美国国家公共电台 NPR Supreme Court To Consider How Long Immigrants May Be Detained Without Bond Hearing

Supreme¹ Court To Consider How Long Immigrants May Be Detained Without Bond Hearing

play pause stop mute unmute max volume 00:0003:54repeat repeat off Update Required To play the media you will need to either update your browser² to a recent version or update your Flash plugin. STEVE INSKEEP, HOST: 

Now, this next story is a reminder³ of the complexities⁴ of immigration law. Today, the Supreme Court takes up important immigration questions. The case concerns immigrants who are detained for more than six months. The question is whether they have a right to a hearing to try to get out on bond. Here's NPR legal affairs correspondent Nina Totenberg.

NINA TOTENBERG, BYLINE⁵: This case is not about people who enter the United States illegally. These are not the usual deportation⁷ cases where facts are cut and dried and people are deported⁸ after a month or two of detention⁹. Rather, these are lawful¹⁰ permanent residents whom the government is trying to deport⁶ because they committed a crime, or they're people who turned themselves in at the border seeking asylum¹¹ because they claim a reasonable fear of persecution¹².

When their cases are ultimately decided¹³, these people have a good chance of prevailing¹⁴. Forty percent of the lawful permanent residents and 70 percent of the asylum-seekers eventually win and remain here legally. The problem is their cases take a long time - on average, 13 months. And while detention may sound benign¹⁵, it is not, says Ahilan Arulanantham, who will argue the immigrants' case today.

AHILAN ARULANANTHAM: Well, if you walk into a detention center, you would think you were in a prison. The people who are there wear colored jumpsuits. They live in cells or sometimes in dorm-style barracks. Their movement is strictly¹⁶ controlled by guards. If you want to go visit your family member, you can't touch them. You have to talk to them usually through a phone with a glass pane¹⁷ separating you.

TOTENBERG: Two federal appeals courts have ruled that, after six months, these detainees are entitled to a hearing to determine if they are a safety or flight risk. And if they're not, the lower court said, they should be allowed temporary release after posting a money bond or agreeing to electronic monitoring or both. The Obama administration is challenging those decisions, arguing that the lower courts exceeded their authority.

Lawyers for the immigrants make their argument through examples. The lead plaintiff in the case, for example, is Alejandro Rodriguez, a 39-year-old lawful permanent resident of the U.S. who was brought to this country when he was an infant. He was working as a dental assistant when he was picked up and detained for deportation based on a 1998 conviction for joy riding - not a deportable¹⁸ offense¹⁹ - and a later conviction for drug possession, which is deportable at the discretion²⁰ of the immigration court.

Rodriguez was detained for three years and ultimately prevailed in keeping his status as a lawful permanent resident. The other category of people before the court today are asylum-seekers. They've been evaluated and judged to have a credible²¹ fear of persecution in their home countries. The ACLU, which is representing the immigrants in these cases, points, for example, to the case of an Ethiopian asylum-seeker who fled his homeland after he was abducted²², held for over a year and tortured.

Upon arriving in the U.S., he was detained without any chance for release after a Department of Homeland Security officer mistakenly thought he was from Somalia. After he was detained for nine months, he was granted asylum. In today's case, immigration lawyers representing a class of 6,000 to 8,000 people contend the detentions²³ that average 13 months amount to an unconstitutional deprivation²⁴ of liberty for a prolonged period and that detainees are entitled to a bond hearing after six months.

The Obama administration replies that these arguments are all beside the point because, in the government's view, the executive and legislative²⁵ branches traditionally have the power to control immigration matters, free from any judicial²⁶ oversight²⁷. In short, the government argues that if Congress or the president want to change the law or the immigration regulations, either can do so, but the courts have no business meddling²⁸ in such matters. Nina Totenberg, NPR News, Washington.

1 supreme   

adj.极度的，最重要的；至高的，最高的

参考例句：

• It was the supreme moment in his life.那是他一生中最重要的时刻。
• He handed up the indictment to the supreme court.他把起诉书送交最高法院。

2 browser   

n.浏览者

参考例句：

• View edits in a web browser.在浏览器中看编辑的效果。
• I think my browser has a list of shareware links.我想在浏览器中会有一系列的共享软件链接。

3 reminder   

n.提醒物，纪念品；暗示，提示

参考例句：

• I have had another reminder from the library.我又收到图书馆的催还单。
• It always took a final reminder to get her to pay her share of the rent.总是得发给她一份最后催缴通知，她才付应该交的房租。

4 complexities   

复杂性(complexity的名词复数)； 复杂的事物

参考例句：

• The complexities of life bothered him. 生活的复杂使他困惑。
• The complexities of life bothered me. 生活的杂乱事儿使我心烦。

