VOA常速英语2014--共和党人指责奥巴马移民政策令美国双非儿童暴增

 

Republicans Blame Obama for Surge of Child Immigrants 共和党人指责奥巴马移民政策令美国双非儿童暴增

CAPITOL HILL — A political battle is brewing¹ in Washington over the dramatic surge of unaccompanied children who are crossing the southwest border into the United States. Republicans blame the Obama administration for what they describe as lenient² and confusing immigration policies, while Democrats⁴ say the children are fleeing extreme poverty and drug-related violence. The White House has dismissed suggestions to put troops on the border with Mexico.

So far this year, 52,000 unaccompanied children, mostly from Guatemala, El Salvador and Honduras, have made the long journey across Mexico to cross the border into the United States. U.S. border patrol agents detain most of them and eventually place some of them with a relative or foster family in the U.S.

The Chairman of the House Homeland Security Committee, Republican Michael McCaul, said the Obama administration should have seen this coming.

"The tragic⁵ fact is these children are making a dangerous journey based on misinformation and the false promise of amnesty," said McCaul.

McCaul, from Texas, said border states like his are completely overwhelmed by the influx⁶ of children, and he is calling on the president to take action.

"States should not need to protect what is in the federal government’s role under our Constitution. The president needs to immediately send the National Guard to the Southwest border to deal with this crisis," said McCaul.

The White House rejected putting guard troops on the border after announcing last week the federal government would open additional detention⁷ centers.

Democrats rejected blame for the situation, saying Central American children are also seeking refuge in other countries.

"It is irresponsible to attribute this crisis to one U.S. policy, or for that matter to one U.S. president," said Rep. Bennie Thompson, a Democrat³.

Many of the children who come across alone are eventually released to the custody⁸ of relatives with instructions, pending⁹ court appearances. Some are deported¹⁰.

Homeland Security Secretary Jeh Johnson calls it a humanitarian¹¹ crisis.

"We are talking about large numbers of children without their parents who have arrived at our border, hungry, thirsty, exhausted¹², scared and vulnerable. How we treat the children, in particular, is a reflection of our laws and our values," said Johnson.

But some Republican lawmakers are frustrated¹³, saying they have been calling for more fences and tougher security along the border.

"I have been there.  I know what I am talking about.  And we don't have a fence down there, and if did, we would not have five-year-old children coming across,” said Rep. Mike Rogers, a Republican.

Secretary Johnson explained that U.S. law has special provisions for unaccompanied minors¹⁴.

"The law that was created in 2008 requires that we turn these kids over, if they are unaccompanied, to the Department of Health and Human Services within 72 hours, generally," said Johnson.

Johnson said the U.S. is working to get the message out to parents in Central America that their children face unacceptable risks coming to the United States and that there are no immigration permits waiting for them.

1 brewing   

n. 酿造, 一次酿造的量 动词brew的现在分词形式

参考例句：

• It was obvious that a big storm was brewing up. 很显然，一场暴风雨正在酝酿中。
• She set about brewing some herb tea. 她动手泡一些药茶。

2 lenient   

adj.宽大的，仁慈的

参考例句：

• The judge was lenient with him.法官对他很宽大。
• It's a question of finding the means between too lenient treatment and too severe punishment.问题是要找出处理过宽和处罚过严的折中办法。

3 democrat   

n.民主主义者，民主人士；民主党党员

参考例句：

• The Democrat and the Public criticized each other.民主党人和共和党人互相攻击。
• About two years later,he was defeated by Democrat Jimmy Carter.大约两年后，他被民主党人杰米卡特击败。

4 democrats   

n.民主主义者，民主人士( democrat的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The Democrats held a pep rally on Capitol Hill yesterday. 民主党昨天在国会山召开了竞选誓师大会。
• The democrats organize a filibuster in the senate. 民主党党员组织了阻挠议事。 来自《简明英汉词典》

5 tragic   

adj.悲剧的，悲剧性的，悲惨的

参考例句：

• The effect of the pollution on the beaches is absolutely tragic.污染海滩后果可悲。
• Charles was a man doomed to tragic issues.查理是个注定不得善终的人。

6 influx   

n.流入，注入

参考例句：

• The country simply cannot absorb this influx of refugees.这个国家实在不能接纳这么多涌入的难民。
• Textile workers favoured protection because they feared an influx of cheap cloth.纺织工人拥护贸易保护措施，因为他们担心涌入廉价纺织品。

7 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。

8 custody   

n.监护，照看，羁押，拘留

参考例句：

• He spent a week in custody on remand awaiting sentence.等候判决期间他被还押候审一个星期。
• He was taken into custody immediately after the robbery.抢劫案发生后，他立即被押了起来。

9 pending   

prep.直到，等待…期间；adj.待定的；迫近的

参考例句：

• The lawsuit is still pending in the state court.这案子仍在州法庭等待定夺。
• He knew my examination was pending.他知道我就要考试了。

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 humanitarian   

n.人道主义者，博爱者，基督凡人论者

参考例句：

• She has many humanitarian interests and contributes a lot to them.她拥有很多慈善事业，并作了很大的贡献。
• The British government has now suspended humanitarian aid to the area.英国政府现已暂停对这一地区的人道主义援助。

12 exhausted   

adj.极其疲惫的，精疲力尽的

参考例句：

• It was a long haul home and we arrived exhausted.搬运回家的这段路程特别长，到家时我们已筋疲力尽。
• Jenny was exhausted by the hustle of city life.珍妮被城市生活的忙乱弄得筋疲力尽。

13 frustrated   

adj.挫败的，失意的，泄气的v.使不成功( frustrate的过去式和过去分词 )；挫败；使受挫折；令人沮丧

参考例句：

• It's very easy to get frustrated in this job. 这个工作很容易令人懊恼。
• The bad weather frustrated all our hopes of going out. 恶劣的天气破坏了我们出行的愿望。 来自《简明英汉词典》

14 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》