VOA慢速英语2017--美国司法部长呼吁改变庇护规则

US Attorney General Calls for Changes to Asylum¹ Rules

The United States has long offered asylum protection to people who have fled their own countries and fear they will face threats or harm if they go back.

In the latest available report, over 26,000 were granted asylum in 2015. Many came from China, El Salvador and Guatemala.

However, U.S. Attorney General Jeff Session said recently the current system is hurt by a lot of “abuse and fraud.” And he demanded stronger rules for people seeking asylum in the U.S.

Sessions said current policies let some people enter the country without a good reason. The immigration court system, he added, is overwhelmed with 600,000 cases awaiting a hearing, although not all are asylum cases.

President Donald Trump² has called for major changes to immigration and asylum rules. He has called the current system “broken.”

Asylum, a form of protection for refugees

Asylum-seekers could face persecution³ because of their “race, religion, nationality, membership in a particular social group or political opinion.”

The requirements are part of the Immigration and Nationality Act. It is a 1952 law to protect refugees in the U.S. that has been updated over the years to meet changing needs.

The U.S. Department of Homeland Security supervises immigration. Recently, the department’s Executive Office for Immigration Review wrote a document, which could influence how judges consider some asylum cases.

The document deals with people younger than 18 who entered the country without their parents. It suggests that these minors⁴ could find it harder to seek asylum if they are reunited with their parents in the U.S.

The document says such young people could lose protections under a 2008 law if they turn 18 during court proceedings⁵.

Another possible new standard for immigration judges could require faster decisions on immigration issues in court.

The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) says asylum laws exist to ensure due process. The laws oversee⁶ anyone caught at the U.S. border without documents or immigrants detained by the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.

Any foreign national can seek asylum protection no matter what their immigration status is.

However, asylum-seekers have to apply within one year from the date of their last arrival in the U.S. or show an “exceptional” change in their situation.

Most importantly, asylum-seekers must prove to the asylum officer that they have a “credible⁷ fear” of returning to their home country.

Top U.S. lawyer sees problems with some asylum cases

In his speech, Sessions said many asylum cases were not real.

He added that the system “…cannot deal effectively with just claims,” and the

Sessions said the number of people claiming they had a “credible fear” of returning to their home country had increased very sharply. In 2009, there were 3,000 cases. By 2016, there were more than 69,000.

Session added that 88 percent of asylum cases are approved. Numbers from the U.S. Customs and Immigration Service show that the approval rate for 2017 was 76 percent.

Mana Yegani is an immigration lawyer in Houston, Texas. She said the credible fear interview is a “very difficult” process for people seeking asylum.

“I had a client who went through a credible fear interview,” Yegani said, “She was 19 and she had been gang raped⁹.” Yegani went on to say that the interviewing officer was a male and her client could not tell the officer about the gang rape⁸. “She was scared. So, she failed the interview,” Yegani said.

An immigration judge reviews the questions an interviewing officer asked an asylum-seeker if a credible fear claim is denied. The judge wants to know if there were errors or if the officer missed something.

Lawyers for the asylum-seeker, however, cannot speak or present new evidence during the hearing. And the immigration judge’s decision cannot be appealed. Hearings on credible fear claims usually last between five and 10 minutes.

Yegani said once she had photographs of dead people from a person’s family that she wanted to introduce as evidence, but they were not accepted.

Lawyers say that asylum-seekers also must show that law enforcement or government officials in their home country did not protect them.

Yegani said this could lead to denial of a credible fear claim because you have to establish “proof that your government is not willing to support you.” Yegani said that many of the people she represents come from countries where they do not trust the police. They also may fear officers could raid their homes or harm their families.

However, some immigration groups note that it is very difficult to know if asylum-seekers are telling the truth. The Federation¹⁰ for American Immigration Reform is a group pushing for reform of immigration laws in the U.S. On its website, the group says, “Because of the nature of asylum claims, the claimant’s true background and history are difficult to verify.”

As the number of cases increase, so has the number of people waiting for court hearings. The Associated Press has reported that about 70,000 asylum-seekers were being held at family detention¹¹ centers waiting for a hearing.

I’m Mario Ritter.

Words in This Story

fraud –n. using dishonest methods to get something

persecution –n. to treat someone unfairly because of race, religion or other reasons

proceedings –n. the process of appearing before a court so a legal action can go forward

due process –n. the guarantee that all legal proceedings shall be fair and follow the processes established by law

status –n. the position of someone relating to law

exceptional –adj. unusual, not happening very often

verify –v. to find out if something is true

1 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。

2 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。

3 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。

4 minors   

n.未成年人( minor的名词复数 )；副修科目；小公司；[逻辑学]小前提v.[主美国英语]副修，选修，兼修( minor的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• The law forbids shops to sell alcohol to minors. 法律禁止商店向未成年者出售含酒精的饮料。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• He had three minors this semester. 这学期他有三门副修科目。 来自《简明英汉词典》

5 proceedings   

n.进程，过程，议程；诉讼(程序)；公报

参考例句：

• He was released on bail pending committal proceedings. 他交保获释正在候审。
• to initiate legal proceedings against sb 对某人提起诉讼

6 oversee   

vt.监督，管理

参考例句：

• Soldiers oversee the food handouts.士兵们看管着救济食品。
• Use a surveyor or architect to oversee and inspect the different stages of the work.请一位房产检视员或建筑师来监督并检查不同阶段的工作。

7 credible   

adj.可信任的，可靠的

参考例句：

• The news report is hardly credible.这则新闻报道令人难以置信。
• Is there a credible alternative to the nuclear deterrent?是否有可以取代核威慑力量的可靠办法？

8 rape   

n.抢夺，掠夺，强奸；vt.掠夺，抢夺，强奸

参考例句：

• The rape of the countryside had a profound ravage on them.对乡村的掠夺给他们造成严重创伤。
• He was brought to court and charged with rape.他被带到法庭并被指控犯有强奸罪。

9 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

10 federation   

n.同盟，联邦，联合，联盟，联合会

参考例句：

• It is a federation of 10 regional unions.它是由十个地方工会结合成的联合会。
• Mr.Putin was inaugurated as the President of the Russian Federation.普京正式就任俄罗斯联邦总统。

11 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。