美国国家公共电台 NPR New Immigration Crackdowns Creating 'Chilling Effect' On Crime Reporting

 

RACHEL MARTIN, HOST:

Law enforcement officials have been warning about the unintended consequences of President Donald Trump¹'s immigration dragnet. They caution that it will further isolate² immigrants who are in the country illegally. That includes crime victims and crime witnesses. In a number of U.S. cities, police and immigrant advocates say they're already seeing this play out. NPR's John Burnett reports from Houston.

JOHN BURNETT, BYLINE³: Jason Cisneroz is a community service officer in Houston, the nation's fourth-largest city. His job is to forge good relations between the police and Hispanic immigrants, a population typically wary⁴ of blue uniforms. And he's troubled.

JASON CISNEROZ: A couple days ago, there was a witness to a burglary motor vehicle. And she saw the suspects run to a certain place and - with items they stole from a car. But she was afraid to come to police because she was in fear that they was going to ask for her papers.

BURNETT: Unauthorized immigrants living in Texas have a double whammy. Under Trump, federal agents have stepped up the arrests of immigrants, even those without a criminal record. And a brand new state law further tightens⁵ up immigration enforcement. Officer Cisneroz is out here in Magnolia Park with his partner Officer Jesus Robles, who has a unique perspective. Robles came to Texas from Mexico as a child without papers and later got citizenship⁶. He also notices the chill.

JESUS ROBLES: People are afraid to talk to the police. And how does that help us, as police, do our job?

BURNETT: Downtown at police headquarters, their boss, Chief Art Acevedo, has seen the numbers. He says Hispanics reporting sexual assault have dropped nearly 43 percent in the first three months of the year compared to last year. And the number of Hispanic-reported robberies and aggravated⁷ assaults are each down 12 percent.

ART ACEVEDO: What we've created is a chilling effect that we are already starting to see the beginning of. They're afraid that we're more interested, as a society, in deporting⁸ them than we are in bringing justice to the victims of crime.

BURNETT: Earlier this month, Texas Governor Greg Abbott signed the so-called sanctuary⁹ cities bill. It orders local jail officials to cooperate with federal immigration agents and authorizes¹⁰ any Texas peace officer to check the immigration status of any subject they detain. Latino lawmakers are furious. Activists¹¹ have vowed¹² a summer of resistance of lawsuits¹³ and more demonstrations¹⁴. Abbott defends the new law, saying he can't be racist¹⁵ because his wife is Mexican-American. A reporter for Univision caught up with Abbott at a memorial service for state troopers last week.

(SOUNDBITE OF UNIVISION BROADCAST)

GREG ABBOTT: If you are not someone here who has committed a crime, you have absolutely nothing to worry about. There are laws against racial profiling. And those laws will be strictly¹⁶ enforced.

BURNETT: Houston, like many cities, has a policy discouraging its officers from inquiring about a subject's legal status. Now with the new state law, Chief Acevedo says any officer may ask about a subject's citizenship, but they cannot act like it's open season on immigrants. He says his officers shouldn't think...

ACEVEDO: I'm going to go out to Home Depot¹⁷ and start going after those, you know, day laborers¹⁸ that may be undocumented immigrants. We're going to make sure we provide plenty of training to those that might be inclined to make them understand that racial profiling is not going to be tolerated.

BURNETT: The director of the Houston office of ICE, Immigration and Customs Enforcement, Patrick Contreras, emailed a statement to NPR. He says foreign nationals who are victims of sex crimes, trafficking or domestic violence may qualify for special visas that allow them to stay in the country. He stresses that ICE's mission is to combat crime and protect the public and to suggest otherwise is reckless and creates fear within communities. Yet, fear of deportation¹⁹ has long complicated relations between Latinos and law enforcement. And lately, it's gotten worse.

Palmira is a 43-year-old house cleaner and babysitter from Guanajuato, Mexico, who lives in Houston with her two teenage daughters. She asked that her last name not be used because she's here illegally.

PALMIRA: (Speaking Spanish).

BURNETT: Sitting outside of a Starbucks, she describes how there are drug dealers²⁰ in her apartment complex. They get in fights, and their customers come day and night. But she won't report them.

PALMIRA: (Speaking Spanish).

BURNETT: "I was always afraid to deal with the police because I'm illegal, and I feared they'd take me away" she says. "But now I'm even more scared."

PALMIRA: (Speaking Spanish).

BURNETT: Houston is not alone. In Los Angeles, Police Chief Charlie Beck says reports of sexual assault this year have dropped 25 percent among the city's Latino population compared to the same period last year. A new survey of hundreds of victims' advocates and legal service providers in 48 states finds that immigrants are afraid to call police, afraid to press charges and afraid to testify at trial because ICE is making arrests at courthouses.

Supporters of stricter immigration enforcement are not convinced, especially with only three months of crime-reporting data under the new president. Liz Theiss is the founder²¹ of Stop the Magnet in Houston.

LIZ THEISS: Well, color me skeptical²². I don't believe it. And I'd really be curious to see how they got that data considering that supposedly you're dealing²³ with people living in the shadows, living in fear.

BURNETT: But police in Houston say this is not just a blip. With the immigration crackdown continuing, they're concerned going forward with how to balance what can be two very different goals, enforcing federal law and policing the community.

John Burnett, NPR News, Houston.

