美国国家公共电台 NPR Trump Administration Moves To Penalize Immigrants For Using Government Benefits

 

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The Trump¹ administration is moving to penalize² legal immigrants for using government benefits, including Medicaid and food assistance. Although many of the details haven't been set in stone, NPR's Joel Rose reports the idea has already ignited controversy³ and brought warnings about the consequences for immigrants and the nation's health care system.

(SOUNDBITE OF CHILD LAUGHING)

JOEL ROSE, BYLINE⁴: In the waiting room at the Cohen Children's Medical Center on Long Island, it seems like everybody knows Omolara Uwemedimo.

(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)

UNIDENTIFIED PERSON: For me?

OMOLARA UWEMEDIMO: How are you?

ROSE: Uwemedimo is a pediatrician at this office just outside Queens, which has a huge immigrant population.

UWEMEDIMO: This place can be extremely full. And the patients come from all different nationalities.

ROSE: Uwemedimo and her staff make a point of asking patients upfront if they qualify for benefits, including food stamps or subsidized health insurance. But now Uwemedimo is finding that many of her patients are wary⁵ about signing up because they've heard that could hurt their chances of getting a visa for a family member to visit. And one day, it could hurt their own chances of getting a green card.

UWEMEDIMO: What we've seen is that those families are now at a crossroads where they're saying, we want our families to stay together. And they have decided⁶ - a lot of families have decided that they don't want to engage in fear.

ROSE: For months, the Trump administration has been taking steps to limit how much immigrants use welfare programs. Earlier this year, the State Department told consular⁷ officials to consider denying immigrants a visa if they're expected to use certain public benefits once they get to the U.S. And the Department of Homeland Security has been working on new rules for immigrants already in the country. Those rules could prevent them from getting a green card if they sign up for benefits.

CLAUDIA CALHOON: It would penalize people for using programs that they're entitled to under the law, like health insurance for their children or making sure that there's food on the table.

ROSE: Claudia Calhoon is with the New York Immigration Coalition⁸. She says this is setting up brutally⁹ difficult choices for immigrant families.

CALHOON: People might have to decide between doing those things and adjusting their status and having a green card.

ROSE: For at least a century, U.S. law has sought to exclude immigrants who are likely to become a, quote, "public charge." And the Trump administration says it is simply enforcing that law. More than half of all immigrant households use at least one benefit program, according to the Department of Homeland Security. DHS in a statement calls that, quote, "deeply unfair to U.S. taxpayers," unquote. NPR asked DHS secretary Kirstjen Nielsen about a leaked draft of the proposed changes in May.

KIRSTJEN NIELSEN: We cannot allow them to immigrate¹⁰ to the United States if we believe they will immediately become a public charge. So what we're trying to do through the rulemaking is make it clear what does that mean and get the comment from the public on what that should mean.

ROSE: The public is already weighing in. Immigrant rights activists¹¹ point out that immigrants pay taxes too and that their U.S. citizen children could lose benefits under the proposal. Health care researchers at Harvard and Tufts say immigrants actually pay more into the U.S. healthcare system, including Medicare, than they take out. And doctors, including pediatrician Omolara Uwemedimo in New York, say taking away benefits would hurt their patients, especially children.

UWEMEDIMO: There's a direct link to how healthy their nutrition is, their overall growth and their brain development, especially for our young children. So if a family decides that they don't want assistance from a benefit, that has repercussions¹² that will last throughout their life.

ROSE: Uwemedimo knows firsthand how much these benefits can matter to immigrant families. Her parents immigrated¹³ to New York from Nigeria and worked factory jobs. When her mother got pregnant, Uwemedimo says her doctor put her on bed rest, so she couldn't work.

UWEMEDIMO: She actually used food stamps when she was pregnant with me. And she says that (laughter) pretty much saved them in terms of not having to move out of their apartment because of the fact that they had that help.

ROSE: Uwemedimo says it's hard to imagine what they would have done if they had to choose between food stamps and getting their green cards. Joel Rose, NPR News, New York.

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 penalize   

vt.对…处以刑罚，宣告…有罪；处罚

参考例句：

• It would be unfair to penalize those without a job.失业人员待遇低下是不公平的。
• The association decided not to penalize you for the race.赛马协会决定对你不予处罚。

3 controversy   

n.争论，辩论，争吵

参考例句：

• That is a fact beyond controversy.那是一个无可争论的事实。
• We ran the risk of becoming the butt of every controversy.我们要冒使自己在所有的纷争中都成为众矢之的的风险。

4 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。

5 wary   

adj.谨慎的，机警的，小心的

参考例句：

• He is wary of telling secrets to others.他谨防向他人泄露秘密。
• Paula frowned,suddenly wary.宝拉皱了皱眉头，突然警惕起来。

6 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。

7 consular   

a.领事的

参考例句：

• He has rounded out twenty years in the consular service. 他在领事馆工作已整整20年了。
• Consular invoices are declarations made at the consulate of the importing country. 领事发票是进口国领事馆签发的一种申报书。

8 coalition   

n.结合体，同盟，结合，联合

参考例句：

• The several parties formed a coalition.这几个政党组成了政治联盟。
• Coalition forces take great care to avoid civilian casualties.联盟军队竭尽全力避免造成平民伤亡。

9 brutally   

adv.残忍地，野蛮地，冷酷无情地

参考例句：

• The uprising was brutally put down.起义被残酷地镇压下去了。
• A pro-democracy uprising was brutally suppressed.一场争取民主的起义被残酷镇压了。

10 immigrate   

v.（从外国）移来，移居入境

参考例句：

• 10,000 people are expected to immigrate in the next two years.接下来的两年里预计有10，000人会移民至此。
• Only few plants can immigrate to the island.只有很少的植物能够移植到这座岛上。

11 activists   

n.（政治活动的）积极分子，活动家( activist的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• His research work was attacked by animal rights activists . 他的研究受到了动物权益维护者的抨击。
• Party activists with lower middle class pedigrees are numerous. 党的激进分子中有很多出身于中产阶级下层。 来自《简明英汉词典》

12 repercussions   

n.后果，反响( repercussion的名词复数 )；余波

参考例句：

• The collapse of the company will have repercussions for the whole industry. 这家公司的垮台将会给整个行业造成间接的负面影响。
• Human acts have repercussions far beyond the frontiers of the human world. 人类行为所产生的影响远远超出人类世界的范围。 来自《简明英汉词典》

13 immigrated   

v.移入( immigrate的过去式和过去分词 )；移民

参考例句：

• He immigrated from Ulster in 1848. 他1848年从阿尔斯特移民到这里。 来自辞典例句
• Many Pakistanis have immigrated to Britain. 许多巴基斯坦人移居到了英国。 来自辞典例句