³ of the economy, they pay taxes. And many of them are not entitled to those Social Security benefits, which the rest of us are. So they, in turn, actually are supporting our Social Security system, which is sort of under tension.

INSKEEP: What are some states that have particularly high costs associated with migration?

CHISHTI: Well, I think the states which have more liberal sort of social service policies - in terms of Medicare, for instance. Each state decides its own rules. Those are the high immigrant states. Those are - many of them are blue states, like California and New York.

INSKEEP: The other concern that people raise is culture, people bringing a different culture, bringing a different religion, bringing a different language. Is there a point at which that does become a problem, that society becomes less cohesive¹⁴, just to use a phrase that critics of immigration will use?

CHISHTI: Exactly. So now we're talk about integration¹⁵ issues and the challenge. And that's not just, obviously, with respect to the recent migrants. That has to be looked over a length of time. And in integrating them, we are doing a really good job over generations. People look at indicators¹⁶ of integration as acquisition of English, your schooling, your advancement¹⁷ and income, your employment eligibility¹⁸ and your homeownership. In all these indicators, we are doing much better in this generation than we have done in the last generation.

INSKEEP: I feel like we've ticked through a whole list of concerns that people may instinctively¹⁹ have, that seem instinctively reasonable. But when we go through the facts you have at your command, things are either more complicated than that or the problem is actually positive.

CHISHTI: That's true. I think things about immigration are always complicated because for the ultimate nation of immigrants, we have always been ambivalent²⁰ about immigration. I mean, historians will tell you that George Washington himself was known to have said that the country did not need any more immigrants except for a few skilled carpenters. We had the same attitude towards Germans and Irish and the Catholics in the 19th century and towards these waves of immigrants. It's sort of the fear, the impulsive²¹ fear, of the other. And today, it is sort of reflected in terms of our attitude towards people who are coming at the border. It's clearly a challenge. Our borders need to be managed better. But we are not in a state of crisis.

INSKEEP: Well, let's talk about that word, crisis, because it's used to describe the border. And there's a number that is used to illustrate²² the so-called crisis that I get a little stuck on. NPR's reported we're on our way to 2 million apprehensions²³ at the border. And that is used to illustrate the idea that the border is out of control. But the thing that I get mystified by is, if 2 million people are apprehended²⁵ at the border, that means they're actually stopped at the border and the border is not open.

CHISHTI: That's exactly true. I mean, apprehensions don't mean admissions. And most importantly, apprehensions do not mean unique apprehensions. One of the odd consequences of the Title 42, which is a provision of the health law that was put in practice by the Trump²⁶ administration, is that if we now apprehend²⁴ someone at the border, we don't process them at all. We just expel them. That means we don't even keep a record of them. And they keep on making attempts to re-enter. But still, you can't - we can't ignore the fact that there is a historic rise of arrivals at the border, but does not need to be sort of a state or crisis. It doesn't need to be out of control. We can bring a sense of management and control to the flows that are inevitable²⁷, given the economic and the national security concerns in many of these countries.

INSKEEP: Mr. Chishti, thanks very much.

CHISHTI: Thank you so much for having me.

1 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。

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 ted   

vt.翻晒，撒，撒开

参考例句：

• The invaders gut ted the village.侵略者把村中财物洗劫一空。
• She often teds the corn when it's sunny.天好的时候她就翻晒玉米。

4 justified   

a.正当的，有理的

参考例句：

• She felt fully justified in asking for her money back. 她认为有充分的理由要求退款。
• The prisoner has certainly justified his claims by his actions. 那个囚犯确实已用自己的行动表明他的要求是正当的。

5 underlying   

adj.在下面的，含蓄的，潜在的

参考例句：

• The underlying theme of the novel is very serious.小说隐含的主题是十分严肃的。
• This word has its underlying meaning.这个单词有它潜在的含义。

6 presumption   

n.推测，可能性，冒昧，放肆，[法律]推定

参考例句：

• Please pardon my presumption in writing to you.请原谅我很冒昧地写信给你。
• I don't think that's a false presumption.我认为那并不是错误的推测。

7 disperse   

vi.使分散；使消失；vt.分散；驱散

参考例句：

• The cattle were swinging their tails to disperse the flies.那些牛甩动着尾巴驱赶苍蝇。
• The children disperse for the holidays.孩子们放假了。

8 jersey   

n.运动衫

参考例句：

• He wears a cotton jersey when he plays football.他穿运动衫踢足球。
• They were dressed alike in blue jersey and knickers.他们穿着一致，都是蓝色的运动衫和灯笼短裤。

9 premise   

n.前提；v.提论，预述

参考例句：

• Let me premise my argument with a bit of history.让我引述一些史实作为我立论的前提。
• We can deduce a conclusion from the premise.我们可以从这个前提推出结论。

