美国国家公共电台 NPR Borderland Trump Supporters Welcome A Wall In Their Own Backyard

Borderland Trump¹ Supporters Welcome A Wall In Their Own Backyard

STEVE INSKEEP, HOST:

From the earliest days of his campaign, Donald Trump has had one consistent crowd pleaser - his pledge to build a wall across the southern border.

(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)

DONALD TRUMP: (Chanting) Build that wall. Build that wall.

UNIDENTIFIED CROWD: (Chanting) Build that wall. Build that wall.

INSKEEP: That's Trump at a rally in Anaheim, Calif., this spring. Away from the Trump crowds, opinions of his proposal vary. Polls show most Americans oppose the idea. It's especially unpopular along the borderlands that would be directly affected², areas with many business and cultural ties with Mexico. Yet, along the border, the wall also has fans. During the Republican primary in Texas, Trump won several border counties. NPR's John Burnett traveled to some unexpected Trump country.

JOHN BURNETT, BYLINE³: Hudspeth County in far west Texas has desert, mountains, cactus⁴, coyotes and 250 Republicans. The GOP county chair is Maria Guadalupe Dempsey. She looks as sweet as a school crossing guard, but for 20 years, she worked as a criminal investigator⁵ with ICE. She says lots of folks in lower Hudspeth, where she lives, are concerned about border security.

MARIA GUADALUPE DEMPSEY: Border Patrol does a good job of patrolling this area, but it is kind of difficult to patrol it all the time, so I would see a wall maybe as a deterrent⁶.

BURNETT: As proof of a porous⁷ border, she tells me about a footbridge across the Rio Grande built years ago that's completely unguarded. I'm skeptical⁸, but seeing is believing.

So we're standing⁹ on this bridge over the Rio Grande. And anybody can cross it. It's a little metal walkway here. I mean, is this kind of exhibit A in the open border that you hope a President Trump would close?

DEMPSEY: The same that you would do in your house. You build a fence, you put a gate up, and you open and close it as you wish. You invite people in. You don't want people in who are not invited to come into the country.

BURNETT: After the interview, we go to a cafe for iced tea, and we meet a couple of Border Patrol agents Lupe knows. One of them smiles and says, we knew y'all were down there.

Drive six hours down river and you come to the quiet border town of Del Rio, home to an Air Force Base and Lake Amistad with its big bass¹⁰. Jon Anfinsen is a Border Patrol agent and local president of the National Border Patrol Council.

Your union has endorsed¹¹ Donald Trump.

JON ANFINSEN: OK.

BURNETT: His idea is to build a border wall from the Gulf¹² of Mexico to the Pacific. Is that feasible?

ANFINSEN: Well, I don't know if he's holding to the - from the coast of the Gulf. I don't know if he's holding to that anymore, but I know how the union has expressed it to him is that there are places where it absolutely is necessary. But there are other places where it's just not feasible. A lot of the area, it's hilly. And a lot - the terrain¹³ just would not support it. We have a lot of private land.

BURNETT: I mean, what do you think about Donald Trump?

ANFINSEN: Well, I know he's kind of polarizing, but what I do appreciate is now we have people talking about immigration like never before and border security like never before.

BURNETT: We're driving under a canopy¹⁴ of shade trees past small, hand-built houses that face the river and the rugged¹⁵ bluffs¹⁶ on the other side. I ask Agent Anfinsen to pull over so I can talk to a resident. We park at a closed gate. Inside, a man hauls himself out of a wheelchair. He's drinking a beer, and a small dog races around his feet.

ANDRES MONTEMAYOR: These dogs - that's all the protection we have.

BURNETT: Andres Montemayor is 66, a retired¹⁷ police officer. I ask what he thinks about the great wall of Trump that the candidate says he'll force Mexico to pay for.

MONTEMAYOR: I don't care who pays for it. I think we need protection on the border. You know why? Because our law enforcement are too undermanned.

BURNETT: Montemayor is understandably upset. A week before this interview, he says thieves waded¹⁸ across the river and stole his skill saw, chainsaw and grinder.

So you've got a really nice spot here right on the river.

MONTEMAYOR: We keep getting hit.

BURNETT: Well - but would you want a wall in front of your house?

MONTEMAYOR: Absolutely, if it protects my property. I don't have to kill somebody. I'm going to shoot to kill.

BURNETT: As I'm walking away from his gate, the ex-cop has a parting message.

MONTEMAYOR: If you can get a hold of Donald Trump, tell him we need him here.

BURNETT: Another three hours down the border highway brings you to the international trade hub of Laredo. In the old downtown neighborhood that backs up to the Rio Grande is where I met Elva Leyendecker. She's standing outside of her historic house built of river rocks before Texas won its independence.

ELVA LEYENDECKER: Mexico's my backyard - seriously.

BURNETT: Leyendecker is a devout¹⁹ Christian²⁰ and Republican, and she's Mexican-American. She plans to vote for Trump, not because Laredo needs a border fence - it already has one - but for other reasons.

LEYENDECKER: I know several women that come and have babies here that are Mexican citizens, which is right because you're an American citizen. I understand that. But they're making more money than those of us who are working because they have five children. People have to realize that this is a problem here.

