VOA常速英语2019--在美国的移民突击搜查中，几乎没有雇主承担责任（在线收听）

Few Employers Held Accountable in US Immigration Raids

US Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents recently raided seven agricultural processing plants in the state of Mississippi,

美国移民和海关执法人员最近突袭了密西西比州的七家农业加工厂， 

arresting some 680 designated removable aliens who were unlawfully working at the plants.

拘捕约六百八十名在指定区域活动的外国人，他们在工厂非法地工作。 

Yet few of these companies are likely to be charged for violating federal statutes on the unlawful employment of aliens,

然而，这些公司中很少有人可能因违反有关非法雇用外国人的联邦法律而受到指控， 

because it is usually difficult to prove they had prior knowledge their workers were in the country illegally.

因为通常很难证明他们事先知道他们的工人是非法移民。 

Penalties for hiring undocumented workers range from $100 per violation to ten thousand dollars and up to six months in prison for multiple infractions.

雇佣非法劳工的罚款是每次一百美元到一万美元不等，多次违规最多可判六个月监禁。 

Anti-immigration groups say the lack of strong enforcement against business owners is failing to cut off a key incentive for illegal immigration.

反移民组织表示，对企业主缺乏强有力的执法，未能切断非法移民的一个关键动机。 

Jobs.

工作。 

We’re attacking the limbs, we’re not attacking the root of the problem.

我们攻击的是细枝末节，而不是问题的根源。 

Many companies utilize the e-verify System, a voluntary government program that checks the legal status of workers.

许多公司使用电子身分认证系统，这是一个自愿的政府项目，用来检查工人的合法身份。 

But even pro business advocates admitted is a flawed system because fraudulent documents often go unchallenged,

但即使是商业支持者也承认这是一个有缺陷的体系，因为欺诈性文件往往不会被质疑， 

while at the same time giving employers legal cover to maintain their workforce.

同时给雇主提供合法的掩护来维持他们的劳动力。 

My number one theory about e-verify is that it doesn’t work and that’s the only reason why it’s popularbecause politicians can look tough while pushing it but know that it won’t harm the local economy.

我关于电子身份认证系统的第一个说法是它不起作用，这也是它受欢迎的唯一原因，因为政客们在推行它的时候可以显得很强硬，但他们知道它不会损害当地经济。

Immigrant rights groups object to working migrants being treated as criminals.

移民权利组织反对将打工的移民当作罪犯对待。 

Pro-business supporters want legal immigration expanded to address the labor shortage in the US.

商业支持人士希望扩大合法移民，以解决美国的劳动力短缺问题。 

The number one policy we need is to make it possible for lower and mid skilled workers to be able to come to this country legally,to be able to work for a term of time and then to be able to go back to their home countries.

我们需要的第一项政策是使中低技能工人能够合法地来到这个国家，能够工作一段时间，然后能够回到他们的祖国。

Anti-immigration proponents dispute there is a labor shortage only an unwillingness to pay living wages to workersand want business owners to face more than the occasional fine for hiring undocumented immigrants.

反移民支持者认为，劳工短缺只是不愿向工人支付最低生活工资，他们希望企业主在雇用非法移民时面临的不只是偶尔的罚款。

They factor that in as a cost of doing business and that has to change and the only thing that will change that I think our severe penalties that could result in jail.

他们把这作为做生意的成本，这必须改变，唯一会改变的是，我认为我们的严厉惩罚可能导致坐牢。

Both immigration critics and advocates agree enforcement measures have been ineffective.

移民批评人士和移民维权人士都认为，执法措施是无效的。 

But there continues to be no consensus on how to reform the system.

但对于如何改革这一系统，各方仍未达成共识。