美国国家公共电台 NPR Mom Of Cross-Border Shooting Victim 'Still Waiting For Victory'

 

RACHEL MARTIN, HOST:

As the Trump¹ administration plans to ramp² up security on the border and has already done so in many cases, one court case is being watched very closely. It has to do with whether U.S. agents should get immunity³ when shooting into Mexico. The Supreme⁴ Court, Monday, gave one Mexican mother a partial victory, saying that a lower court had erred⁵ in granting immunity to an agent who shot and killed her son. As John Burnett reports, the case stirs strong reactions down the border.

JOHN BURNETT, BYLINE⁶: Two contrasting images - the Supreme Court justices in their courtroom with its great columns, vaulted⁷ ceiling and marble friezes⁸ consider the case of Maria Guereca. Two thousand miles away, the 60-year-old jobless Mexican mother sat in her $20-a-month, one-room apartment with a fan and a hot plate beside a picture of her dead son.

Fifteen-year-old Sergio Hernandez was shot and killed by a Border Patrol agent seven years ago. The lawman was standing⁹ on one side of a culvert in El Paso, Texas. The unarmed teenager was on the Juarez, Mexico, side. Federal courts are deciding whether the young man has rights under the U.S. Constitution and if his mother can sue the agent for damages. Monday morning, she received a call from her attorney in Texas.

MARIA GUERECA: (Speaking Spanish).

BURNETT: "He told me there was some good news, but we're still waiting for victory," she says. "I want justice. This officer cannot be allowed to continue because there'll be another young victim, then another and another." The high court called the shooting a disturbing incident resulting from a heartbreaking loss of life. It asked the 5th Circuit Court of Appeals in New Orleans to reconsider its decision giving agent Jesus Mesa Jr. qualified¹⁰ immunity from civil liability.

He claims he shot Hernandez in the head because the boy had been throwing rocks at him and the agent feared for his life. The FBI investigated the case and sided with Mesa. Hernandez v. Mesa is not the only cross-border shooting case. Three other Mexican plaintiffs are waiting and watching to see if they, too, can pursue lawsuits¹² against Border Patrol officers who killed family members across the international boundary line. Maria Guereca says she's in touch with them.

GUERECA: (Speaking Spanish).

BURNETT: "They're all the same - they're over rocks. They were killed because the border agents said they were throwing rocks." In each case, the Border Patrol said the agents were acting¹³ according to their training. In recent years, in response to these controversial shootings, the agency now urges its agents to take cover or get out of the range of rocks. Stuart Harris, vice¹⁴ president of the Border Patrol union in El Paso, points out that agents can still use deadly force.

STUART HARRIS: When there's a situation where your life is threatened by another human being, does the nationality matter? It shouldn't.

BURNETT: But the victim's nationality is the reason this case reached the Supreme Court. If the teenager had been shot on U.S. soil, he would have constitutional rights and the officer could be held liable. But because the victim was standing outside of U.S. territory, a lawsuit¹¹ has, up until now, been impossible. Monday's decision may be the first step toward removing that legal shield. Again, the Border Patrol's Stuart Harris.

HARRIS: And it's terrible precedent¹⁵. If there is no qualified immunity there, then what are we doing? The job is already dangerous enough. And decisions like this, if ultimately it goes against us, is going to make things even worse.

BURNETT: The Supreme Court now sends the case back to the conservative-leaning 5th Circuit to decide whether or not Maria Guereca can move ahead with her lawsuit against the agent. Bob Hilliard, representing the family of Sergio Hernandez, says it's possible that they will...

BOB HILLIARD: Determine that constitutional protections apply along the border to anyone who finds himself at the border with the law enforcement officers in the United States.

BURNETT: The Supreme Court's decision split 5-1. Justice Thomas dissented¹⁷, saying liability of federal agents does not extend to cross-border conduct. Justices Breyer and Ginsburg issued a separate dissent¹⁶, saying Hernandez deserves Fourth Amendment¹⁸ protection because the United States is responsible for what happens on the concrete riverbed that divides the two nations. John Burnett, NPR News, El Paso.

(SOUNDBITE OF GOGO PENGUIN'S "HOPOPONO")

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 ramp   

n.暴怒，斜坡，坡道；vi.作恐吓姿势，暴怒，加速；vt.加速

参考例句：

• That driver drove the car up the ramp.那司机将车开上了斜坡。
• The factory don't have that capacity to ramp up.这家工厂没有能力加速生产。

3 immunity   

n.优惠；免除；豁免，豁免权

参考例句：

• The law gives public schools immunity from taxation.法律免除公立学校的纳税义务。
• He claims diplomatic immunity to avoid being arrested.他要求外交豁免以便避免被捕。

4 supreme   

adj.极度的，最重要的；至高的，最高的

参考例句：

• It was the supreme moment in his life.那是他一生中最重要的时刻。
• He handed up the indictment to the supreme court.他把起诉书送交最高法院。

5 erred   

犯错误，做错事( err的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• He erred in his judgement. 他判断错了。
• We will work on those who have erred and help them do right. 我们将对犯了错误的人做工作，并帮助他们改正。

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 vaulted   

adj.拱状的

参考例句：

• She vaulted over the gate and ran up the path. 她用手一撑跃过栅栏门沿着小路跑去。
• The formal living room has a fireplace and vaulted ceilings. 正式的客厅有一个壁炉和拱形天花板。

8 friezes   

n.（柱顶过梁和挑檐间的）雕带，（墙顶的）饰带( frieze的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The friezes round the top of the wall are delicate. 墙顶的横条很精致。 来自互联网

9 standing   

n.持续，地位；adj.永久的，不动的，直立的，不流动的

参考例句：

• After the earthquake only a few houses were left standing.地震过后只有几幢房屋还立着。
• They're standing out against any change in the law.他们坚决反对对法律做任何修改。

10 qualified   

adj.合格的，有资格的，胜任的，有限制的

参考例句：

• He is qualified as a complete man of letters.他有资格当真正的文学家。
• We must note that we still lack qualified specialists.我们必须看到我们还缺乏有资质的专家。

11 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。

12 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

13 acting   

n.演戏，行为，假装；adj.代理的，临时的，演出用的

参考例句：

• Ignore her,she's just acting.别理她，她只是假装的。
• During the seventies,her acting career was in eclipse.在七十年代，她的表演生涯黯然失色。

14 vice   

n.坏事；恶习；[pl.]台钳，老虎钳；adj.副的

参考例句：

• He guarded himself against vice.他避免染上坏习惯。
• They are sunk in the depth of vice.他们堕入了罪恶的深渊。

15 precedent   

n.先例，前例；惯例；adj.在前的，在先的

参考例句：

• Is there a precedent for what you want me to do?你要我做的事有前例可援吗？
• This is a wonderful achievement without precedent in Chinese history.这是中国历史上亘古未有的奇绩。

16 dissent   

n./v.不同意，持异议

参考例句：

• It is too late now to make any dissent.现在提出异议太晚了。
• He felt her shoulders gave a wriggle of dissent.他感到她的肩膀因为不同意而动了一下。

17 dissented   

不同意，持异议( dissent的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• We dissented from the decision. 对那项决定我们表示了不同意见。
• He dissented and questioned the justice of the award. 他提出质问，说裁判不公允。

18 amendment   

n.改正，修正，改善，修正案

参考例句：

• The amendment was rejected by 207 voters to 143.这项修正案以207票对143票被否决。
• The Opposition has tabled an amendment to the bill.反对党已经就该议案提交了一项修正条款。