美国国家公共电台 NPR Once Routine, ICE Check-Ins Now Fill Immigrants In U.S. Illegally With Anxiety

 

DAVID GREENE, HOST:

Many immigrants living in the United States illegally are not in hiding. Hundreds of thousands check in with federal authorities on a regular basis. Past administrations considered them a low priority for deportation¹. Now that once routine check-in, though, has become a nerve-racking experience as NPR's Joel Rose reports.

JOEL ROSE, BYLINE²: Florinda Lorenzo visits the local offices of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement or ICE in downtown Baltimore several times a year. It had become routine, almost like a trip to the dentist. But Lorenzo says this time feels different.

FLORINDA LORENZO: (Through interpreter) It creates a lot of chaos³ for me. I know lots of people are getting deported⁴ now, and I wouldn't want to be deported.

ROSE: Lorenzo was arrested in 2010 and charged with selling prepaid phone cards without a license⁵. The charges were dropped, but she's been required to check in with ICE ever since. This time Lorenzo looks nervous, and her eyes are red. Lorenzo came to the U.S. from Guatemala 14 years ago. She has three children, two of them born here, so they're U.S. citizens.

LORENZO: (Through interpreter) It's hard for my family, for me, my kids, my husband. It's very painful and stressful for me. I just hope I go back to my children today.

UNIDENTIFIED WOMAN: Good morning, everyone.

ROSE: A few dozen friends gather to show their support both for Lorenzo's sake and for ICE officials in case they're watching. Nick Katz is a lawyer with CASA, an immigrant advocacy group. He's here to help in case Lorenzo is detained by ICE.

NICK KATZ: The environment is so uncertain. We've heard stories of people being taken into custody⁶. We know of at least one mother who was taken into custody out of a check-in.

ROSE: After a quick prayer, Katz ushers⁷ Lorenzo to her appointment.

KATZ: Go inside.

ROSE: Across the U.S., judges have issued final deportation orders for more than 900,000 people in the country illegally. Nonetheless, many remain as long as they check in regularly with ICE. Under the Obama administration, they were not considered priorities for deportation because they had clean criminal records or strong ties to their communities. But the Trump⁸ administration is taking a more aggressive enforcement stance.

HANS VON SPAKOVSKY: I certainly hope that they are.

ROSE: Hans von Spakovsky is with the Heritage Foundation, a conservative think-tank in Washington. He was glad to see Trump sign executive orders that broadly expand the number of people who are priorities for deportation to include many whose only criminal offense⁹ may be entering or staying in the country illegally. Von Spakovsky says criminals should be the priority, but that doesn't mean everyone else should get a free pass.

VON SPAKOVSKY: You're in the United States illegally. You broke the law to come here illegally, and a government agency is basically saying that's OK. We're not going to do anything about it. I mean, that just to me is a complete violation¹⁰ of the rule of law.

ROSE: An ICE spokeswoman did not respond to questions about the check-ins. But in recent weeks, some immigrants say they've been detained without warning at their ICE check-ins. Those cases have gotten a lot of attention and could have unintended consequences, according to Alonzo Pena.

ALONZO PENA: That's going to send a bad message to others, and that's going to really backfire because you want people to report. The reason we have this system - we cannot detain everybody.

ROSE: Pena served as deputy director of ICE under the Obama administration. If agents detain large numbers of immigrants at their check-ins, he says, others may decide it's too risky¹¹ to report.

PENA: They lose faith in the system, and you don't know where they're at. There's nothing good that will come out of that.

ROSE: Back in Baltimore, Florinda Lorenzo emerges from the ICE field office with a smile on her face.

LORENZO: (Through interpreter) I feel very happy right now. My heart isn't as heavy anymore. I don't have the words, but I feel relief.

ROSE: Lorenzo found out that she can stay at least for a few more months. She doesn't have to check in with ICE again until October, but neither Lorenzo nor her lawyers can say what will happen when she does. Joel Rose, NPR News.

1 deportation   

n.驱逐，放逐

参考例句：

• The government issued a deportation order against the four men.政府发出了对那4名男子的驱逐令。
• Years ago convicted criminals in England could face deportation to Australia.很多年以前，英国已定罪的犯人可能被驱逐到澳大利亚。

2 byline   

n.署名；v.署名

参考例句：

• His byline was absent as well.他的署名也不见了。
• We wish to thank the author of this article which carries no byline.我们要感谢这篇文章的那位没有署名的作者。

3 chaos   

n.混乱，无秩序

参考例句：

• After the failure of electricity supply the city was in chaos.停电后，城市一片混乱。
• The typhoon left chaos behind it.台风后一片混乱。

4 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》

5 license   

n.执照，许可证，特许；v.许可，特许

参考例句：

• The foreign guest has a license on the person.这个外国客人随身携带执照。
• The driver was arrested for having false license plates on his car.司机由于使用假车牌而被捕。

6 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。

7 ushers   

n.引座员( usher的名词复数 )；招待员；门房；助理教员v.引，领，陪同( usher的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• Seats clicked, ushers bowed while he looked blandly on. 座位发出啪啦啪啦的声响，领座员朝客人们鞠躬，而他在一边温和殷勤地看着。 来自英汉文学 - 嘉莉妹妹
• The minister then offers a brief prayer of dedication, and the ushers return to their seats. 于是牧师又做了一个简短的奉献的祈祷，各招待员也各自回座位。 来自辞典例句

8 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。

9 offense   

n.犯规，违法行为；冒犯，得罪

参考例句：

• I hope you will not take any offense at my words. 对我讲的话请别见怪。
• His words gave great offense to everybody present.他的发言冲犯了在场的所有人。

10 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。

11 risky   

adj.有风险的，冒险的

参考例句：

• It may be risky but we will chance it anyhow.这可能有危险，但我们无论如何要冒一冒险。
• He is well aware how risky this investment is.他心里对这项投资的风险十分清楚。