PBS高端访谈:美国德州严重偷渡案表明人口走私的危险

 　　Now the latest on a human smuggling¹ case in Texas that has left at least 10 people dead after they were packed into a sweltering tractor-trailer. And again to John Yang.

　　The truck driver, James Bradley, was charged in federal court today with knowingly transporting people who are in the country illegally for money.

　　According to the criminal complaint, a Wal-Mart employee called police early Sunday to report the suspicious tractor-trailer in the parking lot after someone asked for water.

　　Officers found dozens of people packed into the sweltering trailer.

　　In addition to the dead, nearly 20 others are still hospitalized. Bradley told police he was driving the tractor-trailer from Iowa to a new owner in Brownsville, Texas,

　　and wasn't aware of what or who he was hauling until he stopped at the Wal-Mart for a bathroom break.

　　Survivors² said there was no air conditioning and described taking turns to breath through a hole in the trailer.

　　Jason Buch is covering the story and reports on border and immigration issues for The San Antonio Express-News.

　　Jason, thanks for joining us. First, bring us up to date. What's the latest today and what did we learn from the truck driver's appearance in court?

　　Well, there wasn't a whole lot said in court this morning.

　　He's going to be held until a bond hearing on Thursday.

　　But the U.S. Attorney's Office signed off on a complaint by immigration agents that detailed³ what they learned in their interviews with the driver and with the immigrants,

　　and, as you described, this journey up from the border in an overheated container with a very limited ability to get air from one hole.

　　And talk about the charges he's facing. They're federal charges. What's the maximum penalty?

　　So, most smuggling charges come with a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison.

　　But because people died in this case, he actually faces up to life in prison or the death penalty.

　　We had another incident here about 15 years ago in which several people died, 19 people died after being abandoned in a trailer.

　　The death penalty was overturned in that case, and that driver got 34 years.

　　So, it would be difficult for the U.S. Attorney's Office to prove up a capital case here.

　　How widespread are these smuggling operations? What can you tell us about them?

　　I mean, people come across the border in South Texas every day.

　　The Border Patrol in Laredo, which is where these folks crossed,

　　have reported in the last couple months an uptick in people using tractor-trailers to try to get through the Border Patrol checkpoint and reach the cities to the north.

　　It's been a long time since we have had a fatal incident like this involving a tractor-trailer,

　　but certainly there have been a number of incidents reported by Border Patrol recently of dozens of people packed into tractor-trailers.

　　And tell us how these operations work.

　　I mean, these people, some of the survivors said they crossed the river actually on a raft and then they were being taken farther north in this truck? How do they work in general?

　　Right. So, what they described was being -- paying a smuggler⁴ in Mexico to bring them across the border.

　　They were then brought to most likely stash⁵ houses on the U.S. side. And then, when it was time to load the truck,

　　it appears that people who were being smuggled⁶ by different groups were all brought to where this trailer was parked, loaded into the trailer, and then driven to Laredo.

　　And, in fact, they were given -- each group was given a different color tape to determine who they should go with when they arrived in San Antonio.

　　And some of the immigrants described to investigators⁷ that there were black SUVs waiting for them in the Wal-Mart parking lot when they pulled up.

　　And where they would be taken after that? Where would these SUVs take them?

　　Some people said that they were staying in San Antonio.

　　Others -- another person interviewed by the immigration agents said that they were headed for Minnesota.

　　Usually, San Antonio is a pass-through because we're on a major highway to the border.

　　People are usually going on to major metropolitan⁸ areas or regions of the country that employ a lot of immigrant laborers⁹,

　　so, areas with large agriculture industries or construction booms.

　　And obviously, business -- I'm sorry -- border security, immigration issues are a big topic,

　　with President Trump¹⁰ talking about the border wall. Has this incident gotten swept up in the politics of this issue?

　　Absolutely. Our lieutenant¹¹ governor was on Facebook yesterday blaming this on sanctuary¹² cities.

　　Our legislature recently passed a bill that would provide criminal penalties and fines for officials who ran what they call sanctuary cities.

　　So, the lieutenant governor was placing blame for this incident on cities and counties that don't cooperate with federal immigration officials.

　　Well, it's a horrible, horrible incident, reminds us of the people behind these issues.

　　Jason Buch, thanks so much for joining us. Thank you. undefined

1 smuggling   

n.走私

参考例句：

• Some claimed that the docker's union fronted for the smuggling ring.某些人声称码头工人工会是走私集团的掩护所。
• The evidence pointed to the existence of an international smuggling network.证据表明很可能有一个国际走私网络存在。

2 survivors   

幸存者，残存者，生还者( survivor的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The survivors were adrift in a lifeboat for six days. 幸存者在救生艇上漂流了六天。
• survivors clinging to a raft 紧紧抓住救生筏的幸存者

3 detailed   

adj.详细的，详尽的，极注意细节的，完全的

参考例句：

• He had made a detailed study of the terrain.他对地形作了缜密的研究。
• A detailed list of our publications is available on request.我们的出版物有一份详细的目录备索。

4 smuggler   

n.走私者

参考例句：

• The smuggler is in prison tonight, awaiting extradition to Britain. 这名走私犯今晚在监狱，等待引渡到英国。
• The smuggler was finally obliged to inform against his boss. 那个走私犯最后不得不告发他的首领。

5 stash   

v.藏或贮存于一秘密处所；n.隐藏处

参考例句：

• Stash away both what you lost and gained,for life continues on.将得失深藏心底吧，为了那未来的生活。
• That's supposed to be in our private stash.这是我的私人珍藏。

6 smuggled   

水货

参考例句：

• The customs officer confiscated the smuggled goods. 海关官员没收了走私品。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
• Those smuggled goods have been detained by the port office. 那些走私货物被港务局扣押了。 来自互联网

7 investigators   

n.调查者，审查者( investigator的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• This memo could be the smoking gun that investigators have been looking for. 这份备忘录可能是调查人员一直在寻找的证据。
• The team consisted of six investigators and two secretaries. 这个团队由六个调查人员和两个秘书组成。 来自《简明英汉词典》

8 metropolitan   

adj.大城市的，大都会的

参考例句：

• Metropolitan buildings become taller than ever.大城市的建筑变得比以前更高。
• Metropolitan residents are used to fast rhythm.大都市的居民习惯于快节奏。

9 laborers   

n.体力劳动者，工人( laborer的名词复数 )；（熟练工人的）辅助工

参考例句：

• Laborers were trained to handle 50-ton compactors and giant cranes. 工人们接受操作五十吨压土机和巨型起重机的训练。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》
• Wage-labour rests exclusively on competition between the laborers. 雇佣劳动完全是建立在工人的自相竞争之上的。 来自英汉非文学 - 共产党宣言

10 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。

11 lieutenant   

n.陆军中尉，海军上尉；代理官员，副职官员

参考例句：

• He was promoted to be a lieutenant in the army.他被提升为陆军中尉。
• He prevailed on the lieutenant to send in a short note.他说动那个副官，递上了一张简短的便条进去。

12 sanctuary   

n.圣所，圣堂，寺庙；禁猎区，保护区

参考例句：

• There was a sanctuary of political refugees behind the hospital.医院后面有一个政治难民的避难所。
• Most countries refuse to give sanctuary to people who hijack aeroplanes.大多数国家拒绝对劫机者提供庇护。