美国国家公共电台 NPR--End of pandemic restrictions may lead to an influx of migrants at the border

End of pandemic restrictions¹ may lead to an influx² of migrants at the border

Transcript³

NPR's A Martinez talks to Democratic Rep. Henry Cuellar of Texas, who says border communities are already overwhelmed as Title 42 is set to end.

MICHEL MARTIN, HOST:

Now to the other big story we're following. The pandemic-era public health order known as Title 42 expires tonight. It allowed authorities to quickly turn away would-be migrants trying to enter the U.S. It's been widely predicted that the end of Title 42 will encourage many more people to try to enter the U.S. Representative Henry Cuellar is a Democrat⁴ from Texas. Part of his district is along the southern border. And he says communities like his are already overwhelmed, and he is not pleased with the administration's response.

HENRY CUELLAR: The administration has given the OK to Border Patrol to start doing street releases.

MARTIN: Our colleague, A Martínez, spoke⁵ with Cuellar earlier and asked what street releases could mean for migrants and border communities.

CUELLAR: A street release means that - as you know, Border Patrol has very limited facilities, especially women or unaccompanied kids. Then you have the NGOs and the border communities that help and house and provide some food for these folks so they can go find family members. But now we're seeing that a lot of these people don't have sponsors. So somebody's going to end up paying for this. So if the NGOs or the border communities do not have space to hold them, then the Border Patrol has only one option - and put them out on the streets of Laredo, streets of McAllen, Brownsville, El Paso and other border communities.

These people are coming in in between ports of entry. So they're not going through the CBP app or the ports of entry. So that means that they're supposed to get a notice to appear in front of an immigration judge that is going to be years from now. So the question is, are they going to be able to track these people? And I can tell you right now, no, they're not.

A MART?NEZ, HOST:

What would you propose instead of what is happening now?

CUELLAR: Not only add asylum⁶ officers there at the Border Patrol facilities, but I would have those immigration judges handle those cases. By law, they're supposed to handle the cases within seven days and review what the asylum officer does, and those can be done quickly. The asylum law says you have to be here because there is a persecution⁷ by the state in the country that you're in. And looking for a better life, trying to get away from crime or any of those reasons are not reasons to stay. And I'm sorry, but that's what the law says.

MART?NEZ: Now, I know the House has a bill on the table. Republican lawmakers aim to vote on their so-called Secure the Border Act - very restrictive proposal when it comes to asylum, also cuts programs that give migrants a chance to stay. The White House has said that the president would veto it. Are there any parts to that bill, Congressman⁸, that you agree with or support?

CUELLAR: Yeah. I mean, there are some things that we've been working on for many years - you know, adding more money for technology, adding more money to do the roads along the border, adding more personnel, Border Patrol, support staff, all that. The problem is that our Republican friends, with all due respect, never sat down with some of us that live on the border. We don't just go visit the border. And I've talked to some Republicans. And look; this is just a messaging bill for them.

MART?NEZ: And the immigration system, Congressman, as you know, has not been reformed in decades. All the measures created seem to be directed at deterring⁹ migrants from coming or maybe even short-term solutions. You're in Congress. What kind of reform would you like to see?

CUELLAR: And you're right. This bill that they're doing is just a border security and takes away certain rights of asylum. I feel that we can have sensible border security and still respect the right of legitimate¹⁰ asylum-seekers.

MART?NEZ: What would it take for that to happen?

CUELLAR: Immigration reform is something that we've been talking about for many, many, many years. Sometimes I blame the Republicans, but keep in mind that at the beginning of 2009, we had a supermajority in the Senate of Democrats¹¹ - 60. We controlled the House and the White House. And guess what? Nothing happened.

So we just got to understand that the issue about immigration is not going to go away, and we have to be able to address the issue. And I've been here for a few years, and I voted for a full comprehensive immigration reform, a guest worker plan, DREAMers. And sometimes it's the House that does it; sometimes it's the Senate. But, you know, it just doesn't get there. People are waiting for the perfect bill. It's not going to get there. And if we have to do some incremental¹² steps, I'm now willing to take some incremental steps to address the issues that we need to address.

MART?NEZ: That is Congressman Henry Cuellar, a Democrat from Texas. Congressman, thanks.

CUELLAR: Thank you so much. And you have a wonderful day.

1 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

2 influx   

n.流入，注入

参考例句：

• The country simply cannot absorb this influx of refugees.这个国家实在不能接纳这么多涌入的难民。
• Textile workers favoured protection because they feared an influx of cheap cloth.纺织工人拥护贸易保护措施，因为他们担心涌入廉价纺织品。

3 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。

4 democrat   

n.民主主义者，民主人士；民主党党员

参考例句：

• The Democrat and the Public criticized each other.民主党人和共和党人互相攻击。
• About two years later,he was defeated by Democrat Jimmy Carter.大约两年后，他被民主党人杰米卡特击败。

5 spoke   

n.（车轮的）辐条；轮辐；破坏某人的计划；阻挠某人的行动 v.讲，谈（speak的过去式）；说；演说；从某种观点来说

参考例句：

• They sourced the spoke nuts from our company.他们的轮辐螺帽是从我们公司获得的。
• The spokes of a wheel are the bars that connect the outer ring to the centre.辐条是轮子上连接外圈与中心的条棒。

6 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。

7 persecution   

n. 迫害,烦扰

参考例句：

• He had fled from France at the time of the persecution. 他在大迫害时期逃离了法国。
• Their persecution only serves to arouse the opposition of the people. 他们的迫害只激起人民对他们的反抗。

8 Congressman   

n.（美）国会议员

参考例句：

• He related several anecdotes about his first years as a congressman.他讲述自己初任议员那几年的几则轶事。
• The congressman is meditating a reply to his critics.这位国会议员正在考虑给他的批评者一个答复。

9 deterring   

v.阻止，制止( deter的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• However, investors say are a number of issues deterring business. 然而，投资者表示，有很多问题让他们却步。 来自互联网
• It's an effective way of deterring potential does online, the logic goes. 逻辑上这是抑制潜在线上威胁的有效方法。 来自互联网

10 legitimate   

adj.合法的，合理的，合乎逻辑的；v.使合法

参考例句：

• Sickness is a legitimate reason for asking for leave.生病是请假的一个正当的理由。
• That's a perfectly legitimate fear.怀有这种恐惧完全在情理之中。

11 democrats   

n.民主主义者，民主人士( democrat的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The Democrats held a pep rally on Capitol Hill yesterday. 民主党昨天在国会山召开了竞选誓师大会。
• The democrats organize a filibuster in the senate. 民主党党员组织了阻挠议事。 来自《简明英汉词典》

12 incremental   

adj.增加的

参考例句：

• For logic devices, the incremental current gain is very important. 对于逻辑器件来说，提高电流增益是非常重要的。 来自辞典例句
• By using an incremental approach, the problems involving material or geometric nonlinearity have been solved. 借应用一种增量方法，已经解决了包括材料的或几何的非线性问题。 来自辞典例句