VOA慢速英语2019 美国移民局开办的假大学（在线收听）

Fake University Set Up By US Immigration Agents

The University of Farmington described itself on its website as a school for science and business that dates back to the 1950s. The school, near the city of Detroit, Michigan, said it “combines traditional instruction and distance learning” and offers “flexible class schedules.”

法明顿大学在其网站上自称为一家面向科学和商业的学校，其历史可以追溯到20世纪50年代。这所位于密歇根州底特律市附近的学校表示，该校“结合了传统教学和远程教学，”并提供“灵活的课程安排。”

But the University of Farmington had no instruction, no classes and no teachers at all. Instead, the Detroit Free Press reports, the school was a fake university meant to “target foreign students who wanted to stay in the U.S.” illegally. It was set up by the Department of Homeland Security, a U.S. government agency that oversees immigration.

但是法明顿大学根本没有教学、没有课程，也没有教师。据《底特律自由报》报道，该校是一所“针对那些想非法滞留美国的外国学生”的虚假大学，它是美国国土安全局设立的，这是美国一家负责移民事务的政府机构。

A federal grand jury in Detroit has charged eight people in connection to the investigation. All eight people worked as student recruiters for the university. Most are from India.

底特律的一个联邦大陪审团已经起诉了8名与调查相关的人士，这8人都作为该大学的招生人员，大多数来自于印度。

The charges were filed earlier this year and made public Wednesday. The charging documents say recruiters “conspired with each other” to permit over 600 foreign citizens to illegally stay in the country. The recruiters reportedly took in over $250,000 in profits from 2017 to early this year.

这些指控是在今年年初提出的，并于周三公布于众。指控文件称，这些招生人员“合谋”让600名外国公民非法滞留美国。据报道，从2017年到今年年初，这些招生人员获取了超过25万美元的利润。

The charges say the recruiters knew the university was fake. But what they did not know was that the school was part of a secret operation by agents with Homeland Security.

指控称这些招生人员知道这是一家虚假大学，但是他们不知道的是，这所学校是美国国土安全局特工采取的秘密行动的一部分。

The U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, or ICE, is part of the Homeland Security department. In a statement Wednesday, ICE said the agents had been carrying out the investigation since 2015.

美国移民和海关执法局（简称ICE）隶属于国土安全部。该局在周三的一份声明中表示，这些特工从2015年开始一直在进行这项调查。

ICE says the recruiters and the foreign students “knew that the school had no instructors or actual classes.” The students who registered at the fake university were part of a student visa program called CPT (Curricular Practical Training). The program permits international students to work in the United States.

美国移民和海关执法局表示，招生人员和外国学生“知道这所学校没有教师或实际课程。”在这所虚假大学注册的学生是一项名为课程实践培训的学生签证计划的一部分。该计划允许国际学生在美国工作。

U.S. Attorney Matthew Schneider said in a statement, “We are all aware that international students can be a valuable asset to our country, but as this case shows, the well-intended international student visa program can also be...abused.”

美国检察官马修·施耐德（Matthew Schneider）在一份声明中表示：“我们都知道国际学生可以成为我们国家的宝贵财富，但是正如本案所示，精心设计的国际学生签证计划也可能被滥用。”

Also on Wednesday, federal agents arrested about 100 students who registered for classes at the University of Farmington. Hundreds of others face possible arrest. The students face charges related to immigration violation and could be forced to leave the country, The Detroit News reported.

同样是在周三，联邦特工逮捕了大约100名在法明顿大学注册课程的学生，还有数百人可能面临被捕。据《底特律新闻》报道，这些学生面临与移民违规相关的指控，并可能被迫离开该国。

Many of the students are from an Indian ethnic group that speaks the Telugu language. On its Facebook page, the American Telugu Association said students should understand the risks of possible fake agents who “promise illegal ways to stay in USA through admissions in unaccredited colleges and universities.”

很多学生来自一个讲泰卢固语的印度族族群。美国泰卢固人协会表示，学生应该了解可能的虚假中介的风险，他们“承诺通过未经许可的大学非法滞留美国。”

The association planned a live video program Thursday to help explain the issues to community members.

该协会计划在周四制作一档直播节目，以便向社区成员解释该问题。

I’m Jonathan Evans.

Words in This Story

schedule - n. a written or printed list of things and the times when they will be done

fake - adj. not true or real

jury - n. a group of people who are members of the public and are chosen to make a decision in a legal case

recruiter - n. a person who finds suitable people and get them to join a company, an organization, the armed forces, etc.

conspire - v. to secretly plan with someone to do something that is harmful or illegal

asset - n. valuable person or thing

well-intended - adj. well-meaning

unaccredited - adj. used to describe something that is not good enough to be given official approval