美国国家公共电台 NPR Tiny And Defiant, Texas Town Launches Headfirst Into 'Show Me Your Papers' Debate

 

DAVID GREENE, HOST:

All right, so there's a new Texas law that bans sanctuary¹ cities, and it has outraged² Democrats³, immigrant advocates and also police chiefs. This measure overrides⁴ local laws and empowers police to ask anyone they detain if they are in the country illegally. Joining the opposition⁵ is a tiny, defiant⁶ city near the Mexican border where NPR's John Burnett has our story.

JOHN BURNETT, BYLINE⁷: Welcome to El Cenizo, Texas, a city that fought for its very existence. It's all of a half-mile square, located on the twisting Rio Grande just east of Laredo that has fewer than 4,000 residents and only eight city employees. Mayor Raul Reyes is sweeping⁸ city hall when he greets me.

RAUL REYES: How are you?

BURNETT: Are you Mayor Reyes?

REYAS: Yes sir, I am. Just doing a little bit of upkeeping here.

BURNETT: For years, this was an impoverished⁹ colonia. Without running water, paved streets or electricity, the developer named it Cenizo, the Spanish word for ashen¹⁰, for his favorite quarter horse. The city was finally incorporated in 1989. Many of El Cenizo's original residents came over from Mexico, some illegally. The mayor stands on the muddy riverbank overgrown with tall cane¹¹ that's alive with doves and grackles.

(SOUNDBITE OF BIRDS CHIRPING)

BURNETT: Mindful of its citizens, the fledgling city passed a safe haven¹² ordinance¹³ 18 years ago which...

REYAS: Prohibits city officials from inquiring and disclosing the legal status of the people that live here. That's it - simple as that.

BURNETT: But all these years later, it's not that simple. In January, President Trump¹⁴ issued an executive order threatening to withhold¹⁵ federal funds from so-called sanctuary cities. It's now tied up in the courts. Then, Texas Governor Greg Abbott signed the controversial Senate Bill 4 earlier this week. Under this law, local officials are forbidden from following policies like the one in El Cenizo. Every peace officer in Texas must have the option of checking the immigration status of anyone they legally detain. The law also punishes local officials for failing to hold jailed immigrants for federal immigration agents looking to deport¹⁶ them. Governor Abbott says the law, which goes into effect September 1, will get dangerous criminal immigrants off the streets.

(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)

GREG ABBOTT: Texans expect us to keep them safe, and that is exactly what we are going to do.

BURNETT: El Cenizo, along with Maverick¹⁷ County, are plaintiffs in a lawsuit¹⁸ filed by the League of United Latin American Citizens. It argues the state of Texas may not commandeer local officials to enforce federal law. The Mexican-American Legal Defense¹⁹ and Educational Fund expects to file a second lawsuit arguing that the show me your papers law in Texas is unconstitutional. Mayor Reyes vows²⁰ his city will not rescind²¹ the safe haven ordinance.

REYAS: If they want to throw me in jail, go ahead. You know, I strongly believe in what we're doing.

BURNETT: El Cenizo has been on the hotseat before. In 1999, when the city passed the safe haven ordinance, it approved another rule declaring that all city business would be conducted in Spanish, the lingua franca of the southern border. English-only advocates from across the country howled, but the ordinance still stands. Raul Reyes was in high school then. The popular 33-year-old mayor, who's about to get his master's in public administration, is now in his seventh term. He insists that El Cenizo is not protecting unauthorized immigrants.

REYAS: The true reasoning behind this is because nobody should have to live in fear of the people who they expect to protect them and work for them.

BURNETT: That would be the El Cenizo police department - five volunteer officers who don their uniforms after work and on weekends. The mayor says his little city is all for law and order. In fact, he supports construction of a border wall along El Cenizo's riverside, a favorite crossing point for human and drug smuggling²². John Burnett, NPR News, El Cenizo, Texas.

1 sanctuary   

n.圣所，圣堂，寺庙；禁猎区，保护区

参考例句：

• There was a sanctuary of political refugees behind the hospital.医院后面有一个政治难民的避难所。
• Most countries refuse to give sanctuary to people who hijack aeroplanes.大多数国家拒绝对劫机者提供庇护。

2 outraged   

a.震惊的，义愤填膺的

参考例句：

• Members of Parliament were outraged by the news of the assassination. 议会议员们被这暗杀的消息激怒了。
• He was outraged by their behavior. 他们的行为使他感到愤慨。

3 democrats   

n.民主主义者，民主人士( democrat的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The Democrats held a pep rally on Capitol Hill yesterday. 民主党昨天在国会山召开了竞选誓师大会。
• The democrats organize a filibuster in the senate. 民主党党员组织了阻挠议事。 来自《简明英汉词典》

