-
(单词翻译:双击或拖选)
NOEL KING, HOST:
Yesterday, the Trump1 administration missed a court-ordered deadline to reunify about a hundred small children who were separated from their immigrant parents at the border over the past two months. Federal officials scrambled2 to rejoin about half of the families and promise to reunite the others as soon as possible. But there is an even bigger deadline looming3. NPR's John Burnett is on the line with us from Austin. Good morning, John.
JOHN BURNETT, BYLINE4: Morning, Noel.
KING: All right. So why has the federal government not been able to meet the deadline that was set by a judge?
BURNETT: So at a hearing in San Diego yesterday, a Justice Department lawyer said that 51 kids were eligible5 for reunification on Tuesday, but others would have to happen later. Then they gave this cascade6 of numbers of those they couldn't rejoin for various reasons. They said that 12 parents have already been deported7, that eight parents have been released into the U.S., eight parents had serious criminal histories, 10 are still locked in criminal custody8. Health and Human Services - HHS - says they need more time to make sure the parents are the actual parents, make sure they're safe and fit to take custody of the kids. To hear the government tell it, they made the deadline with flying colors. Here's Chris Meekins in a call to reporters. He's chief of staff in HHS' Office of Preparedness and Response.
(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)
CHRIS MEEKINS: HHS is complying with the court order to reunify children separated at the border from their parents. In fact, the judge has praised our progress and our focus on the safety of the children.
BURNETT: That's a bit self-congratulatory. In the hearing yesterday, Judge Dana Sabraw told the government it shouldn't have separated the kids in the first place. It needs to streamline9 the screening process to reunite them, and it needs to speed up the whole process. And if it misses any more deadlines, he wants the Justice Department lawyer back in his courtroom.
KING: Well, what are the actual repercussions10 for missing the deadline?
BURNETT: Well, we don't actually know yet. The federal judge is being very understanding so far. He said he believes the government is acting11 in good faith to reunite all these kids. And then, remember; these were the little ones so far, ages 5 and below, who were taken away from their parents just after they crossed the southwest border, some of them crying hysterically12.
KING: Right. There are still a lot of older kids over the age of 5. Now that the government has some semblance13 of a reunification process established, do you think it's going to be easier to get those older kids back to their parents?
BURNETT: Right. It's taken many hearings and enormous resources just to try and put a hundred kids back with their parents, and HHS has brought on 230 extra people and created an incident command center. So now, they're looking at this second deadline. The judge has given the government until July 26, which is just over two weeks from now, to put about 2,000 more children together with their moms and dads. These are the older kids from ages 5 to 17. And it's going to be a Herculean task. I mean, the parents are spread all over the U.S. and Central America. Some are in - some are out of detention14. I'm sure there'll be more hearings, and the government's going to ask for more extensions.
The ACLU, for its part, thinks the government is dragging its feet. They're the ones who brought the lawsuit15 to reunify the families. ACLU lawyers think this reunification process could move faster if the administration wanted it to. Reporters asked President Trump about the whole reunifying imbroglio16 yesterday, and here's what he said.
(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)
PRESIDENT DONALD TRUMP: Well, I have a solution. Tell people not to come to our country illegally. That's the solution.
KING: Not a heck of a lot of sympathy there. All right. What happens to the families once they have been reunited?
BURNETT: You know, Noel, it's murky17. Every time we ask the question, they circle the wagons18 and say they want to protect the privacy of the families. What we know is the parents and kids are being reunited at third locations close to youth shelters. Then, certain faith-based groups like Lutheran Immigration and Refugee Services and Catholic Charities step in. They help arrange transportation to the destination city here in the U.S. and help them rent a house or a hotel room, get food, blankets, medical aid. And this is interesting. An official with Immigration and Customs Enforcement said the reunited families will not be detained again. So long as the parent doesn't have a deportation19 order, the parent will be given an ankle monitor, and they'll be released and wait for their asylum20 hearings.
KING: NPR's John Burnett in Austin; John, thank you so much.
BURNETT: You bet, Noel.
1 trump | |
n.王牌,法宝;v.打出王牌,吹喇叭 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
2 scrambled | |
v.快速爬行( scramble的过去式和过去分词 );攀登;争夺;(军事飞机)紧急起飞 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
3 looming | |
n.上现蜃景(光通过低层大气发生异常折射形成的一种海市蜃楼)v.隐约出现,阴森地逼近( loom的现在分词 );隐约出现,阴森地逼近 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
4 byline | |
n.署名;v.署名 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
5 eligible | |
adj.有条件被选中的;(尤指婚姻等)合适(意)的 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
6 cascade | |
n.小瀑布,喷流;层叠;vi.成瀑布落下 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
7 deported | |
v.将…驱逐出境( deport的过去式和过去分词 );举止 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
8 custody | |
n.监护,照看,羁押,拘留 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
9 streamline | |
vt.使成流线型;使简化;使现代化 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
10 repercussions | |
n.后果,反响( repercussion的名词复数 );余波 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
11 acting | |
n.演戏,行为,假装;adj.代理的,临时的,演出用的 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
12 hysterically | |
ad. 歇斯底里地 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
13 semblance | |
n.外貌,外表 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
14 detention | |
n.滞留,停留;拘留,扣留;(教育)留下 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
15 lawsuit | |
n.诉讼,控诉 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
16 imbroglio | |
n.纷乱,纠葛,纷扰,一团糟 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
17 murky | |
adj.黑暗的,朦胧的;adv.阴暗地,混浊地;n.阴暗;昏暗 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
18 wagons | |
n.四轮的运货马车( wagon的名词复数 );铁路货车;小手推车 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
19 deportation | |
n.驱逐,放逐 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
20 asylum | |
n.避难所,庇护所,避难 | |
参考例句: |
|
|