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避难所运动帮助了冒险的移民

时间:2016-06-14 23:11:25

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(单词翻译)

Sanctuary1 Movement Helps Immigrants at Risk 避难所运动帮助了冒险的移民

For more than 30 years, religious groups in many parts of the U.S. have provided refuge to immigrants who face possible expulsion from the country.

Today, religious groups are treating non-criminal immigration law violators and their families differently.

The effort to provide refuge for immigrants is called the Sanctuary Movement. It started more than 30 years ago at a time of civil and economic unrest in Guatemala, El Salvador and Nicaragua.

By the end of the 1980s, nearly 1 million refugees had fled north to the United States to seek asylum2.

Religious congregations sheltered refugees who would have been denied asylum. They opposed the efforts by the U.S. Immigration and Naturalization Service to deport3 those people.

In 2014, something similar happened. Violence from the illegal drug trade and gangs, plus weak economic conditions in Central America, led to an increase of refugees and migrants, including children.

Also, an estimated 4.5 million children born in the U.S. have parents who are undocumented. They lack the paperwork required to live as legal residents.

The result has been a policy that has led to more than 350,000 “removals" each year. The term removal means being expelled from the country or denied entry at the border. In many of these cases, family members are separated.

New sanctuary movement considers current policy unfair

A leader of the sanctuary movement 30 years ago was Southside Presbyterian Church in Tucson, Arizona. Recently, the church has restarted its efforts to provide shelter and legal assistance to immigrants facing deportation4.

The Reverend Alison Harrington told VOA that a growing number of religious groups feel “outraged and heartbroken” over current U.S. policies. She said these congregations are opening their doors in hopes of keeping families and communities together.

Harrington said individuals and politicians are fueling a growing anti-immigrant nativist movement.

“You kind of have this rising of people, who are people of faith, who will be conscious to say, ‘This is not who we believe we are as a people, as an American people,’” Harrington said.

She added that she feels a moral imperative5 to help.

Southside Presbyterian Church is near the Sonora desert and the U.S. border with Mexico. Harrington said she often meets immigrants seeking assistance.

The 1980s was a period Harrington calls a “nightmare.” She said 80 people slept on the church floor at times, with about 14,000 receiving shelter over a period of 10 years. However, the church now shelters one family at a time, rarely for more than a month.

Harrington said she remembers the case of one family in 2014. A woman named Rosa, her husband and two sons remained at Southside Presbyterian for a record 461 days before Rosa's case was resolved.

“We had to get into high-level negotiations6 on that one,” Harrington said.

Groups work together to provide services for immigrants

Judson Memorial Church in New York City provides sanctuary in more ways than one.

“It could be physical, it could be spiritual, it could be financial, it could be legal,” the Reverend Donna Schaper said. But the most important term, she said, is “accompaniment.”

“We accompany about 200 people a month, and we train volunteers to go to ICE so they know their rights,” she said. ICE is short for the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, the agency that deals with immigration issues.

Schaper said that ICE employees are not the enemy. But she said what they do “terrifies people,” and she does not morally respect it.

Miguel ángel Animas and his two U.S.-born daughters came to the Judson Memorial Church for help. His wife, the girls’ mother, was recently deported7 to Mexico.

Schaper says immigration, like other difficult issues, lacks a human face to inspire quick action or major reform.

“I can’t let myself say that [Americans] don’t know or that if they knew, they would do something,” she said. “They take care of dogs and cats. These people are not dogs and cats.”

However, Schaper still describes New York City as a “very friendly city” to immigrants. And, during her time at the church, she has seen results, especially at the local level.

The New Sanctuary Coalition8 of NYC is an alliance of congregations around New York City. In 2009, the coalition started an effort to support immigrants who were found guilty of minor9 offenses10, or whose cases were dismissed. The group sought to prevent ICE agents from questioning and detaining these immigrants at city jails.

The church says that in 2011, the coalition’s efforts resulted in then-New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg signing a bill that changed some of those practices.

Words in This Story

congregation –n. people who regularly attend religious services at a church

deport –v. to send out of a country

nativist –adj. related to people whose ancestors lived for a long period in a country and who oppose newcomers or immigrants to it

moral imperative –n. a strongly believed idea or principle that causes a person to act

accompaniment –n. the act of accompanying someone, going with someone to a place

inspire –v. to cause someone to do, believe or feel something


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1 sanctuary iCrzE     
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。
2 asylum DobyD     
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。
3 deport aw2x6     
vt.驱逐出境
参考例句:
  • We deport aliens who slip across our borders.我们把偷渡入境的外国人驱逐出境。
  • More than 240 England football fans are being deported from Italy following riots last night.昨晚的骚乱发生后有240多名英格兰球迷被驱逐出意大利。
4 deportation Nwjx6     
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。
5 imperative BcdzC     
n.命令,需要;规则;祈使语气;adj.强制的;紧急的
参考例句:
  • He always speaks in an imperative tone of voice.他老是用命令的口吻讲话。
  • The events of the past few days make it imperative for her to act.过去这几天发生的事迫使她不得不立即行动。
6 negotiations af4b5f3e98e178dd3c4bac64b625ecd0     
协商( negotiation的名词复数 ); 谈判; 完成(难事); 通过
参考例句:
  • negotiations for a durable peace 为持久和平而进行的谈判
  • Negotiations have failed to establish any middle ground. 谈判未能达成任何妥协。
7 deported 97686e795f0449007421091b03c3297e     
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》
8 coalition pWlyi     
n.结合体,同盟,结合,联合
参考例句:
  • The several parties formed a coalition.这几个政党组成了政治联盟。
  • Coalition forces take great care to avoid civilian casualties.联盟军队竭尽全力避免造成平民伤亡。
9 minor e7fzR     
adj.较小(少)的,较次要的;n.辅修学科;vi.辅修
参考例句:
  • The young actor was given a minor part in the new play.年轻的男演员在这出新戏里被分派担任一个小角色。
  • I gave him a minor share of my wealth.我把小部分财产给了他。
10 offenses 4bfaaba4d38a633561a0153eeaf73f91     
n.进攻( offense的名词复数 );(球队的)前锋;进攻方法;攻势
参考例句:
  • It's wrong of you to take the child to task for such trifling offenses. 因这类小毛病责备那孩子是你的不对。 来自《简明英汉词典》
  • Thus, Congress cannot remove an executive official except for impeachable offenses. 因此,除非有可弹劾的行为,否则国会不能罢免行政官员。 来自英汉非文学 - 行政法

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