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美国国会回应边界危机的最后机会

This week is Congress’ last chance to respond to a surge of undocumented children arriving at America’s southern border before U.S. lawmakers leave town for a five-week recess¹. At issue is how much money to appropriate to house and process the juveniles², and whether to alter a 2008 law that entitles non-Mexican arrivals to an immigration hearing. With chaos³ continuing at the U.S.-Mexico border and protests cropping up across the United States, a politically-divided Congress ponders what, if anything, to do.

本星期是国会对没有合法身份的儿童进入美国南部边境做出回应的最后机会，国会议员就要离开华盛顿休假五个星期。关键问题是众议院需要多少拨款处理这些未成年人，以及是否需要修改允许非墨西哥移民出席移民听证的2008年法律。美国-墨西哥边境的混乱状态仍在继续，抗议活动在美国各地此起彼伏。政见分裂的美国国会正在考虑如何应对目前局面。

Republicans say some of the funds requested by President Barack Obama are needed to deal with the crisis, but only if accompanied by legal reform. Senator John Cornyn says the tide needs to be stemmed in an orderly fashion.

共和党议员说，奥巴马总统需要要求拨款来处理危机，但要想得到这笔拨款，就必须进行司法改革。

“We need to have immigration laws that protect these children and all of us. And it does not mean that anybody and everybody under any circumstances can qualify to come to the United States and stay. That is simply an invitation to chaos," says Cornyn.

参议员科宁说：“我们需要移民法来保护这些儿童和我们所有的人。但这并不意味着任何人或所有人在任何情况下都可以有资格来到美国居留。这样做只会招来混乱。”

Cornyn co-authored a bill that would limit the ability of Central American immigrants to petition for refugee status, and speed their deportation⁴ to their home countries. Democrats⁵, such as House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, worry such a change would punish asylum-seekers with legitimate⁶ claims.

科宁联名起草了一项法案，限制中美洲移民申请难民身份，加速把他们遣返回国。民主党议员担心这种改变将惩罚那些合法申请避难的人。

“It relates not just to Central America. It relates to the American position on refugees and asylum-seekers around the world. Do we want to check out of that and say to other countries, ‘You take them, but do not talk to us about that?’” – asked Pelosi.

众议院少数党领袖佩洛西说：“这不仅涉及中美洲。它关系到美国在全球难民和申请避难问题上的立场。我们能对其他国家说：‘你们接纳他们，但不要和我们讨论这个问题吗？”

President Obama is urging Congress to act.

奥巴马总统敦促国会采取行动。

“It is my hope that Speaker [John] Boehner and House Republicans will not leave town for the month of August for their vacations without doing something to help solve this problem,” said Obama.

奥巴马说：“我希望贝纳议长和众议院共和党人8月份不要一走了之，离开华盛顿去休假。”

Speaker Boehner says an inconsistent message from the White House is part of the problem.

众议院议长贝纳说，白宫发出前后不一致的讯息是导致这个问题的部分原因。

“The administration started earlier this month by signaling some openness to changes in the 2008 law to accelerate the process of returning these children to their home countries. Now, the president and his team have apparently⁷ flip-flopped,” said Boehner.

贝纳说：“行政当局这个月早些时候表明愿意修改2008年法律的迹象，加速遣返这些儿童回国。现在总统和他的团队显然又反悔了。”

Three Central American leaders visited Washington last week, and pleaded for humane⁸ treatment of their citizens who flee to the United States. One of them was President Juan Orlando Hernandez of Honduras, who called for compassion⁹.

三个中美洲国家领导人上星期访问华盛顿，要求美国采取人道措施对待逃到美国的公民。

“Our children should be seen for what they are: vulnerable human beings. They have rights, and we want them to be respected,” said Hernandez.

洪都拉斯总统埃尔南德斯说：“你们应该正视这些孩子们的现状，他们是易受伤害的人。他们有权利，我们希望他们受到尊重。”

The pace of new arrivals appears to have diminished in recent weeks. Nevertheless, Texas Governor Rick Perry is taking matters into his own hands by dispatching National Guard troops to his state’s border with Mexico.

最近几个星期，美国边境新来者的数量似乎在减少。然而这是因为德克萨斯州州长佩里派遣国民警卫队前往德克萨斯州与墨西哥的边界地区，以他自己的方式处理这个问题。