美国国家公共电台 NPR What Happens When U.S. Immigration Rules Tighten? Let's Look To Alabama

 

DAVID GREENE, HOST:

President Trump¹ is clamping down on illegal immigration. And the state of Alabama might offer some clues about what exactly this will mean. In 2011, it passed what was called the toughest immigration law in the country. There were intended and unintended consequences. Dan Carsen of member station WBHM in Birmingham reports.

DAN CARSEN, BYLINE²: This is a middle schooler just outside Birmingham in 2011.

UNIDENTIFIED CHILD: I think they going to come into our house and come and kick the door. And they going to take my mom and dad.

CARSEN: This is a college senior just outside Birmingham last week.

FERNANDA HERRERA: I don't know if I'm going to see my parents tomorrow.

CARSEN: Fernanda Herrera's father crossed the Mexican border illegally when she was 2. She and her mom flew in months later with visas now expired. The Samford University honors student is covered under DACA, Deferred³ Action for Childhood Arrivals. So for now, she likely won't be deported⁴. But she's scared.

HERRERA: It's supposed to be a happy time. I'm about to graduate from college, the first in my family to do so. And my parents have worked so hard to get me through these four years. And knowing how detention⁵ centers are and thinking about my parents having to go through that, knowing that my family could be separated, it's just really difficult.

CARSEN: Her family also feared that in 2011. Alabama had enacted⁶ a law that, among other things, nullified contracts, leases, water service, anything and even made it a crime to give a ride to someone in the country illegally. The law's authors said the goal was to attack every aspect of life. Herrera sees something similar happening nationally now. But she hopes the U.S. will learn from Alabama.

HERRERA: They'll see in time that attacking a community is not the way to have immigration reform happen. Because, I mean, here in Alabama, we fought back. And we had a lot of that repealed⁷.

CARSEN: Suits by advocacy groups and the Justice Department blocked much of the law, including a requirement that schools check students' immigration status. But that was after farmers' crops rotted and other industries lost labor⁸ and business as families fled the state. Jeremy Love is an immigration lawyer who says he's feeling deja vu.

JEREMY LOVE: There's a lot of fear going on right now. I have had people say they want to do a phone consultation⁹ rather than come to my office because they're afraid of going out of their house.

CARSEN: He predicts mass deportations will hurt the U.S. economy and trigger legal backlash similar to what happened in Alabama. He has more immediate¹⁰ concerns for his clients, though.

LOVE: People are leaving a very dangerous situation in their home country.

CARSEN: State Representative Jack¹¹ Williams agrees, but isn't swayed. The co-sponsor of the 2011 Alabama law thinks values, not necessarily physical danger, should determine who gets to stay.

JACK WILLIAMS: Today, many people are coming to America from very unstable¹² situations. A hundred years ago, people came to America because they wanted to be Americans.

CARSEN: He says his stance against illegal immigration is principle, not personal.

WILLIAMS: I think there is a richness that we enjoy from the diversity that comes from people coming from around the world. And I'm not opposed or afraid of immigrants. I just would like to see us follow the law. I think that gives everybody a clear roadmap on how we should operate as a civil society.

CARSEN: If Alabama is any indication, that road map could include hard to gauge¹³ economic disruption and detours¹⁴ for costly¹⁵ court battles over how immigration laws are enforced. For NPR News, I'm Dan Carsen in Birmingham.

(SOUNDBITE OF ALLAH-LAS' "FERUS GALLERY")

1 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。

2 byline   

n.署名；v.署名

参考例句：

• His byline was absent as well.他的署名也不见了。
• We wish to thank the author of this article which carries no byline.我们要感谢这篇文章的那位没有署名的作者。

3 deferred   

adj.延期的，缓召的v.拖延，延缓，推迟( defer的过去式和过去分词 )；服从某人的意愿，遵从

参考例句：

• The department deferred the decision for six months. 这个部门推迟了六个月才作决定。
• a tax-deferred savings plan 延税储蓄计划

4 deported   

v.将…驱逐出境( deport的过去式和过去分词 )；举止

参考例句：

• They stripped me of my citizenship and deported me. 他们剥夺我的公民资格，将我驱逐出境。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The convicts were deported to a deserted island. 罪犯们被流放到一个荒岛。 来自《简明英汉词典》

5 detention   

n.滞留，停留；拘留，扣留；(教育)留下

参考例句：

• He was kept in detention by the police.他被警察扣留了。
• He was in detention in connection with the bribery affair.他因与贿赂事件有牵连而被拘留了。

6 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

7 repealed   

撤销，废除( repeal的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• The Labour Party repealed the Act. 工党废除了那项法令。
• The legislature repealed the unpopular Rent Act. 立法机关废除了不得人心的租借法案。

8 labor   

n.劳动，努力，工作，劳工；分娩；vi.劳动，努力，苦干；vt.详细分析；麻烦

参考例句：

• We are never late in satisfying him for his labor.我们从不延误付给他劳动报酬。
• He was completely spent after two weeks of hard labor.艰苦劳动两周后，他已经疲惫不堪了。

9 consultation   

n.咨询；商量；商议；会议

参考例句：

• The company has promised wide consultation on its expansion plans.该公司允诺就其扩展计划广泛征求意见。
• The scheme was developed in close consultation with the local community.该计划是在同当地社区密切磋商中逐渐形成的。

10 immediate   

adj.立即的；直接的，最接近的；紧靠的

参考例句：

• His immediate neighbours felt it their duty to call.他的近邻认为他们有责任去拜访。
• We declared ourselves for the immediate convocation of the meeting.我们主张立即召开这个会议。

11 jack   

n.插座，千斤顶，男人；v.抬起，提醒，扛举；n.（Jake）杰克

参考例句：

• I am looking for the headphone jack.我正在找寻头戴式耳机插孔。
• He lifted the car with a jack to change the flat tyre.他用千斤顶把车顶起来换下瘪轮胎。

12 unstable   

adj.不稳定的，易变的

参考例句：

• This bookcase is too unstable to hold so many books.这书橱很不结实，装不了这么多书。
• The patient's condition was unstable.那患者的病情不稳定。

13 gauge   

v.精确计量；估计；n.标准度量；计量器

参考例句：

• Can you gauge what her reaction is likely to be?你能揣测她的反应可能是什么吗？
• It's difficult to gauge one's character.要判断一个人的品格是很困难的。

14 detours   

绕行的路( detour的名词复数 )； 绕道，兜圈子

参考例句：

• Local wars and bandits often blocked their travel, making countless detours necessary. 内战和盗匪也常阻挡他们前进，迫使他们绕了无数弯路。
• Could it be that all these detours had brought them to Moshi Pass? 难道绕来绕去，绕到磨石口来了吗？ 来自汉英文学 - 骆驼祥子

15 costly   

adj.昂贵的，价值高的，豪华的

参考例句：

• It must be very costly to keep up a house like this.维修这么一幢房子一定很昂贵。
• This dictionary is very useful,only it is a bit costly.这本词典很有用，左不过贵了些。