美国国家公共电台 NPR--An app is the latest tool, and barrier, for migrants at the southern U.S. border

An app is the latest tool, and barrier, for migrants at the southern U.S. border

Transcript¹

The Biden administration has an app specifically for asylum²-seekers and other migrants without valid³ visas. But it often stands between migrants and crossing the border from Mexico to the U.S.

MICHEL MARTIN, HOST:

In January of this year, the Biden administration unveiled a new app specifically for asylum-seekers and other migrants without valid visas. CBP One is supposed to help alleviate⁴ the crisis at the southern border, but the app, which users say constantly glitches⁵ or produces error messages, is what often stands between migrants and their dream of finding safety in the U.S. NPR's Eyder Peralta has this report from Matamoros, Mexico.

UNIDENTIFIED CHILD: (Inaudible).

EYDER PERALTA, BYLINE⁶: Just off the banks of the Rio Grande, a huge migrant encampment has sprung up. It's dotted with makeshift tents. And at 9:45 every morning, anticipation⁷ builds.

(CROSSTALK)

PERALTA: One man announces that today is the day everyone gets an appointment on the CBP One app.

UNIDENTIFIED PERSON #1: (Speaking Spanish).

PERALTA: Of course, that's a dream because as the number of migrants seeking asylum at the U.S. southern border has skyrocketed, the U.S. has allowed fewer migrants into the country by putting up restrictions⁸. The latest is this app.

ENDER PRIETO: (Speaking Spanish).

PERALTA: "But something always goes wrong," says Ender Prieto. Sometimes it's a spinning wheel; others it's an error. Other times it rejects their pictures. But without the app, you can't get into the U.S. And the app is so particular the migrants now have superstitions⁹.

PRIETO: (Speaking Spanish).

PERALTA: They put on the same clothes, the same hat. They take their picture in the same place because they believe the app verifies identity using a photo.

(CROSSTALK)

PERALTA: 9:58 - two minutes to go. They stare at their phones, and at 10, they click desperately¹⁰.

JONAHY ISLAYA: (Speaking Spanish).

PERALTA: Jonahy Islaya seems to have good luck.

UNIDENTIFIED PERSON #2: (Speaking Spanish).

ISLAYA: (Speaking Spanish).

PERALTA: "Take the picture fast." She does, but the app spits out an error. It's over for them. But across the camp, we hear commotion¹¹.

(CROSSTALK, CHEERING)

PERALTA: A Venezuelan family - Jason David, his wife and his two girls - secured a family appointment. It's been five years since they left Venezuela.

(CROSSTALK, LAUGHTER)

PERALTA: The whole camp surrounds them. They cry. They hug. They laugh.

JASON DAVID: (Speaking Spanish).

PERALTA: They don't have family in the U.S., but they have dreams. He imagines safety, a chance to work, a chance for his girls to go to school.

(CROSSTALK, LAUGHTER)

PERALTA: Less than a decade ago, these migrant camps did not exist in Mexico. But as the asylum process in the U.S. got harder, many migrants were stranded¹². Tyler Mattiace of Human Rights Watch says this is part of a worldwide trend narrowing the rights of asylum-seekers.

TYLER MATTIACE: We see it in the U.K. We see it in Europe - this rejection¹³ of people's basic right to seek international protection.

PERALTA: The Biden administration says its policies and this app make the trip north safer. Migrants can now cross legally when they have an appointment. But Mattiace says it does just the opposite. The Venezuelans, the Cubans, the Haitians, the Nicaraguans amassing¹⁴ at the border don't have the luxury of deciding when they want to travel. They're fleeing, and the app...

MATTIACE: Forces them to wait in unsafe places and unsafe circumstances. And it violates international law.

PERALTA: The law, says Mattiace, gives asylum-seekers a basic right - to have their cases heard. This new app system makes decisions based on things that have nothing to do with their asylum cases. For the others in the camp, reality quickly sets in. Yule fled Venezuela, she says, because both her dad, a military officer, and her husband, physically¹⁵ abused her. I ask her if she had applied¹⁶ for an appointment.

YULE: (Speaking Spanish).

PERALTA: No, she says. Her phone's screen is dead. Yule - we're only using her first name because she fears her dad could track her down - says she had actually gotten an appointment on that phone a few weeks earlier, but she was turned away at the border.

YULE: (Speaking Spanish).

PERALTA: Her son had chickenpox. The border agent said it was monkeypox. For months, she had carefully carried folders¹⁷ with documents ready to present her asylum case.

YULE: (Speaking Spanish).

