美国国家公共电台 NPR Protesters Across The U.S. Decry Policy Of Separating Immigrant Families

 

AUDIE CORNISH, HOST:

Protesters are gathering¹ in more than two dozen cities across the country to condemn² the practice of separating immigrant parents and children at the southern border. At least 600 children were taken from their parents last month. NPR's Joel Rose brings us this next report.

(SOUNDBITE OF PROTEST)

UNIDENTIFIED PROTESTERS: (Singing) Shine. Let it...

JOEL ROSE, BYLINE³: A few hundred protesters chant and sing outside a Department of Justice building in Washington today.

(SOUNDBITE OF PROTEST)

UNIDENTIFIED PROTESTER: Across every border...

UNIDENTIFIED PROTESTERS: (Singing) Across every border, I'm going to let it shine.

ROSE: Jessica Morales Rocketto is with the National Domestic Workers Alliance. She helped organize the protest against the Trump⁴ administration's zero tolerance⁵ policy that's led to the separation of immigrant families.

JESSICA MORALES ROCKETTO: The stories are horrific. It's, like, babies being ripped out of their mothers' arms - literally⁶ ripped out of their mothers' arms. And I just - it is just horrifying⁷ to me that this is happening in America. And we can't rest until it stops happening.

ROSE: The protesters included Cathy Schneider, who teaches at American University. She felt compelled to register her objection.

CATHY SCHNEIDER: I don't recognize this country. And I cannot imagine how any American is not appalled⁸ by this.

ROSE: The goal is to discourage immigrants from crossing the border illegally. The Trump administration has considered separating parents and children as a deterrent⁹ since last year. And last month, Attorney General Jeff Sessions made it clear. Families that cross the border illegally will be separated.

(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)

JEFF SESSIONS: If you don't want your child to be separated, then don't bring him across the border illegally. It's not our fault that somebody does that.

ROSE: The Justice Department says family separations are necessary because children can't go to jail with their parents. So they're placed in shelters run by the Department of Health and Human Services while their parents face charges. In most cases, it's a misdemeanor - illegal entry.

This is a big departure from past practice. Previous administrations tried to keep parents and children together in family detention¹⁰ centers or released them into the U.S. to wait for their court dates. Homeland Security Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen continues to defend the new policy. Here she is yesterday at an appearance near the border in Nogales, Ariz.

(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)

KIRSTJEN NIELSEN: We will refer 100 percent of illegal southwest border crossings to the Department of Justice for prosecution¹¹. Every day in communities across this country, if you commit a crime, the police will take you to jail. It should be the same on the border.

ROSE: But critics say this isn't really about law and order. They say separating immigrant families is cruel and immoral¹². Many of the people crossing the border are fleeing from violence and lawlessness in Central America and seeking asylum¹³ in the U.S.

(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)

JOAQUIN CASTRO: This is not who we are as Americans. This is not what we stand for.

ROSE: This is Democratic Congressman¹⁴ Joaquin Castro speaking at a protest last night in San Antonio.

(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)

CASTRO: Your presence here tonight is a signal back to Washington, D.C., that just because somebody crosses a border doesn't make them non-human.

ROSE: Protesters gathered today in New York, Santa Monica, Miami and Cleveland and last night on the steps of the county courthouse in El Paso, Texas.

(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)

LINDA RIVAS: Good evening, everyone. Thank you so much for being here.

ROSE: Linda Rivas directs the Las Americas Immigrant Advocacy Center. She's seen families separated in this border town for months even before the Trump administration's zero tolerance policy became official. Even when parents have served their time for illegal entry, Rivas says they're often placed in immigration detention without their children.

RIVAS: For weeks, if not months, they'll go without even knowing where their kids are or without being able to talk to them. And it's just - ends up being a very helpless situation.

ROSE: Immigrant rights advocates aren't just protesting. They're appealing to the Organization of American States to put pressure on the Trump administration. And they've asked a federal court in California to step in and stop these family separations. They're still waiting for a ruling. Joel Rose, NPR News.

1 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。

2 condemn   

vt.谴责，指责；宣判(罪犯)，判刑

参考例句：

• Some praise him,whereas others condemn him.有些人赞扬他，而有些人谴责他。
• We mustn't condemn him on mere suppositions.我们不可全凭臆测来指责他。

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 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。

5 tolerance   

n.宽容；容忍，忍受；耐药力；公差

参考例句：

• Tolerance is one of his strengths.宽容是他的一个优点。
• Human beings have limited tolerance of noise.人类对噪音的忍耐力有限。

6 literally   

adv.照字面意义，逐字地；确实

参考例句：

• He translated the passage literally.他逐字逐句地翻译这段文字。
• Sometimes she would not sit down till she was literally faint.有时候，她不走到真正要昏厥了，决不肯坐下来。

7 horrifying   

a.令人震惊的，使人毛骨悚然的

参考例句：

• He went to great pains to show how horrifying the war was. 他极力指出战争是多么的恐怖。
• The possibility of war is too horrifying to contemplate. 战争的可能性太可怕了，真不堪细想。

8 appalled   

v.使惊骇，使充满恐惧( appall的过去式和过去分词)adj.惊骇的；丧胆的

参考例句：

• The brutality of the crime has appalled the public. 罪行之残暴使公众大为震惊。
• They were appalled by the reports of the nuclear war. 他们被核战争的报道吓坏了。 来自《简明英汉词典》

9 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。

10 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。

11 prosecution   

n.起诉，告发，检举，执行，经营

参考例句：

• The Smiths brought a prosecution against the organizers.史密斯家对组织者们提出起诉。
• He attempts to rebut the assertion made by the prosecution witness.他试图反驳原告方证人所作的断言。

12 immoral   

adj.不道德的，淫荡的，荒淫的，有伤风化的

参考例句：

• She was questioned about his immoral conduct toward her.她被询问过有关他对她的不道德行为的情况。
• It is my belief that nuclear weapons are immoral.我相信使核武器是不邪恶的。

13 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。

14 Congressman   

n.（美）国会议员

参考例句：

• He related several anecdotes about his first years as a congressman.他讲述自己初任议员那几年的几则轶事。
• The congressman is meditating a reply to his critics.这位国会议员正在考虑给他的批评者一个答复。