Biden task force makes progress reuniting families separated at the border

Biden task force makes progress reuniting families separated at the border

Transcript¹

NPR's Leila Fadel talks to Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas about the process of reuniting families separated at the southern border by Trump²-era policies.

LEILA FADEL, HOST:

On the campaign trail, President Biden made big promises about a humane³ approach to immigration, proposed solutions to fix the broken immigration system in the U.S. He signed executive orders to unravel⁴ Trump-era immigration policies that separated thousands of families, including the creation of a task force to reunite some of the families that were separated at the U.S. southern border. That task force was created a year ago today. Department of Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas is in charge of that effort, and he joins me now to talk about how it's going.

Good morning.

ALEJANDRO MAYORKAS: Good morning, Leila. Thanks so much for having me.

FADEL: So let's start with this task force. Under the Trump administration, some 4,000 children were separated from their parents. Two thousand one hundred eighty-seven of them were reunited with their families before President Trump left office. And this task force was tasked with bringing these families back together - the remaining more than a thousand. It's been a year. What's the status?

MAYORKAS: Leila, we have accomplished⁵ a great deal. When we commenced our task force one year ago, what we encountered was an absence of records of the families who were separated, or incomplete or inaccurate⁶ records. And our first challenge was to actually identify the separated families. We have thus far reunified more than 120 families. We are in the process of reunifying more than 400. And we are present in the countries of origin to reach other families and encourage them to come forward.

FADEL: You know, I do think that some expected more progress than 120 children a year on.

MAYORKAS: Well, you know, we have, as I mentioned, almost 400 additional families in the pipeline⁷. And much of the preliminary work was identifying the families in the first instance and also building the structure for them to reunify here in the United States to be able to build a system that grants them humanitarian⁸ parole, the ability to come forward, gain lawful⁹ presence in the United States, to be together again with their children.

FADEL: I just wanted to clarify what lawful presence actually means for these families.

MAYORKAS: So what that means is when we bring them into the United States, their presence here is lawful. They are lawfully¹⁰ present.

FADEL: But it wouldn't give them permanent status, as many advocates would want.

MAYORKAS: It would not give them status - permanent status. And we are advocating that Congress provide that permanent status. That requires legislative¹¹ action.

FADEL: I did want to talk about your recent visit to the border. And I'd love to hear, you know, what concerns you heard and how you plan to address what you heard from border agents.

MAYORKAS: I traveled to Arizona and different parts of Texas and was actually in New Mexico as well to hear from them and to hear their candid¹² observations. They expressed concerns with respect to the resources they have to do their jobs - more personnel, more and better equipment. They, of course, expressed concerns with some of the policies of this administration, and I should say, not with unanimity¹³. That's what openness and candor¹⁴ are all about and what define a good organization.

FADEL: You know, I obviously have to address - there were some videos of agents who really were upset at the administration, saying they're not doing enough to secure the border. What would you say to them?

MAYORKAS: Oh, they sure were very open and candid in their expression of views.

FADEL: Yeah.

MAYORKAS: I welcome that openness. But we are very focused on the security of the border. That is one of the immigration enforcement priorities that I expressed. And we remain committed to that mission set.

FADEL: So you've said repeatedly, and the president has said, that you want to take a humane approach to immigration. And that started with doing away with the controversial Trump-era policy referred to as Remain in Mexico. It forced migrants to stay in unsanitary camps in some of the most dangerous parts of Mexico. A federal court ruled and reinstated it, and now DHS has expanded the use of the Remain in Mexico policy. What's the plan there going forward?

MAYORKAS: Leila, the court compelled us to re-implement the program, but we are doing it very differently than the prior administration. We are providing greater access to counsel. We have worked very closely with Mexico to ensure the safety and security of individuals who are remaining in Mexico while their immigration cases are pending¹⁵. We have not expanded the program. I think that...

FADEL: OK.

MAYORKAS: ...I would respectfully disagree with that framing.

FADEL: Oh, I read from a spokesperson that the program was expanded after the - to comply with the federal court ruling. Is that incorrect?

MAYORKAS: I would submit that it is.

FADEL: OK.

MAYORKAS: What we have seen is a change in the population of individuals who are encountered at the border. We're seeing individuals from different countries. The Remain in Mexico policy does not discriminate¹⁶ according to one country or another. We take into consideration a number of different factors. But we address the population and its composition as we encounter it.

FADEL: I do want to talk about the policy known as Title 42. That's the Trump-era policy, which allows the government to immediately expel migrants in a public health crisis. The government is still leaning heavily on this policy, despite calls from the U.N. to lift the asylum¹⁷ restrictions¹⁸ in line with, quote, "legal and human rights obligations." Why is this policy still in place?

MAYORKAS: Leila, the Title 42 policy is a - it's an authority that is held by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. It is not an immigration policy. It is a public health policy. And the CDC has determined¹⁹ that while the pandemic is not behind us, it is a public health imperative²⁰. It is our hope that we will not need to enforce the Title 42 authority of the CDC because that will mean that we have placed the pandemic behind us.

FADEL: Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas - thank you so much for your time.

