美国国家公共电台 NPR Attorney General Denies Asylum To Victims Of Domestic Abuse, Gang Violence

 

AUDIE CORNISH, HOST:

Attorney General Jeff Sessions is imposing¹ sharp new limits on who can get asylum² in the United States. Under the changes, most asylum seekers fleeing domestic violence or gang violence will not qualify. Here's Sessions speaking this morning at a conference of immigration judges.

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JEFF SESSIONS: Asylum was never meant to alleviate³ all problems, even all serious problems that people face every day all over the world. So today, I'm issuing a decision that restores sound principles of asylum and longstanding principles of immigration law.

CORNISH: Immigrants' rights advocates say this decision runs counter to decades of established precedent⁴. And they say thousands of people could be in danger when they return to their home countries. Joining me now is NPR's Joel Rose. And Joel, I know the attorney general's decision came as part of a ruling in a particular case that you've actually been covering. Bring us up to speed.

JOEL ROSE, BYLINE⁵: Well, sure. As attorney general, Jeff Sessions has broad powers over immigration courts. He can reach down into any individual case he wants and set precedent for the entire system. And here, Sessions intervened in the case of a woman from El Salvador. She's asked to remain anonymous⁶. And she's known in court papers as Miss A-B.

I interviewed her last month, and she described suffering more than a decade of abuse by her husband. He hit her and raped⁷ her. Finally, she fled and applied⁸ for asylum in the U.S.

CORNISH: Now, Sessions decided⁹ against her. What does that mean for other domestic violence survivors¹⁰?

ROSE: Well, in short, it means that most of them will no longer be able to qualify for asylum here. That's after decades of fighting in court to be able to get these protections in the first place. And it's a big deal because with asylum protections, these women were able to stay in the United States and get a path to citizenship¹¹.

CORNISH: Help us understand how this worked, though. I mean, what was the argument they were able to make saying that they did deserve asylum?

ROSE: OK. This is where it's going to get a little technical but bear with me. In order to get asylum, you have to show persecution¹² on account of race, religion, nationality or political opinion or persecution based on membership in what's called a particular social group. Immigrant rights lawyers have argued specifically that domestic violence survivors from Central America can qualify as members of a particular social group because domestic violence is such a pervasive¹³ problem there.

And these women have not only been persecuted¹⁴ by their husbands, their own governments are unwilling¹⁵ to protect them. So the abusers know that they'll get away with it. And U.S. immigration courts have gradually come to accept this theory that these women can be part of a particular social group, and it seemed to be settled law, although now Jeff Sessions has overturned that precedent.

CORNISH: And what is the argument from the attorney general on that?

ROSE: He concedes in his decision that the abuse Miss A-B and other domestic violence survivors report is quote, "vile," but he says that people all over the world are victims of private crime, of crimes of violence, and that we can't accept all of them. And in fact, Sessions argues that people are actually - asylum seekers have actually been gaming the system and coming here because it's become too easy to get asylum.

In fact, he said this morning that hopefully this ruling will discourage people from making the dangerous journey to the U.S. in the first place.

CORNISH: And the reach of this ruling, how many people affected¹⁶?

ROSE: It's hard to say in hard numbers. Nobody tracks the exact reasons that people give when they ask for asylum, but it's probably in the thousands.

CORNISH: That's NPR's Joel Rose. Joel, thank you.

ROSE: You're welcome.

1 imposing   

adj.使人难忘的，壮丽的，堂皇的，雄伟的

参考例句：

• The fortress is an imposing building.这座城堡是一座宏伟的建筑。
• He has lost his imposing appearance.他已失去堂堂仪表。

2 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。

3 alleviate   

v.减轻，缓和，缓解(痛苦等)

参考例句：

• The doctor gave her an injection to alleviate the pain.医生给她注射以减轻疼痛。
• Nothing could alleviate his distress.什么都不能减轻他的痛苦。

4 precedent   

n.先例，前例；惯例；adj.在前的，在先的

参考例句：

• Is there a precedent for what you want me to do?你要我做的事有前例可援吗？
• This is a wonderful achievement without precedent in Chinese history.这是中国历史上亘古未有的奇绩。

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 anonymous   

adj.无名的；匿名的；无特色的

参考例句：

• Sending anonymous letters is a cowardly act.寄匿名信是懦夫的行为。
• The author wishes to remain anonymous.作者希望姓名不公开。

7 raped   

v.以暴力夺取，强夺( rape的过去式和过去分词 )；强奸

参考例句：

• A young woman was brutally raped in her own home. 一名年轻女子在自己家中惨遭强暴。 来自辞典例句
• We got stick together, or we will be having our women raped. 我们得团结一致，不然我们的妻女就会遭到蹂躏。 来自辞典例句

8 applied   

adj.应用的；v.应用，适用

参考例句：

• She plans to take a course in applied linguistics.她打算学习应用语言学课程。
• This cream is best applied to the face at night.这种乳霜最好晚上擦脸用。

9 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。

10 survivors   

幸存者，残存者，生还者( survivor的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The survivors were adrift in a lifeboat for six days. 幸存者在救生艇上漂流了六天。
• survivors clinging to a raft 紧紧抓住救生筏的幸存者

11 citizenship   

n.市民权，公民权，国民的义务(身份)

参考例句：

• He was born in Sweden,but he doesn't have Swedish citizenship.他在瑞典出生，但没有瑞典公民身分。
• Ten years later,she chose to take Australian citizenship.十年后，她选择了澳大利亚国籍。

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 pervasive   

adj.普遍的；遍布的，(到处)弥漫的；渗透性的

参考例句：

• It is the most pervasive compound on earth.它是地球上最普遍的化合物。
• The adverse health effects of car exhaust are pervasive and difficult to measure.汽车尾气对人类健康所构成的有害影响是普遍的，并且难以估算。

14 persecuted   

（尤指宗教或政治信仰的）迫害(~sb. for sth.)( persecute的过去式和过去分词 )； 烦扰，困扰或骚扰某人

参考例句：

• Throughout history, people have been persecuted for their religious beliefs. 人们因宗教信仰而受迫害的情况贯穿了整个历史。
• Members of these sects are ruthlessly persecuted and suppressed. 这些教派的成员遭到了残酷的迫害和镇压。

15 unwilling   

adj.不情愿的

参考例句：

• The natives were unwilling to be bent by colonial power.土著居民不愿受殖民势力的摆布。
• His tightfisted employer was unwilling to give him a raise.他那吝啬的雇主不肯给他加薪。

16 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。