5 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。

6 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。

7 deportation   

n.驱逐，放逐

参考例句：

• The government issued a deportation order against the four men.政府发出了对那4名男子的驱逐令。
• Years ago convicted criminals in England could face deportation to Australia.很多年以前，英国已定罪的犯人可能被驱逐到澳大利亚。

8 deported   

v.将…驱逐出境( deport的过去式和过去分词 )；举止

参考例句：

• They stripped me of my citizenship and deported me. 他们剥夺我的公民资格，将我驱逐出境。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The convicts were deported to a deserted island. 罪犯们被流放到一个荒岛。 来自《简明英汉词典》

9 detention   

n.滞留，停留；拘留，扣留；(教育)留下

参考例句：

• He was kept in detention by the police.他被警察扣留了。
• He was in detention in connection with the bribery affair.他因与贿赂事件有牵连而被拘留了。

10 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。

11 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。

12 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。

13 decided   

adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的

参考例句：

• This gave them a decided advantage over their opponents.这使他们比对手具有明显的优势。
• There is a decided difference between British and Chinese way of greeting.英国人和中国人打招呼的方式有很明显的区别。

14 prevailing   

adj.盛行的；占优势的；主要的

参考例句：

• She wears a fashionable hair style prevailing in the city.她的发型是这个城市流行的款式。
• This reflects attitudes and values prevailing in society.这反映了社会上盛行的态度和价值观。

15 benign   

adj.善良的，慈祥的；良性的，无危险的

参考例句：

• The benign weather brought North America a bumper crop.温和的气候给北美带来大丰收。
• Martha is a benign old lady.玛莎是个仁慈的老妇人。

16 strictly   

adv.严厉地，严格地；严密地

参考例句：

• His doctor is dieting him strictly.他的医生严格规定他的饮食。
• The guests were seated strictly in order of precedence.客人严格按照地位高低就座。

17 pane   

n.窗格玻璃，长方块

参考例句：

• He broke this pane of glass.他打破了这块窗玻璃。
• Their breath bloomed the frosty pane.他们呼出的水气，在冰冷的窗玻璃上形成一层雾。

18 deportable   

adj.可（或应）驱逐出境的，可（或应）流放的

参考例句：

• Mr. Chertoff argues that China's reluctance to take back deportable immigrants only encourages asylum seekers. 切特夫称，中国不愿接受非法移民只会鼓励更多的人寻求政治庇护。 来自互联网

19 offense   

n.犯规，违法行为；冒犯，得罪

参考例句：

• I hope you will not take any offense at my words. 对我讲的话请别见怪。
• His words gave great offense to everybody present.他的发言冲犯了在场的所有人。

20 discretion   

n.谨慎；随意处理

参考例句：

• You must show discretion in choosing your friend.你择友时必须慎重。
• Please use your best discretion to handle the matter.请慎重处理此事。

21 credible   

adj.可信任的，可靠的

参考例句：

• The news report is hardly credible.这则新闻报道令人难以置信。
• Is there a credible alternative to the nuclear deterrent?是否有可以取代核威慑力量的可靠办法？

22 abducted   

劫持，诱拐( abduct的过去式和过去分词 )； 使（肢体等）外展

参考例句：

• Detectives have not ruled out the possibility that she was abducted. 侦探尚未排除她被绑架的可能性。
• The kid was abducted at the gate of kindergarten. 那小孩在幼儿园大门口被绑架走了。

23 detentions   

拘留( detention的名词复数 )； 扣押； 监禁； 放学后留校

参考例句：

• Teachers may assign detention tasks as they wish and some detentions have been actually dangerous. 老师可能随心所欲指派关禁闭的形式，有些禁闭事实上很危险。
• Intimidation, beatings and administrative detentions are often enough to prevent them from trying again. 恐吓，拷打和行政拘留足以阻止请愿者二次进京的脚步。

24 deprivation   

n.匮乏；丧失；夺去，贫困

参考例句：

• Many studies make it clear that sleep deprivation is dangerous.多实验都证实了睡眠被剥夺是危险的。
• Missing the holiday was a great deprivation.错过假日是极大的损失。

25 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。

26 judicial   

adj.司法的，法庭的，审判的，明断的，公正的

参考例句：

• He is a man with a judicial mind.他是个公正的人。
• Tom takes judicial proceedings against his father.汤姆对他的父亲正式提出诉讼。

27 oversight   

n.勘漏，失察，疏忽

参考例句：

• I consider this a gross oversight on your part.我把这件事看作是你的一大疏忽。
• Your essay was not marked through an oversight on my part.由于我的疏忽你的文章没有打分。

28 meddling   

v.干涉，干预（他人事务）( meddle的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• He denounced all "meddling" attempts to promote a negotiation. 他斥责了一切“干预”促成谈判的企图。 来自辞典例句
• They liked this field because it was never visited by meddling strangers. 她们喜欢这块田野，因为好事的陌生人从来不到那里去。 来自辞典例句