(SOUNDBITE OF KICK BONG'S "FLOWER POWER")

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 isolate   

vt.使孤立，隔离

参考例句：

• Do not isolate yourself from others.不要把自己孤立起来。
• We should never isolate ourselves from the masses.我们永远不能脱离群众。

3 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。

4 wary   

adj.谨慎的，机警的，小心的

参考例句：

• He is wary of telling secrets to others.他谨防向他人泄露秘密。
• Paula frowned,suddenly wary.宝拉皱了皱眉头，突然警惕起来。

5 tightens   

收紧( tighten的第三人称单数 )； （使）变紧； （使）绷紧； 加紧

参考例句：

• One set of provisions tightens emission standards. 一套使排放标准更加严格的规定。 来自英汉非文学 - 环境法 - 环境法
• Requires no special tools or fittings; hand tightens to relief valve outlet. 不需要专用工具或管件；用手将其紧固到安全阀上即可。

6 citizenship   

n.市民权，公民权，国民的义务(身份)

参考例句：

• He was born in Sweden,but he doesn't have Swedish citizenship.他在瑞典出生，但没有瑞典公民身分。
• Ten years later,she chose to take Australian citizenship.十年后，她选择了澳大利亚国籍。

7 aggravated   

使恶化( aggravate的过去式和过去分词 )； 使更严重； 激怒； 使恼火

参考例句：

• If he aggravated me any more I shall hit him. 假如他再激怒我，我就要揍他。
• Far from relieving my cough, the medicine aggravated it. 这药非但不镇咳，反而使我咳嗽得更厉害。

8 deporting   

v.将…驱逐出境( deport的现在分词 )；举止

参考例句：

9 sanctuary   

n.圣所，圣堂，寺庙；禁猎区，保护区

参考例句：

• There was a sanctuary of political refugees behind the hospital.医院后面有一个政治难民的避难所。
• Most countries refuse to give sanctuary to people who hijack aeroplanes.大多数国家拒绝对劫机者提供庇护。

10 authorizes   

授权，批准，委托( authorize的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The dictionary authorizes the two spellings 'traveler' and 'traveller'. 字典裁定traveler和traveller两种拼法都对。
• The dictionary authorizes the two spellings "honor" and "honour.". 字典裁定 honor 及 honour 两种拼法均可。

11 activists   

n.（政治活动的）积极分子，活动家( activist的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• His research work was attacked by animal rights activists . 他的研究受到了动物权益维护者的抨击。
• Party activists with lower middle class pedigrees are numerous. 党的激进分子中有很多出身于中产阶级下层。 来自《简明英汉词典》

12 vowed   

起誓，发誓（vow的过去式与过去分词形式）

参考例句：

• He vowed quite solemnly that he would carry out his promise. 他非常庄严地发誓要实现他的诺言。
• I vowed to do more of the cooking myself. 我发誓自己要多动手做饭。

13 lawsuits   

n.诉讼( lawsuit的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Lawsuits involving property rights and farming and grazing rights increased markedly. 涉及财产权，耕作与放牧权的诉讼案件显著地增加。 来自辞典例句
• I've lost and won more lawsuits than any man in England. 全英国的人算我官司打得最多，赢的也多，输的也多。 来自辞典例句

14 demonstrations   

证明( demonstration的名词复数 )； 表明； 表达； 游行示威

参考例句：

• Lectures will be interspersed with practical demonstrations. 讲课中将不时插入实际示范。
• The new military government has banned strikes and demonstrations. 新的军人政府禁止罢工和示威活动。

15 racist   

n.种族主义者，种族主义分子

参考例句：

• a series of racist attacks 一连串的种族袭击行为
• His speech presented racist ideas under the guise of nationalism. 他的讲话以民族主义为幌子宣扬种族主义思想。

16 strictly   

adv.严厉地，严格地；严密地

参考例句：

• His doctor is dieting him strictly.他的医生严格规定他的饮食。
• The guests were seated strictly in order of precedence.客人严格按照地位高低就座。

17 depot   

n.仓库，储藏处；公共汽车站；火车站

参考例句：

• The depot is only a few blocks from here.公共汽车站离这儿只有几个街区。
• They leased the building as a depot.他们租用这栋大楼作仓库。

18 laborers   

n.体力劳动者，工人( laborer的名词复数 )；（熟练工人的）辅助工

参考例句：

• Laborers were trained to handle 50-ton compactors and giant cranes. 工人们接受操作五十吨压土机和巨型起重机的训练。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》
• Wage-labour rests exclusively on competition between the laborers. 雇佣劳动完全是建立在工人的自相竞争之上的。 来自英汉非文学 - 共产党宣言

19 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。

20 dealers   

n.商人( dealer的名词复数 )；贩毒者；毒品贩子；发牌者

参考例句：

• There was fast bidding between private collectors and dealers. 私人收藏家和交易商急速竞相喊价。
• The police were corrupt and were operating in collusion with the drug dealers. 警察腐败，与那伙毒品贩子内外勾结。

21 Founder   

n.创始者，缔造者

参考例句：

• He was extolled as the founder of their Florentine school.他被称颂为佛罗伦萨画派的鼻祖。
• According to the old tradition,Romulus was the founder of Rome.按照古老的传说，罗穆卢斯是古罗马的建国者。

22 skeptical   

adj.怀疑的，多疑的

参考例句：

• Others here are more skeptical about the chances for justice being done.这里的其他人更为怀疑正义能否得到伸张。
• Her look was skeptical and resigned.她的表情是将信将疑而又无可奈何。

23 dealing   

n.经商方法，待人态度

参考例句：

• This store has an excellent reputation for fair dealing.该商店因买卖公道而享有极高的声誉。
• His fair dealing earned our confidence.他的诚实的行为获得我们的信任。