VOA慢速英语--Thousands of Migrants Enter Mexico Seeking Way to US

 

A large group of mostly Honduran migrants has crossed Guatemala and is entering Mexico in an effort to reach the United States.

U.S. President Donald Trump¹ has warned the group not to seek to cross the U.S.-Mexico border.

On Sunday, the group, some are calling a caravan², arrived at the Mexican border city of Tapachula and set up small camps under heavy rain.

People in the caravan walked for hours from the Guatemalan border. They did not listen to police offers to take buses to a shelter because they were afraid they would be expelled³ from the country.

The migrants have continued to walk despite warnings from Mexico. The government has said the migrants will be expelled if they cannot justify⁴ seeking asylum⁵ in Mexico.

On Sunday, Trump said on Twitter that “full efforts are being made to stop” the caravan. He said migrants must ask for asylum in Mexico before seeking entry into the U.S.

In southern Mexico, police with riot⁶ equipment followed the large group but did not try to stop it.

Roger Pineda, a 16-year-old Honduran, was in the caravan.

He said, “I just want to find some food and a place to sleep.” He said he joined the group last week with five family members and a group of friends from the violent city of San Pedro Sula.

He added, “I hope Trump allows us to make it to the other side.”

In Guatemala, local media reported that about 1,000 migrants were traveling north to the Mexican border.

A large group of people marched Sunday as a military helicopter circled overhead⁷. Many migrants said they were fleeing violence, poverty and corruption⁸ in Central America.

Most said they felt safer walking in a large group.

“We’re going to make it, we’re going to keep moving so long as they don’t stop us,” said 17-year-old Honduran Jaffe Borjas. He was walking with a childhood friend at the head of the group that stretched far down the highway.

Traveling in dangerous conditions

Reuters news service reports that Mexican President-elect Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador has supported the caravan. He promised to provide people with work permits in a speech to supporters in Tuxtla-Gutierrez, about 290 km north of Tapachula.

“I want to tell them they can count on us,” he added.

The Mexican president-elect will take office in December.

He also said that he is seeking Trump’s support for a development plan that could reduce poverty in Central America and southern Mexico.

Trump has threatened to stop aid to Honduras and Guatemala if those countries do not stop migrants from crossing their borders. He also has said he would close the U.S.-Mexico border with the help of the military if the caravan is not stopped.

Mexico’s government has said during the past week that it would register⁹ the migrants and process requests for asylum. Those who do not register would be deported¹⁰, it said. However, the large size of the caravan will test Mexico. The country has asked for help from the United Nations to deal with the issue.

The wife of Honduran President Juan Orlando Hernandez, Ana Garcia de Hernandez, leads a migrant aid group. Her group said that more than 3,400 Honduran migrants had been returned to their home country recently.

She said in a statement: “We’re urging people against migrating¹¹ in an unlawful way and putting your children in extremely dangerous conditions.”

The Honduran government has also blamed the political opposition¹² for encouraging people to leave.

Mexican immigration officials said they had allowed about 1,028 migrants through the official border crossing in Ciudad Hidalgo over the past three days.

I’m Susan Shand.

Words in This Story

caravan – n.a group of people or animals traveling together on a long journey

despite – prep.without being prevented by something

childhood – n. the time in a life before adulthood¹³

encourage – v. to make someone more determined, hopeful, or confident

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 caravan   

n.大蓬车；活动房屋

参考例句：

• The community adviser gave us a caravan to live in.社区顾问给了我们一间活动住房栖身。
• Geoff connected the caravan to the car.杰弗把旅行用的住屋拖车挂在汽车上。

3 expelled   

驱逐( expel的过去式和过去分词 )； 赶走； 把…除名； 排出

参考例句：

• She was expelled from school at 15. 她15岁时被学校开除了。
• After the outbreak of fighting,all foreign journalists were expelled. 战斗开始后，所有的外国记者都被驱逐出境。

4 justify   

vt.证明…正当(或有理)，为…辩护

参考例句：

• He tried to justify his absence with lame excuses.他想用站不住脚的借口为自己的缺席辩解。
• Can you justify your rude behavior to me?你能向我证明你的粗野行为是有道理的吗？

5 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。

6 riot   

n.暴（骚）乱，（色彩等）极度丰富；vi.聚众闹事

参考例句：

• They had to call the police in order to put down the riot.他们只得叫来警察以平定骚乱。
• Flowers of all sorts are blooming in a riot of colour.百花盛开，万紫千红。

7 overhead   

adj.在头顶上的，悬空的；n.间接开支

参考例句：

• A number of birds are circling overhead.很多鸟在头顶上空盘旋。
• Many stars overhead are invisible to the naked eye.天上的许多星星是肉眼看不到的。

8 corruption   

n.腐败，堕落，贪污

参考例句：

• The people asked the government to hit out against corruption and theft.人民要求政府严惩贪污盗窃。
• The old man reviled against corruption.那老人痛斥了贪污舞弊。

9 register   

n.登记簿，花名册，注册员；v.登记，注册

参考例句：

• Please list your name in the attendance register.请在点名册上登记你的名字。
• He was looking over a hotel register.他正在仔细检查旅馆住宿登记表。

10 deported   

v.将…驱逐出境( deport的过去式和过去分词 )；举止

参考例句：

• They stripped me of my citizenship and deported me. 他们剥夺我的公民资格，将我驱逐出境。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The convicts were deported to a deserted island. 罪犯们被流放到一个荒岛。 来自《简明英汉词典》

11 migrating   

v.迁移，移往( migrate的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• The mudflats offer a winter home to thousands of migrating swans. 泥滩成为成千上万只迁徙的天鹅越冬的场所。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Many Asians are migrating to the West. 许多亚洲人移民去了西方国家。 来自《简明英汉词典》

12 opposition   

n.反对，敌对

参考例句：

• The party leader is facing opposition in his own backyard.该党领袖在自己的党內遇到了反对。
• The police tried to break down the prisoner's opposition.警察设法制住了那个囚犯的反抗。

13 adulthood   

n.成年，成人期

参考例句：

• Some infantile actions survive into adulthood.某些婴儿期的行为一直保持到成年期。
• Few people nowadays are able to maintain friendships into adulthood.如今很少有人能将友谊维持到成年。