PERALTA: "They don't let you talk," she says. Her mind wanders. In this camp, she hears gunfire. There's no running water, no toilets.

YULE: (Speaking Spanish).

PERALTA: "I have nothing to feed my children," she says. She doesn't have any money to buy a new phone. Sometimes she thinks about just jumping into the Rio Grande. Maybe they'll send her back home. Maybe, she thinks, the danger there is better than the uncertainty¹⁸ here.

Eyder Peralta, NPR News, along the U.S.-Mexico border in Matamoros.

1 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。

2 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。

3 valid   

adj.有确实根据的；有效的；正当的，合法的

参考例句：

• His claim to own the house is valid.他主张对此屋的所有权有效。
• Do you have valid reasons for your absence?你的缺席有正当理由吗？

4 alleviate   

v.减轻，缓和，缓解(痛苦等)

参考例句：

• The doctor gave her an injection to alleviate the pain.医生给她注射以减轻疼痛。
• Nothing could alleviate his distress.什么都不能减轻他的痛苦。

5 glitches   

n.小过失，差错( glitch的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Manufacturing glitches have limited the factory's output. 生产中的故障影响了该厂的产量。 来自辞典例句
• Another kind of period variation,\"Glitches,\" are seen in several pulsars. 在几个脉冲星中还看到了周期的另一种变化，即“自转突快”现象。 来自辞典例句

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 anticipation   

n.预期，预料，期望

参考例句：

• We waited at the station in anticipation of her arrival.我们在车站等着，期待她的到来。
• The animals grew restless as if in anticipation of an earthquake.各种动物都变得焦躁不安，像是感到了地震即将发生。

8 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

9 superstitions   

迷信，迷信行为( superstition的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Old superstitions seem incredible to educated people. 旧的迷信对于受过教育的人来说是不可思议的。
• Do away with all fetishes and superstitions. 破除一切盲目崇拜和迷信。

10 desperately   

adv.极度渴望地，绝望地，孤注一掷地

参考例句：

• He was desperately seeking a way to see her again.他正拼命想办法再见她一面。
• He longed desperately to be back at home.他非常渴望回家。

11 commotion   

n.骚动，动乱

参考例句：

• They made a commotion by yelling at each other in the theatre.他们在剧院里相互争吵，引起了一阵骚乱。
• Suddenly the whole street was in commotion.突然间，整条街道变得一片混乱。

12 stranded   

a.搁浅的，进退两难的

参考例句：

• He was stranded in a strange city without money. 他流落在一个陌生的城市里， 身无分文，一筹莫展。
• I was stranded in the strange town without money or friends. 我困在那陌生的城市，既没有钱，又没有朋友。

13 rejection   

n.拒绝，被拒，抛弃，被弃

参考例句：

• He decided not to approach her for fear of rejection.他因怕遭拒绝决定不再去找她。
• The rejection plunged her into the dark depths of despair.遭到拒绝使她陷入了绝望的深渊。

14 amassing   

v.积累，积聚( amass的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• The study of taxonomy must necessarily involve the amassing of an encyclopaedic knowledge of plants. 分类学研究一定要积累广博的植物知识。 来自辞典例句
• Build your trophy room while amassing awards and accolades. 建立您的奖杯积累奖项和荣誉。 来自互联网

15 physically   

adj.物质上，体格上，身体上，按自然规律

参考例句：

• He was out of sorts physically,as well as disordered mentally.他浑身不舒服，心绪也很乱。
• Every time I think about it I feel physically sick.一想起那件事我就感到极恶心。

16 applied   

adj.应用的；v.应用，适用

参考例句：

• She plans to take a course in applied linguistics.她打算学习应用语言学课程。
• This cream is best applied to the face at night.这种乳霜最好晚上擦脸用。

17 folders   

n.文件夹( folder的名词复数 )；纸夹；（某些计算机系统中的）文件夹；页面叠

参考例句：

• Encrypt and compress individual files and folders. The program is compact, efficient and user friendly. 加密和压缩的个人档案和folders.the计划是紧凑，高效和用户友好。 来自互联网
• By insertion of photocopies,all folders can be maintained complete with little extra effort. 插入它的复制本，不费多大力量就能使所有文件夹保持完整。 来自辞典例句

18 uncertainty   

n.易变，靠不住，不确知，不确定的事物

参考例句：

• Her comments will add to the uncertainty of the situation.她的批评将会使局势更加不稳定。
• After six weeks of uncertainty,the strain was beginning to take its toll.6个星期的忐忑不安后，压力开始产生影响了。