4 overrides   

越控( override的第三人称单数 )； （以权力）否决； 优先于； 比…更重要

参考例句：

• The new rule overrides all the previous ones. 新规则使以前的所有规则失效。
• The application configuration file setting overrides the machine configuration file setting. 应用程序配置文件设置重写计算机配置文件设置。

5 opposition   

n.反对，敌对

参考例句：

• The party leader is facing opposition in his own backyard.该党领袖在自己的党內遇到了反对。
• The police tried to break down the prisoner's opposition.警察设法制住了那个囚犯的反抗。

6 defiant   

adj.无礼的，挑战的

参考例句：

• With a last defiant gesture,they sang a revolutionary song as they were led away to prison.他们被带走投入监狱时，仍以最后的反抗姿态唱起了一支革命歌曲。
• He assumed a defiant attitude toward his employer.他对雇主采取挑衅的态度。

7 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。

8 sweeping   

adj.范围广大的，一扫无遗的

参考例句：

• The citizens voted for sweeping reforms.公民投票支持全面的改革。
• Can you hear the wind sweeping through the branches?你能听到风掠过树枝的声音吗？

9 impoverished   

adj.穷困的，无力的，用尽了的v.使（某人）贫穷( impoverish的过去式和过去分词 )；使（某物）贫瘠或恶化

参考例句：

• the impoverished areas of the city 这个城市的贫民区
• They were impoverished by a prolonged spell of unemployment. 他们因长期失业而一贫如洗。 来自《简明英汉词典》

10 ashen   

adj.灰的

参考例句：

• His face was ashen and wet with sweat.他面如土色，汗如雨下。
• Her ashen face showed how much the news had shocked her.她灰白的脸显示出那消息使她多么震惊。

11 cane   

n.手杖，细长的茎，藤条；v.以杖击，以藤编制的

参考例句：

• This sugar cane is quite a sweet and juicy.这甘蔗既甜又多汁。
• English schoolmasters used to cane the boys as a punishment.英国小学老师过去常用教鞭打男学生作为惩罚。

12 haven   

n.安全的地方，避难所，庇护所

参考例句：

• It's a real haven at the end of a busy working day.忙碌了一整天后，这真是一个安乐窝。
• The school library is a little haven of peace and quiet.学校的图书馆是一个和平且安静的小避风港。

13 ordinance   

n.法令；条令；条例

参考例句：

• The Ordinance of 1785 provided the first land grants for educational purposes.1785年法案为教育目的提供了第一批土地。
• The city passed an ordinance compelling all outdoor lighting to be switched off at 9.00 PM.该市通过一条法令强令晚上九点关闭一切室外照明。

14 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。

15 withhold   

v.拒绝，不给；使停止，阻挡

参考例句：

• It was unscrupulous of their lawyer to withhold evidence.他们的律师隐瞒证据是不道德的。
• I couldn't withhold giving some loose to my indignation.我忍不住要发泄一点我的愤怒。

16 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。

17 maverick   

adj.特立独行的；不遵守传统的；n.持异议者，自行其是者

参考例句：

• He's a maverick.He has his own way of thinking about things.他是个特异独行的人。对事情有自己的看法。
• You're a maverick and you'll try anything.你是个爱自行其是的人，样样事情都要尝试一下。

18 lawsuit   

n.诉讼，控诉

参考例句：

• They threatened him with a lawsuit.他们以诉讼威逼他。
• He was perpetually involving himself in this long lawsuit.他使自己无休止地卷入这场长时间的诉讼。

19 defense   

n.防御，保卫；[pl.]防务工事；辩护，答辩

参考例句：

• The accused has the right to defense.被告人有权获得辩护。
• The war has impacted the area with military and defense workers.战争使那个地区挤满了军队和防御工程人员。

20 vows   

誓言( vow的名词复数 )； 郑重宣布，许愿

参考例句：

• Matrimonial vows are to show the faithfulness of the new couple. 婚誓体现了新婚夫妇对婚姻的忠诚。
• The nun took strait vows. 那位修女立下严格的誓愿。

21 rescind   

v.废除，取消

参考例句：

• They accepted his advice and rescinded the original plan.他们听从了他的劝告，撤销了原计划。
• Trade Union leaders have demanded the government rescind the price rise.工会领导已经要求政府阻止价格上涨。

22 smuggling   

n.走私

参考例句：

• Some claimed that the docker's union fronted for the smuggling ring.某些人声称码头工人工会是走私集团的掩护所。
• The evidence pointed to the existence of an international smuggling network.证据表明很可能有一个国际走私网络存在。