2006年VOA标准英语-Pentagon Prepares to Help Control US-Mexic

By Al Pessin
Pentagon
15 May 2006

In a speech on immigration policy Monday evening, President Bush is expected to announce an expansion in the use of National Guard troops along the U.S.-Mexico border to help reduce the flow of illegal immigrants. But at the Defense¹ Department, officials say that does not mean border control is being transferred to the military.

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Illegal immigrants detained by US Border Patrol
  

The long U.S. land borders with both Mexico and Canada are not patrolled by the military. Rather, border enforcement is the job of the Border Patrol, a civilian² police agency under the Department of Homeland Security.

But the Border Patrol on the Mexico-U.S. border has been unable to stop the flow of illegal immigrants from throughout Latin America, who are desperate for jobs and other benefits of living in the United States. They come hidden in vehicles across established checkpoints, and also by foot, through remote areas where patrols are difficult and fences are minimal³.

So, as part of his broad immigration policy, which also includes plans to address the status of the estimated 12 million illegal immigrants already in the country and a plan for a Guest Worker Program, President Bush is expected to announce that he is sending the National Guard to help the Border Patrol.

US National Guard HMMWV   
  
But Defense Department officials are eager to make clear that this does not mean the border will be militarized. They say no National Guard troops will be on the front lines, involved in apprehending⁴ or detaining illegal immigrants. Rather, spokesman Bryan Whitman says, the National Guard will provide such services as communications, logistics, intelligence analysis and surveillance, including the use of high technology unmanned aircraft.

"This will be support to the Department of Homeland Security," said Bryan Whitman. "It'll be much of the same type of pre-existing missions that the Guard already does."

 
Bryan Whitman 
  
Whitman says about 300 National Guardsmen are already providing such support for the Border Patrol along some sections of the U.S.-Mexico Border.

Another official, who spoke⁵ on condition of anonymity⁶, said specifically that no soldiers will be "pointing guns" along the border. The official said, fewer than 10,000 Guard members will be deployed⁷ in the support roles, in part to free members of the Border Patrol to take the front line positions. The official said the policy is intended to be temporary, until the Border Patrol can recruit and train additional officers, and take on all the functions by itself, but he would not say how long the program is expected to continue.

The National Guard is a reserve force organized in each state. It has responsibilities to the state governors, and officials say they are working on the legal structure needed for interior states to lend Guard members to border states for this project. The Guard also falls under the national military command structure. Members can be called to active military duty as needed, and they have played crucial roles in the Iraq and Afghanistan wars. Officials say this expanded border assignment for the National Guard will not affect the rotation⁸ of units to those conflicts.

1 defense   

n.防御，保卫；[pl.]防务工事；辩护，答辩

参考例句：

• The accused has the right to defense.被告人有权获得辩护。
• The war has impacted the area with military and defense workers.战争使那个地区挤满了军队和防御工程人员。

2 civilian   

adj.平民的，民用的，民众的

参考例句：

• There is no reliable information about civilian casualties.关于平民的伤亡还没有确凿的信息。
• He resigned his commission to take up a civilian job.他辞去军职而从事平民工作。

3 minimal   

adj.尽可能少的，最小的

参考例句：

• They referred to this kind of art as minimal art.他们把这种艺术叫微型艺术。
• I stayed with friends, so my expenses were minimal.我住在朋友家，所以我的花费很小。

4 apprehending   

逮捕，拘押( apprehend的现在分词 )； 理解

参考例句：

• China has not been totally unsuccessful apprehending corruption suspects. 在逮捕腐化分子方面，中国并非毫无进展。
• Apprehending violence is not an easy task. 惧怕暴力不是一件容易的事。

5 spoke   

n.（车轮的）辐条；轮辐；破坏某人的计划；阻挠某人的行动 v.讲，谈（speak的过去式）；说；演说；从某种观点来说

参考例句：

• They sourced the spoke nuts from our company.他们的轮辐螺帽是从我们公司获得的。
• The spokes of a wheel are the bars that connect the outer ring to the centre.辐条是轮子上连接外圈与中心的条棒。

6 anonymity   

n.the condition of being anonymous

参考例句：

• Names of people in the book were changed to preserve anonymity. 为了姓名保密，书中的人用的都是化名。
• Our company promises to preserve the anonymity of all its clients. 我们公司承诺不公开客户的姓名。

7 deployed   

（尤指军事行动）使展开( deploy的过去式和过去分词 )； 施展； 部署； 有效地利用

参考例句：

• Tanks have been deployed all along the front line. 沿整个前线已部署了坦克。
• The artillery was deployed to bear on the fort. 火炮是对着那个碉堡部署的。

8 rotation   

n.旋转；循环，轮流

参考例句：

• Crop rotation helps prevent soil erosion.农作物轮作有助于防止水土流失。
• The workers in this workshop do day and night shifts in weekly rotation.这个车间的工人上白班和上夜班每周轮换一次。