VOA标准英语2019--特朗普坚持强硬的移民政策立场

To address what it calls the humanitarian¹ migrant crisis at the border, Trump² administration is asking Congress for an additional 4.5 billion dollars for emergency funding. Given the scale of what we’re facing, we’ll exhaust our resources before this fiscal³ year. Earlier this week, the Trump administration again raised questions about the motives⁴ of many asylum⁵ seekers, individuals who claim they’re fleeing war violence or political prosecution⁶. Not every claim is credible⁷. Some claims are credible, and we don’t want those who have a credible claim of a fear and asylum to be hamstrung in the process by those who don’t because they’re lying about it.

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In 2018, 65,000 people applied⁸ for asylum, many at the US-Mexico border. To stem the rising numbers of asylum seekers, Trump has given officials 90 days to come up with new regulations to tighten⁹ existing requirements. Proposals include making it harder for those who enter the country illegally to obtain work permits and to charge asylum seekers a fee, a move that is legal but has never been done before.

Most people understand that refugees and asylum seekers are very vulnerable populations, and they usually flee their countries without any money. The administration cites humanitarian concerns for its policies, but scholars say since Trump took office, they’ve seen a deeper divide on the issue. There’s one side that believes that there is in fact a lot of persecution¹⁰ out there, and the United States have an obligation to sort of protect people which we did do during World War II where there’s other people who feel like this is a system that’s been taken advantage of, and in some ways that particular loophole, if you will, at least the claim goes, should be cut off.

Trump who ran and won in 2016 on a platform of being tough on immigration is gearing up for a reelection in 2020. He is trying to follow through at any cost on some of the campaign promises that he made for the base that he’s appealing to. Although Trump’s additional emergency request will not include money to build the border wall, his signature campaign promise, it’s still unlikely to pass the Democrat-controlled House without changes. Meanwhile, his asylum proposals are expected to be challenged in court. Patsy Widakuswara, VOA News, at the White House.

1 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。

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 fiscal   

adj.财政的，会计的，国库的，国库岁入的

参考例句：

• The increase of taxation is an important fiscal policy.增税是一项重要的财政政策。
• The government has two basic strategies of fiscal policy available.政府有两个可行的财政政策基本战略。

4 motives   

n.动机，目的( motive的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• to impeach sb's motives 怀疑某人的动机
• His motives are unclear. 他的用意不明。

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 prosecution   

n.起诉，告发，检举，执行，经营

参考例句：

• The Smiths brought a prosecution against the organizers.史密斯家对组织者们提出起诉。
• He attempts to rebut the assertion made by the prosecution witness.他试图反驳原告方证人所作的断言。

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 applied   

adj.应用的；v.应用，适用

参考例句：

• She plans to take a course in applied linguistics.她打算学习应用语言学课程。
• This cream is best applied to the face at night.这种乳霜最好晚上擦脸用。

9 tighten   

v.(使)变紧；(使)绷紧

参考例句：

• Turn the screw to the right to tighten it.向右转动螺钉把它拧紧。
• Some countries tighten monetary policy to avoid inflation.一些国家实行紧缩银根的货币政策，以避免通货膨胀。

10 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。