VOA慢速英语--中美洲寻求庇护者抵达美国边境

Central American Asylum¹-Seekers Reach US Border

About 130 migrants from Central America have arrived at the United States border with Mexico seeking asylum.

The group has been called a “caravan²” and it has been sharply criticized by U.S. President Donald Trump³ and other U.S. government officials.

The Associated Press, or AP, reports that two buses, carrying mostly women and children, arrived late Tuesday in the Mexican border city of Tijuana. They stopped at two migrant shelters close to the border.

U.S. lawyers planned to lead informational meetings later this week on U.S. asylum law. They will tell the immigrants what to expect when they seek asylum. The first groups plan to try to enter the U.S. on Sunday at a border crossing near San Diego, California.

Trump opposes entry of caravans⁴

Trump and other officials have described the caravans and asylum seekers as evidence that security at the border with Mexico is a serious problem. The president tweeted this week that he opposed permitting such groups into the country.

Activist⁵ organizations have used caravans for years to bring attention to the issue of Central American asylum-seekers. Many migrants travel to the U.S. hoping to receive asylum. They say they are escaping political persecution⁶ or threats from criminal gangs.

The latest caravan began on March 25 in the Mexican city of Tapachula, near Mexico’s border with Guatemala. It has received the most attention since the president has said the group’s efforts are an example why a border wall is necessary.

The asylum-seekers said they plan to turn themselves in to U.S. officials at the border.

Taxi driver Jovanne Torres is from El Salvador. He arrived in Tijuana on Tuesday. He told the AP that the U.S. president’s criticism of the caravan makes him believe he will not get asylum for himself, his wife and his two young daughters.

But he still plans to try.

Torres said he fled his hometown near the city of San Salvador and joined the caravan after a gang threatened to kill him and his wife.

He said this was because he had refused to give a free ride to a gang member.

He said he could be killed if he goes home, and wants to join family members in Houston.

“Trump’s words have made it difficult for us,” he said.

A history of busy borders

This caravan’s numbers are relatively⁷ small.

However, in 2014, about 200,000 people were arrested at Mexico’s border with the state of Texas in the Rio Grande Valley.

And in 2016, thousands of Haitians seeking to enter the U.S. turned themselves in to U.S. border agents at the Tijuana-San Diego border crossing.

The San Diego border crossing was overwhelmed by Haitians. U.S. officials then worked with Mexican border officials to create a ticketing system. This let the Haitians in over time. Some waited their turn in Tijuana for more than five weeks.

Pete Flores is director of the San Diego field office of the U.S. Customs and Border Protection. He says his office has space to hold about 300 people at the crossing. Then, asylum-seekers are sent to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement. Officials of that agency decide if people should be held for a longer period or if they can be released until their trial date.

Recently, asylum seekers wait only a few hours, never overnight, Flores said.

Asylum-seekers first need to establish with asylum officers that they have a “credible fear” of returning to their homeland. If they pass, they are permitted to enter the U.S. and face a sometimes long process before U.S. immigration judges.

Homeland Security Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen said Wednesday that anyone who makes false claims to immigration officials could face criminal prosecution⁸. She said that is the case for anyone who helps immigrants to make false claims.

The secretary also said asylum seekers in the caravan should seek protection in the first safe country they reach. That includes Mexico, she said.

I’m Phil Dierking.

Words in This Story

caravan - n. a group of vehicles (such as cars or wagons) traveling together?

disgrace - v. to cause (someone) to feel ashamed?

gang - n. a group of criminals?

persecute⁹ - v. to treat (someone) cruelly or unfairly especially because of race or religious or political beliefs?

overwhelm - v. to cause (someone) to have too many things to deal with?

prosecution - n. the act or process of holding a trial against a person who is accused of a crime to see if that person is guilty?

ticket - n. a piece of paper that allows you to see a show, participate in an event, travel on a vehicle, etc.?

tweet - n. to write a brief message (called a tweet) on the Internet using a service called Twitter

1 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。

2 caravan   

n.大蓬车；活动房屋

参考例句：

• The community adviser gave us a caravan to live in.社区顾问给了我们一间活动住房栖身。
• Geoff connected the caravan to the car.杰弗把旅行用的住屋拖车挂在汽车上。

3 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。

4 caravans   

（可供居住的）拖车（通常由机动车拖行）( caravan的名词复数 )； 篷车； （穿过沙漠地带的）旅行队（如商队）

参考例句：

• Old-fashioned gypsy caravans are painted wooden vehicles that are pulled by horses. 旧式的吉卜赛大篷车是由马拉的涂了颜色的木质车辆。
• Old-fashioned gypsy caravans are painted wooden vehicles. 旧时的吉普赛大篷车是涂了颜色的木质车辆。

5 activist   

n.活动分子，积极分子

参考例句：

• He's been a trade union activist for many years.多年来他一直是工会的积极分子。
• He is a social activist in our factory.他是我厂的社会活动积极分子。

6 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。

7 relatively   

adv.比较...地，相对地

参考例句：

• The rabbit is a relatively recent introduction in Australia.兔子是相对较新引入澳大利亚的物种。
• The operation was relatively painless.手术相对来说不痛。

8 prosecution   

n.起诉，告发，检举，执行，经营

参考例句：

• The Smiths brought a prosecution against the organizers.史密斯家对组织者们提出起诉。
• He attempts to rebut the assertion made by the prosecution witness.他试图反驳原告方证人所作的断言。

9 persecute   

vt.迫害，虐待；纠缠，骚扰

参考例句：

• They persecute those who do not conform to their ideas.他们迫害那些不信奉他们思想的人。
• Hitler's undisguised effort to persecute the Jews met with worldwide condemnation.希特勒对犹太人的露骨迫害行为遭到世界人民的谴责。