2006年VOA标准英语-US Cracks Down on Businesses Employing Ill

By Meredith Buel
Washington
20 April 2006

 
Michael Chertoff, left, listens as Julie Myers gives remarks at Immigration and Customs Enforcement headquarters  
  
U.S. immigration agents have arrested seven executives and more than 1,000 employees as part of a crackdown on businesses that employ illegal workers.

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The U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency arrested current and former managers of the German-based IFCO Systems in raids on more than 40 of the company's plants in 26 states. The agency says nearly 1,200 illegal aliens working for the company were arrested during the raids.

Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff announced the crackdown during a news conference in Washington, saying customs agents are now targeting businesses allegedly involved in deliberately² hiring illegal immigrants in violation³ of U.S. law.

"We target those organizations," he said. "We use intelligence to define the scope of the organization and then we use all of the tools we have, whether it is criminal enforcement or the immigration laws, to make sure we come down as hard as possible and break the back of those organizations."

Officials say the investigation⁴ into IFCO Systems, a manufacturer of crates⁵ and pallets, began a year ago when illegal immigrants employed by the company were seen destroying tax forms and using fake cards for the U.S. retirement⁶ system known as Social Security.

Authorities say IFCO officials transported illegal aliens to and from work, and deducted⁷ money from the immigrants' paychecks to cover housing and other expenses.

Secretary Chertoff says the government will continue to crack down on businesses that allegedly exploit an illegal workforce⁸ to turn a profit.

"Americans are rightly concerned about the need to enforce our immigration laws and our work laws in the United States," he said. "That means we have got to focus on illegal migration¹ and also on those who flagrantly violate the law by encouraging that illegal migration, whether they do it by smuggling⁹ the migrants across the border or by employing the migrants in a systematic¹⁰ fashion once they get into the United States."

Chertoff says customs officials will continue to deter¹¹ illegal employment by removing criminal aliens, building strong worksite enforcement, and cracking down on businesses that support illegal immigration.

A statement from IFCO Systems says the company is cooperating with the investigation.

1 migration   

n.迁移，移居，（鸟类等的）迁徙

参考例句：

• Swallows begin their migration south in autumn.燕子在秋季开始向南方迁移。
• He described the vernal migration of birds in detail.他详细地描述了鸟的春季移居。

2 deliberately   

adv.审慎地；蓄意地；故意地

参考例句：

• The girl gave the show away deliberately.女孩故意泄露秘密。
• They deliberately shifted off the argument.他们故意回避这个论点。

3 violation   

n.违反(行为)，违背(行为)，侵犯

参考例句：

• He roared that was a violation of the rules.他大声说，那是违反规则的。
• He was fined 200 dollars for violation of traffic regulation.他因违反交通规则被罚款200美元。

4 investigation   

n.调查，调查研究

参考例句：

• In an investigation,a new fact became known, which told against him.在调查中新发现了一件对他不利的事实。
• He drew the conclusion by building on his own investigation.他根据自己的调查研究作出结论。

5 crates   

n. 板条箱, 篓子, 旧汽车 vt. 装进纸条箱

参考例句：

• We were using crates as seats. 我们用大木箱作为座位。
• Thousands of crates compacted in a warehouse. 数以千计的板条箱堆放在仓库里。

6 retirement   

n.退休，退职

参考例句：

• She wanted to enjoy her retirement without being beset by financial worries.她想享受退休生活而不必为金钱担忧。
• I have to put everything away for my retirement.我必须把一切都积蓄起来以便退休后用。

7 deducted   

v.扣除，减去( deduct的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• The cost of your uniform will be deducted from your wages. 制服费将从你的工资中扣除。
• The cost of the breakages will be deducted from your pay. 损坏东西的费用将从你的工资中扣除。 来自《简明英汉词典》

8 workforce   

n.劳动大军，劳动力

参考例句：

• A large part of the workforce is employed in agriculture.劳动人口中一大部分受雇于农业。
• A quarter of the local workforce is unemployed.本地劳动力中有四分之一失业。

9 smuggling   

n.走私

参考例句：

• Some claimed that the docker's union fronted for the smuggling ring.某些人声称码头工人工会是走私集团的掩护所。
• The evidence pointed to the existence of an international smuggling network.证据表明很可能有一个国际走私网络存在。

10 systematic   

adj.有系统的，有计划的，有方法的

参考例句：

• The way he works isn't very systematic.他的工作不是很有条理。
• The teacher made a systematic work of teaching.这个教师进行系统的教学工作。

11 deter   

vt.阻止，使不敢，吓住

参考例句：

• Failure did not deter us from trying it again.失败并没有能阻挡我们再次进行试验。
• Dogs can deter unwelcome intruders.狗能够阻拦不受欢迎的闯入者。