美国国家公共电台 NPR--Pandemic rules allowing for fast expulsions of migrants at the border are expiring

Pandemic rules allowing for fast expulsions of migrants at the border are expiring

Transcript¹

Migrants, communities and immigration officials are gathering² along the southern border to register for court dates involving asylum³ applications in the U.S. Title 42 restrictions⁴ end Thursday night.

STEVE INSKEEP, HOST:

The head of the U.S. Border Patrol says up to 65,000 people are near the southern border and ready to cross.

MICHEL MARTIN, HOST:

Some estimates are far higher. But whatever the exact number, people are in position as pandemic restrictions expire today. The policy, known as Title 42, made it easier for the U.S. to deport⁵ asylum-seekers and others. The big question now is whether the end of this policy will encourage a lot more people to cross.

INSKEEP: U.S. Border officials are suggesting there's less to worry about than it may have seemed. NPR's Joel Rose is getting a look for himself. He's in El Paso, Texas. Hey there, Joel.

JOEL ROSE, BYLINE⁶: Hey, Steve.

INSKEEP: What are you seeing?

ROSE: Well, there are migrants on the street in downtown El Paso. They are not hard to find. But there are not as many as you would have seen here, say, in December. Border-wide, there have been more than 10,000 migrant apprehensions⁷ per day now for several days in a row, and the number of people in Border Patrol holding facilities is way above their official capacity. There are upwards⁸ of 26,000 migrants in those facilities as of yesterday afternoon. That is according to the Border Patrol Chief Raul Ortiz. Ortiz says that number actually is down slightly from yesterday morning.

He believes what's happening this week is the spike⁹ that people have been waiting for and that he does not expect to see another big jump after Title 42 lifts. Ortiz told reporters here that there are about 60- to 65,000 migrants waiting near the border to cross, though, as you have noted¹⁰, other estimates are much, much higher than that. And if those higher estimates are right, it could really overwhelm the resources of the Border Patrol and local communities.

INSKEEP: OK. So at least from the Border Patrol, an indication that this may not be that bad. Of course, we have to wait and see. What is El Paso doing to prepare for whatever happens?

ROSE: They are not taking any chances. They've opened an emergency shelter at a former middle school here to house migrants temporarily if necessary. El Paso Mayor Oscar Leeser said that he had visited Juarez yesterday, just across the border in Mexico, talked to officials there, and that the number of migrants in Juarez seemed to be down from just a few days ago.

(SOUNDBITE OF PRESS CONFERENCE)

OSCAR LEESER: We've seen the numbers decline. We've seen the numbers are down. But we don't know what's coming in the next days. We know that they'll continue to come, and we'll continue to make sure that we help them.

ROSE: These are migrants who are fleeing from violence and poverty and political instability, fleeing from countries all over the Western Hemisphere. But in practice, most of the migrants we're seeing here are from Venezuela and other South American countries.

INSKEEP: Twice you've had the indication from people of the numbers declining rather than increasing. Are you hearing from any of the migrants themselves?

ROSE: Yeah. We talked to one migrant named Lilibeth Ramirez, who came from Colombia along with her partner and their 4-year-old son. And she said they had been deliberately¹¹ watching the situation at the border closely and made the decision to cross before Title 42 lifts.

LILIBETH RAMIREZ: (Through interpreter) Of course, we knew that if we crossed before the 11, the chances of being allowed to stay here were better for us.

ROSE: Her assessment¹² is that U.S. authorities are going to begin cracking down on illegal border crossings, and it will get harder for migrants to come in after Title 42. But that is just one family. You know, other migrants we've talked with are confused about what the end of Title 42 is going to mean, and many could reach a very different conclusion and decide to cross later.

INSKEEP: True. But it's very interesting what you are hearing from that one person because the Biden administration has been saying they're making big changes to border policy that will still make it hard for people to cross when Title 42 ends. Sounds like she believes them. What are they doing?

ROSE: Yeah. The Biden administration has rolled out this combination of new legal pathways and much tougher restrictions on asylum at the border. The administration published its final text of a new rule on asylum yesterday, and they say they will begin enforcing that rule tomorrow.

INSKEEP: Well, NPR's Joel Rose will keep looking for the reality as it unfolds rather than just the fear of what may happen. Joel, thanks so much.

ROSE: You bet.

INSKEEP: NPR's Joel Rose is in El Paso, Texas, and watching.

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 gathering   

n.集会，聚会，聚集

参考例句：

• He called on Mr. White to speak at the gathering.他请怀特先生在集会上讲话。
• He is on the wing gathering material for his novels.他正忙于为他的小说收集资料。

3 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。

4 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

5 deport   

vt.驱逐出境

参考例句：

• We deport aliens who slip across our borders.我们把偷渡入境的外国人驱逐出境。
• More than 240 England football fans are being deported from Italy following riots last night.昨晚的骚乱发生后有240多名英格兰球迷被驱逐出意大利。

6 byline   

n.署名；v.署名

参考例句：

• His byline was absent as well.他的署名也不见了。
• We wish to thank the author of this article which carries no byline.我们要感谢这篇文章的那位没有署名的作者。

7 apprehensions   

疑惧

参考例句：

• He stood in a mixture of desire and apprehensions. 他怀着渴望和恐惧交加的心情伫立着。
• But subsequent cases have removed many of these apprehensions. 然而，随后的案例又消除了许多类似的忧虑。

8 upwards   

adv.向上，在更高处...以上

参考例句：

• The trend of prices is still upwards.物价的趋向是仍在上涨。
• The smoke rose straight upwards.烟一直向上升。

9 spike   

n.长钉，钉鞋；v.以大钉钉牢，使...失效

参考例句：

• The spike pierced the receipts and held them in order.那个钉子穿过那些收据并使之按顺序排列。
• They'll do anything to spike the guns of the opposition.他们会使出各种手段来挫败对手。

10 noted   

adj.著名的，知名的

参考例句：

• The local hotel is noted for its good table.当地的那家酒店以餐食精美而著称。
• Jim is noted for arriving late for work.吉姆上班迟到出了名。

11 deliberately   

adv.审慎地；蓄意地；故意地

参考例句：

• The girl gave the show away deliberately.女孩故意泄露秘密。
• They deliberately shifted off the argument.他们故意回避这个论点。

12 assessment   

n.评价；评估；对财产的估价，被估定的金额

参考例句：

• This is a very perceptive assessment of the situation.这是一个对该情况的极富洞察力的评价。
• What is your assessment of the situation?你对时局的看法如何？