2007年VOA标准英语-US Immigration Authorities Step up Deportations

By Steve Mort
Apopka, Florida
07 August 2007
 

Immigration authories

Authorities in the United States are stepping up efforts to return illegal immigrants to their home countries. Under a program called  "Operation Return to Sender," 2007 is set to be a record year for deportations. Critics say the government is shifting away from only pursuing illegal aliens with criminal records to arresting all undocumented migrants regardless of background. Immigration authorities say they are simply enforcing the law. Steve Mort reports from Florida for VOA.

Sandy Doumet

Sandy Doumet is packing her belongings² and heading to Mexico to be with her husband who was recently deported³. Doumet emigrated to the United States from Ecuador 11 years ago and recently became a U.S. citizen. "It's hard to understand how a country that opened doors to me now is kicking me out, because in a way I have to leave even if I don't want to, because if I stay here my kids will grow up without a father and I don't want that."

Sandy and her husband lived together in Florida for eight years and have been married for six.

The couple has three young children, all U.S. citizens, and ran a successful business. But Sandy's Mexican husband, who came to the U.S. illegally 10 years ago, has been deported three times and is banned from returning.

Sandy is pleading with authorities to let her family be together in the United States. "Bring my husband back because we had a good life here. We didn't ask the government for anything. We were good citizens. My husband was a good citizen."

Pro-immigrant advocates say such cases show that efforts to deport¹ more illegal immigrants are destroying lives.

Denise Diaz is with the immigrant advocacy group Jobs with Justice. She says agents used to focus on tracking down criminal aliens, but now unfairly target all undocumented migrants.

Denise Diaz

"They're not a threat to society or the safety of Americans. So they've taken it a step further in their abuses and, at this point, it looks like they've gone as far as violating the civil rights, and bottom-line, human rights of these people".

The U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency, ICE, said in a statement to VOA that it only deports⁴ individuals who are in violation⁵ of their immigration status or were ordered deported by a judge.

ICE says it is simply enforcing laws as expeditiously⁶ and with as much dignity as possible. It denies there has been a change of emphasis towards deporting⁷ illegal immigrants regardless of their criminal history.

Mike Jarbeck

The rise in deportations is welcomed by Mike Jarbeck. He heads a Florida chapter of the Minuteman Project, an activist⁸ group that opposes illegal immigration. "I want to see every last illegal alien rounded up, identified and sent home.

U.S. government statistics show that of the 150,000 illegal immigrants removed between October 2006 and June 2007, around 90,000 had no criminal record. Again Mike Jarbeck of the Minuteman Project.

"In America, we are a country of laws. And the problem with this is, if we don't enforce the law then what do we have? We have a double standard. We have a whole group of people who are set above the law who the law doesn't apply to. That's unconstitutional. Our constitution does not allow for that."

The U.S. immigration agency says it does not deport people arbitraily, and instead targets individuals based on specific information.

But that is little comfort to Sandy Doumet. She says she will stay with her husband in Mexico, but return regularly to the U.S. so one of her children can receive medical care for a heart condition.

And she hopes that one day her whole family will be able to live together again in the United States.

1 deport   

vt.驱逐出境

参考例句：

• We deport aliens who slip across our borders.我们把偷渡入境的外国人驱逐出境。
• More than 240 England football fans are being deported from Italy following riots last night.昨晚的骚乱发生后有240多名英格兰球迷被驱逐出意大利。

2 belongings   

n.私人物品，私人财物

参考例句：

• I put a few personal belongings in a bag.我把几件私人物品装进包中。
• Your personal belongings are not dutiable.个人物品不用纳税。

3 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》

4 deports   

v.将…驱逐出境( deport的第三人称单数 )；举止

参考例句：

• She deports herself like a lady. 她的举止像淑女。 来自辞典例句
• A so-called democratic country arrests, oppresses and deports the freedom and democratic fighters of Nepal. 一个所谓的民主国家逮捕、镇压并驱逐尼泊尔的自由民主战士，所有这一切都是在美国的指使下发生的。 来自互联网

5 violation   

n.违反(行为)，违背(行为)，侵犯

参考例句：

• He roared that was a violation of the rules.他大声说，那是违反规则的。
• He was fined 200 dollars for violation of traffic regulation.他因违反交通规则被罚款200美元。

6 expeditiously   

adv.迅速地，敏捷地

参考例句：

• They have to be evaluated expeditiously, carefully with the patient fully UNDRESSED. 我看过许多的枪伤患者，但是就只有阿扁的伤口没有上述情形，真是天佑台湾。 来自互联网
• We will expeditiously facilitate trade transactions with the utmost professionalism. 我们会尽快贸易便利化的交易与最大的专业水平。 来自互联网

7 deporting   

v.将…驱逐出境( deport的现在分词 )；举止

参考例句：

8 activist   

n.活动分子，积极分子

参考例句：

• He's been a trade union activist for many years.多年来他一直是工会的积极分子。
• He is a social activist in our factory.他是我厂的社会活动积极分子。