BURNETT: The state of Texas did a study a decade ago on the impact of undocumented immigrants and concluded they generate more taxes and other revenue than the state spends on them. Last month, Arizona State University's Cronkite Center released a survey of border residents - 7 in 10 respondents said they do not want Trump's wall. John Burnett, NPR News, Laredo.

1 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。

2 affected   

adj.不自然的，假装的

参考例句：

• She showed an affected interest in our subject.她假装对我们的课题感到兴趣。
• His manners are affected.他的态度不自然。

3 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。

4 cactus   

n.仙人掌

参考例句：

• It was the first year that the cactus had produced flowers.这是这棵仙人掌第一年开花。
• The giant cactus is the vegetable skycraper.高大的仙人掌是植物界巨人。

5 investigator   

n.研究者，调查者，审查者

参考例句：

• He was a special investigator for the FBI.他是联邦调查局的特别调查员。
• The investigator was able to deduce the crime and find the criminal.调查者能够推出犯罪过程并锁定罪犯。

6 deterrent   

n.阻碍物，制止物；adj.威慑的，遏制的

参考例句：

• Large fines act as a deterrent to motorists.高额罚款是对开车的人的制约。
• I put a net over my strawberries as a deterrent to the birds.我在草莓上罩了网，免得鸟歇上去。

7 porous   

adj.可渗透的，多孔的

参考例句：

• He added sand to the soil to make it more porous.他往土里掺沙子以提高渗水性能。
• The shell has to be slightly porous to enable oxygen to pass in.外壳不得不有些细小的孔以便能使氧气通过。

8 skeptical   

adj.怀疑的，多疑的

参考例句：

• Others here are more skeptical about the chances for justice being done.这里的其他人更为怀疑正义能否得到伸张。
• Her look was skeptical and resigned.她的表情是将信将疑而又无可奈何。

9 standing   

n.持续，地位；adj.永久的，不动的，直立的，不流动的

参考例句：

• After the earthquake only a few houses were left standing.地震过后只有几幢房屋还立着。
• They're standing out against any change in the law.他们坚决反对对法律做任何修改。

10 bass   

n.男低音(歌手)；低音乐器；低音大提琴

参考例句：

• He answered my question in a surprisingly deep bass.他用一种低得出奇的声音回答我的问题。
• The bass was to give a concert in the park.那位男低音歌唱家将在公园中举行音乐会。

11 endorsed   

vt.& vi.endorse的过去式或过去分词形式v.赞同( endorse的过去式和过去分词 )；在（尤指支票的）背面签字；在（文件的）背面写评论；在广告上说本人使用并赞同某产品

参考例句：

• The committee endorsed an initiative by the chairman to enter discussion about a possible merger. 委员会通过了主席提出的新方案，开始就可能进行的并购进行讨论。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The government has broadly endorsed a research paper proposing new educational targets for 14-year-olds. 政府基本上支持建议对14 岁少年实行新教育目标的研究报告。 来自《简明英汉词典》

12 gulf   

n.海湾；深渊，鸿沟；分歧，隔阂

参考例句：

• The gulf between the two leaders cannot be bridged.两位领导人之间的鸿沟难以跨越。
• There is a gulf between the two cities.这两座城市间有个海湾。

13 terrain   

n.地面，地形，地图

参考例句：

• He had made a detailed study of the terrain.他对地形作了缜密的研究。
• He knows the terrain of this locality like the back of his hand.他对这一带的地形了如指掌。

14 canopy   

n.天篷，遮篷

参考例句：

• The trees formed a leafy canopy above their heads.树木在他们头顶上空形成了一个枝叶茂盛的遮篷。
• They lay down under a canopy of stars.他们躺在繁星点点的天幕下。

15 rugged   

adj.高低不平的，粗糙的，粗壮的，强健的

参考例句：

• Football players must be rugged.足球运动员必须健壮。
• The Rocky Mountains have rugged mountains and roads.落基山脉有崇山峻岭和崎岖不平的道路。

16 bluffs   

恐吓( bluff的名词复数 )； 悬崖； 峭壁

参考例句：

• Two steep limestone bluffs rise up each side of the narrow inlet. 两座陡峭的石灰石断崖耸立在狭窄的入口两侧。
• He bluffs his way in, pretending initially to be a dishwasher and then later a chef. 他虚张声势的方式，假装最初是一个洗碗机，然后厨师。

17 retired   

adj.隐退的，退休的，退役的

参考例句：

• The old man retired to the country for rest.这位老人下乡休息去了。
• Many retired people take up gardening as a hobby.许多退休的人都以从事园艺为嗜好。

18 waded   

（从水、泥等）蹚，走过，跋( wade的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• She tucked up her skirt and waded into the river. 她撩起裙子蹚水走进河里。
• He waded into the water to push the boat out. 他蹚进水里把船推出来。

19 devout   

adj.虔诚的，虔敬的，衷心的 (n.devoutness)

参考例句：

• His devout Catholicism appeals to ordinary people.他对天主教的虔诚信仰感染了普通民众。
• The devout man prayed daily.那位虔诚的男士每天都祈祷。

20 Christian   

adj.基督教徒的；n.基督教徒

参考例句：

• They always addressed each other by their Christian name.他们总是以教名互相称呼。
• His mother is a sincere Christian.他母亲是个虔诚的基督教徒。