MAYORKAS: Thank you so much, Leila.

(SOUNDBITE OF THE NATIONAL SONG, "ADA")

1 transcript   

n.抄本，誊本，副本，肄业证书

参考例句：

• A transcript of the tapes was presented as evidence in court.一份录音带的文字本作为证据被呈交法庭。
• They wouldn't let me have a transcript of the interview.他们拒绝给我一份采访的文字整理稿。

2 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。

3 humane   

adj.人道的，富有同情心的

参考例句：

• Is it humane to kill animals for food?宰杀牲畜来吃合乎人道吗？
• Their aim is for a more just and humane society.他们的目标是建立一个更加公正、博爱的社会。

4 unravel   

v.弄清楚（秘密）；拆开，解开，松开

参考例句：

• He was good with his hands and could unravel a knot or untangle yarn that others wouldn't even attempt.他的手很灵巧，其他人甚至都不敢尝试的一些难解的绳结或缠在一起的纱线，他都能解开。
• This is the attitude that led him to unravel a mystery that long puzzled Chinese historians.正是这种态度使他解决了长期以来使中国历史学家们大惑不解的谜。

5 accomplished   

adj.有才艺的；有造诣的；达到了的

参考例句：

• Thanks to your help,we accomplished the task ahead of schedule.亏得你们帮忙,我们才提前完成了任务。
• Removal of excess heat is accomplished by means of a radiator.通过散热器完成多余热量的排出。

6 inaccurate   

adj.错误的，不正确的，不准确的

参考例句：

• The book is both inaccurate and exaggerated.这本书不但不准确，而且夸大其词。
• She never knows the right time because her watch is inaccurate.她从来不知道准确的时间因为她的表不准。

7 pipeline   

n.管道，管线

参考例句：

• The pipeline supplies Jordan with 15 per cent of its crude oil.该管道供给约旦15%的原油。
• A single pipeline serves all the houses with water.一条单管路给所有的房子供水。

8 humanitarian   

n.人道主义者，博爱者，基督凡人论者

参考例句：

• She has many humanitarian interests and contributes a lot to them.她拥有很多慈善事业，并作了很大的贡献。
• The British government has now suspended humanitarian aid to the area.英国政府现已暂停对这一地区的人道主义援助。

9 lawful   

adj.法律许可的，守法的，合法的

参考例句：

• It is not lawful to park in front of a hydrant.在消火栓前停车是不合法的。
• We don't recognised him to be the lawful heir.我们不承认他为合法继承人。

10 lawfully   

adv.守法地，合法地；合理地

参考例句：

• Lawfully established contracts shall be protected by law. 依法成立的合同应受法律保护。 来自口语例句
• As my lawfully wedded husband, in sickness and in health, till death parts us. 当成是我的合法丈夫，无论疾病灾难，直到死亡把我们分开。 来自电影对白

11 legislative   

n.立法机构，立法权；adj.立法的，有立法权的

参考例句：

• Congress is the legislative branch of the U.S. government.国会是美国政府的立法部门。
• Today's hearing was just the first step in the legislative process.今天的听证会只是展开立法程序的第一步。

12 candid   

adj.公正的，正直的；坦率的

参考例句：

• I cannot but hope the candid reader will give some allowance for it.我只有希望公正的读者多少包涵一些。
• He is quite candid with his friends.他对朋友相当坦诚。

13 unanimity   

n.全体一致，一致同意

参考例句：

• These discussions have led to a remarkable unanimity.这些讨论导致引人注目的一致意见。
• There is no unanimity of opinion as to the best one.没有一个公认的最好意见。

14 candor   

n.坦白，率真

参考例句：

• He covered a wide range of topics with unusual candor.他极其坦率地谈了许多问题。
• He and his wife had avoided candor,and they had drained their marriage.他们夫妻间不坦率，已使婚姻奄奄一息。

15 pending   

prep.直到，等待…期间；adj.待定的；迫近的

参考例句：

• The lawsuit is still pending in the state court.这案子仍在州法庭等待定夺。
• He knew my examination was pending.他知道我就要考试了。

16 discriminate   

v.区别，辨别，区分；有区别地对待

参考例句：

• You must learn to discriminate between facts and opinions.你必须学会把事实和看法区分出来。
• They can discriminate hundreds of colours.他们能分辨上百种颜色。

17 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。

18 restrictions   

约束( restriction的名词复数 )； 管制； 制约因素； 带限制性的条件（或规则）

参考例句：

• I found the restrictions irksome. 我对那些限制感到很烦。
• a snaggle of restrictions 杂乱无章的种种限制

19 determined   

adj.坚定的；有决心的

参考例句：

• I have determined on going to Tibet after graduation.我已决定毕业后去西藏。
• He determined to view the rooms behind the office.他决定查看一下办公室后面的房间。

20 imperative   

n.命令，需要；规则；祈使语气；adj.强制的；紧急的

参考例句：

• He always speaks in an imperative tone of voice.他老是用命令的口吻讲话。
• The events of the past few days make it imperative for her to act.过去这几天发生的事迫使她不得不立即行动。