10 schooling   

n.教育；正规学校教育

参考例句：

• A child's access to schooling varies greatly from area to area.孩子获得学校教育的机会因地区不同而大相径庭。
• Backward children need a special kind of schooling.天赋差的孩子需要特殊的教育。

11 reimburse   

v.补偿，付还

参考例句：

• We'll reimburse you for your travelling expenses.我们将付还你旅费。
• The funds are supposed to reimburse policyholders in the event of insurer failure.这项基金将在保险公司不能偿付的情况下对投保人进行赔付。

12 eligible   

adj.有条件被选中的；(尤指婚姻等)合适(意)的

参考例句：

• He is an eligible young man.他是一个合格的年轻人。
• Helen married an eligible bachelor.海伦嫁给了一个中意的单身汉。

13 sector   

n.部门，部分；防御地段，防区；扇形

参考例句：

• The export sector will aid the economic recovery. 出口产业将促进经济复苏。
• The enemy have attacked the British sector.敌人已进攻英国防区。

14 cohesive   

adj.有粘着力的；有结合力的；凝聚性的

参考例句：

• She sealed the parcel with cohesive tape.她用粘胶带把包裹封起来。
• The author skillfully fuses these fragments into a cohesive whole.作者将这些片断巧妙地结合成一个连贯的整体。

15 integration   

n.一体化，联合，结合

参考例句：

• We are working to bring about closer political integration in the EU.我们正在努力实现欧盟內部更加紧密的政治一体化。
• This was the greatest event in the annals of European integration.这是欧洲统一史上最重大的事件。

16 indicators   

（仪器上显示温度、压力、耗油量等的）指针( indicator的名词复数 )； 指示物； （车辆上的）转弯指示灯； 指示信号

参考例句：

• The economic indicators are better than expected. 经济指标比预期的好。
• It is still difficult to develop indicators for many concepts used in social science. 为社会科学领域的许多概念确立一个指标仍然很难。

17 advancement   

n.前进，促进，提升

参考例句：

• His new contribution to the advancement of physiology was well appreciated.他对生理学发展的新贡献获得高度赞赏。
• The aim of a university should be the advancement of learning.大学的目标应是促进学术。

18 eligibility   

n.合格，资格

参考例句：

• What are the eligibility requirements? 病人被选参加试验的要求是什么？ 来自英汉非文学 - 生命科学 - 回顾与展望
• Eligibility for HINARI access is based on gross national income (GNI). 进入HINARI获取计划是依据国民总收入来评定的。

19 instinctively   

adv.本能地

参考例句：

• As he leaned towards her she instinctively recoiled. 他向她靠近，她本能地往后缩。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• He knew instinctively where he would find her. 他本能地知道在哪儿能找到她。 来自《简明英汉词典》

20 ambivalent   

adj.含糊不定的；(态度等)矛盾的

参考例句：

• She remained ambivalent about her marriage.她对于自己的婚事仍然拿不定主意。
• Although she professed fear of the Russians,she seemed to have ambivalent feelings toward Philby himself.虽然她承认害怕俄国人，然而她似乎对菲尔比本人有一种矛盾的感情。

21 impulsive   

adj.冲动的，刺激的；有推动力的

参考例句：

• She is impulsive in her actions.她的行为常出于冲动。
• He was neither an impulsive nor an emotional man,but a very honest and sincere one.他不是个一冲动就鲁莽行事的人，也不多愁善感.他为人十分正直、诚恳。

22 illustrate   

v.举例说明，阐明；图解，加插图

参考例句：

• The company's bank statements illustrate its success.这家公司的银行报表说明了它的成功。
• This diagram will illustrate what I mean.这个图表可说明我的意思。

23 apprehensions   

疑惧

参考例句：

• He stood in a mixture of desire and apprehensions. 他怀着渴望和恐惧交加的心情伫立着。
• But subsequent cases have removed many of these apprehensions. 然而，随后的案例又消除了许多类似的忧虑。

24 apprehend   

vt.理解，领悟，逮捕，拘捕，忧虑

参考例句：

• I apprehend no worsening of the situation.我不担心局势会恶化。
• Police have not apprehended her killer.警察还未抓获谋杀她的凶手。

25 apprehended   

逮捕，拘押( apprehend的过去式和过去分词 )； 理解

参考例句：

• She apprehended the complicated law very quickly. 她很快理解了复杂的法律。
• The police apprehended the criminal. 警察逮捕了罪犯。

26 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。

27 inevitable   

adj.不可避免的，必然发生的

参考例句：

• Mary was wearing her inevitable large hat.玛丽戴着她总是戴的那顶大帽子。
• The defeat had inevitable consequences for British policy.战败对英国政策不可避免地产生了影响。