美国国家公共电台 NPR--A federal judge rules that pandemic border restrictions must continue

A federal judge rules that pandemic border restrictions¹ must continue

Transcript²

President Biden on Monday planned to end the border restrictions known as Title 42, which prevented many migrants from seeking asylum³. But a judge issued an injunction leaving the rules in place.

STEVE INSKEEP, HOST:

Some of today's news is what is not happening. The United States is not lifting pandemic restrictions at the border today. President Biden intended to lift the rules imposed by President Trump⁴ under a bit of law known as Title 42. A judge blocked Biden's move, likely to the relief of some Democratic senators who said the United States wasn't ready to receive all the people who would abruptly⁵ try to cross. NPR's Joel Rose covers immigration, and he's on the line. Joel, good morning.

JOEL ROSE, BYLINE⁶: Hi, Steve.

INSKEEP: What was the judge's basis for blocking the lifting of these restrictions?

ROSE: Right. Well, this ruling came down late on Friday, granting preliminary injunction and requiring the Biden administration, as you say, to continue this policy known as Title 42, which allows immigration authorities to quickly expel migrants without giving them a chance to seek asylum. More than 20 states had signed on to this lawsuit⁷ that was brought by Arizona and Missouri and Louisiana. They argue that the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention did not go through the proper procedure to end Title 42, that it should have taken public comment and considered the impact on state health care systems and other costs that could come with a possible influx⁸ of migrants when Title 42 ends.

INSKEEP: Well, what happens now, then, if that's a preliminary injunction?

ROSE: Well, so the Biden administration goes back to court. The Justice Department lawyers argued that the CDC was within its authority when it decided⁹ to end this policy because it was no longer needed, according to the CDC, to protect public health. The Justice Department says it will appeal the judge's decision, although it's not clear yet if that's going to include the administration seeking an emergency stay that would block the injunction quickly while this appeal is happening. Ultimately, the CDC may have to try again to lift Title 42 in a way that could pass muster¹⁰ with the courts. You know, but all of this is going to take months, possibly many months.

INSKEEP: Well, let's talk about the practical effect, then. The reason this was so heavily debated was that many people were waiting to cross the border. It was presumed by all parties, including the Biden administration, that a lot of people would try to cross the border. Now they can't, so what's that mean for people waiting?

ROSE: It means even more waiting, right? I mean, there are tens of thousands of migrants who are estimated to be waiting in Mexico. They fled from violence and poverty in Central America and, you know, all over the world. And they've been staying in sometimes dangerous Mexican border towns, you know, just trying to get by, waiting for a chance to seek asylum in the U.S.

There is one small cause for optimism for those migrants today, and that is a ruling, actually, in a different court case about the same border policies. Back in March, the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that the Biden administration could expel migrant families, but it cannot send them back to places where they could be persecuted¹¹ or tortured. Here's Lee Gelernt from the ACLU, which brought that lawsuit in D.C.

LEE GELERNT: The D.C. Circuit was adamant¹² that no family may be sent back to persecution¹³ or torture, and there must be an adequate screening process.

ROSE: It's not clear yet exactly how this is going to work in practice when that order takes effect today, but it could look something like the status quo. Unaccompanied children and some migrant families will get a chance to seek asylum, while a lot of other migrants will be turned back.

INSKEEP: So what happens when that status quo gets extended more weeks, more months, maybe years?

ROSE: Immigrant advocates are worried, you know, about what this means for the future of asylum protections at the border. Title 42 is officially a public health order, but at this point, most Republicans and even some Democrats¹⁴ are talking about it as a border management tool. You know, and at a time when apprehensions¹⁵ are already near record highs, public opinion polls show that a majority of Americans support keeping Title 42 in place. Some Democrats in tight races may be relieved that the court has stepped in here to extend Title 42. But immigrant advocates are worried that the longer this stays in place, the harder it may be to get rid of it.

INSKEEP: NPR's Joel Rose, thanks so much.

ROSE: You bet.

1 restrictions   

约束( restriction的名词复数 )； 管制； 制约因素； 带限制性的条件（或规则）

参考例句：

• I found the restrictions irksome. 我对那些限制感到很烦。
• a snaggle of restrictions 杂乱无章的种种限制

2 transcript   

n.抄本，誊本，副本，肄业证书

参考例句：

• A transcript of the tapes was presented as evidence in court.一份录音带的文字本作为证据被呈交法庭。
• They wouldn't let me have a transcript of the interview.他们拒绝给我一份采访的文字整理稿。

3 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。

4 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。

5 abruptly   

adv.突然地，出其不意地

参考例句：

• He gestured abruptly for Virginia to get in the car.他粗鲁地示意弗吉尼亚上车。
• I was abruptly notified that a half-hour speech was expected of me.我突然被通知要讲半个小时的话。

6 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。

7 lawsuit   

n.诉讼，控诉

参考例句：

• They threatened him with a lawsuit.他们以诉讼威逼他。
• He was perpetually involving himself in this long lawsuit.他使自己无休止地卷入这场长时间的诉讼。

8 influx   

n.流入，注入

参考例句：

• The country simply cannot absorb this influx of refugees.这个国家实在不能接纳这么多涌入的难民。
• Textile workers favoured protection because they feared an influx of cheap cloth.纺织工人拥护贸易保护措施，因为他们担心涌入廉价纺织品。

9 decided   

adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的

参考例句：

• This gave them a decided advantage over their opponents.这使他们比对手具有明显的优势。
• There is a decided difference between British and Chinese way of greeting.英国人和中国人打招呼的方式有很明显的区别。

10 muster   

v.集合，收集，鼓起，激起；n.集合，检阅，集合人员，点名册

参考例句：

• Go and muster all the men you can find.去集合所有你能找到的人。
• I had to muster my courage up to ask him that question.我必须鼓起勇气向他问那个问题。

11 persecuted   

（尤指宗教或政治信仰的）迫害(~sb. for sth.)( persecute的过去式和过去分词 )； 烦扰，困扰或骚扰某人

参考例句：

• Throughout history, people have been persecuted for their religious beliefs. 人们因宗教信仰而受迫害的情况贯穿了整个历史。
• Members of these sects are ruthlessly persecuted and suppressed. 这些教派的成员遭到了残酷的迫害和镇压。

12 adamant   

adj.坚硬的，固执的

参考例句：

• We are adamant on the building of a well-off society.在建设小康社会这一点上，我们是坚定不移的。
• Veronica was quite adamant that they should stay on.维罗妮卡坚信他们必须继续留下去。

13 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。

14 democrats   

n.民主主义者，民主人士( democrat的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The Democrats held a pep rally on Capitol Hill yesterday. 民主党昨天在国会山召开了竞选誓师大会。
• The democrats organize a filibuster in the senate. 民主党党员组织了阻挠议事。 来自《简明英汉词典》

15 apprehensions   

疑惧

参考例句：

• He stood in a mixture of desire and apprehensions. 他怀着渴望和恐惧交加的心情伫立着。
• But subsequent cases have removed many of these apprehensions. 然而，随后的案例又消除了许多类似的忧虑。