VOA慢速英语2016 美国错误地向数百人提供公民身份

AS IT IS 2016-09-22 U.S. Mistakenly Offers Citizenship 1 to Hundreds 美国错误地向数百人提供公民身份

A United States government agency mistakenly offered citizenship to over 800 immigrants who had been ordered to leave the country.

一家美国政府机构错误地向800多名被勒令离境的移民提供了公民身份。

This information comes from a report this week by the Inspector 2 General for the Department of Homeland Security (DHS). The inspector general, John Roth, has the job of investigating problems at the agency.

该信息来自国土安全部检察长本周公布的一份报告。检察长约翰·罗斯(John Roth)负责调查该机构存在的问题。

Here is what happened, according to the report:

以下是这份报告提供的详情：

At least 858 immigrants had been ordered expelled or removed from the United States. But they then requested citizenship under a different name, or provided a different date of birth.

至少有858名移民被美国勒令出境，但是他们随后以不同的名字或提供不同的出生日期申请了公民身份。

When applying for citizenship, foreigners are required to provide fingerprints 4. But the fingerprints from their earlier immigration records were not saved on computers.

外国人申请公民身份时被要求提供指纹。但是他们此前的移民记录上的指纹并没有被存到计算机上。

That meant the government could not find the prints from the earlier records. It did not find out about the removal orders and, as a result, approved people for citizenship who should have been rejected, Inspector General Roth said.

这意味着政府无法从此前记录中找到指纹。检察长罗斯表示，该机构没有调查清楚移送出境令，因此批准了本应被拒绝的申请人的公民身份。

Computer records, unlike paper records, can be searched quickly.

电脑记录和纸质记录不同，它可以进行快速搜索。

"This situation created opportunities for individuals to gain the rights and privileges of U.S. citizenship through fraud," Roth said.

罗斯表示，“这种情况为某些人通过欺诈获得美国公民身份创造了条件。”

Roth did not identify any of the immigrants who gained citizenship through fraud. But he said they were all from "special interest countries." Those are nations that present a national security concern for the United States, or have high rates of immigration fraud.

罗斯并未指出任何通过欺诈获得公民身份的移民。但他表示，他们都来自“特别关注国家”。这些国家对对美国构成重大安全隐忧，或是存在较高的移民欺诈率。

The Department of Homeland Security said it has long had a problem with paper fingerprint 3 records that have not been made part of computer records. The department said it is working to add those paper records to computers and will examine "every file" listed as possible fraud.

国土安全部表示，纸质指纹档案未能进入计算机档案，这是该机构长期存在的一个问题。该部门称正在将这些纸质档案添加到计算机中，并将检查每份被列为可能存在欺诈的文件。

But it said that not all people who asked for citizenship without computer fingerprint records were offered citizenship.

但是该部门表示，并非所有不具备计算机指纹记录申请公民身份的人员都获得了公民身份。

Businessman Donald Trump 5 is the presidential candidate of the Republican Party. He has promised to tighten 6 rules for people seeking to immigrate 7 to the United States.

商人唐纳德·川普(Donald Trump)是共和党总统候选人。他承诺对寻求移民美国的人群收紧政策。

Trump made a statement that connected the inspector general's report to the terrorist attacks last weekend. The attacks included a bombing and attempted bombings in New York and New Jersey 8. In addition, a man armed with a knife attacked people at a shopping center in Minnesota.

川普上周发表了一份声明，将检察长的这份报告同恐怖袭击联系了起来。这些袭击包括纽约和新泽西州发生的爆炸和未遂爆炸事件。此外，一名持刀男子在明尼苏达州某个购物中心袭击了人群。

There were injuries, but nobody was killed except the person who Minnesota police said carried out the knife attacks.

这次袭击有人受伤，但是无人死亡，除了明尼苏达州警方所说的那位发动持刀袭击的男子。

Trump said the inspector general's report "puts this weekend's attacks in a broader perspective."

川普表示，这份检察长的报告将这个周末的袭击放到了一个更广泛的视角下。

That is why Trump said he wants "extreme vetting 9 for immigrants from troubled parts of the world where terrorists live and train." Vetting are the investigations 10 done when someone seeks citizenship, jobs and loans.

这就是为何川普称他希望“对那些来自恐怖分子生活和训练的全球动荡地区的移民进行严格审查。”审查是指有人申请公民身份、就业和贷款时所进行的调查。

Hillary Clinton is the Democratic Party's presidential candidate. Clinton said she has long supported "tough vetting for making sure that we don't let people into this country" who might represent a danger.

希拉里·克林顿(Hillary Clinton)是民主党总统候选人。希拉里说，她一直支持“严格审查确保潜在危险分子不能进入我们国家。”

"But let us remember, there are millions of naturalized citizens from all over the world," she said. "There are millions of law-abiding peaceful Muslim-Americans."

她说，“但是我们要记住，美国有数百万来自世界各地的入籍公民，有数百万守法、爱好和平的美国穆斯林。”

Words in This Story

apply - v. to ask formally for something, such as citizenship, a job or admission to school

fingerprints - n. the mark that is made by pressing the tip of a finger on a surface

opportunity - n. chances to do something -- such as to become a citizen or get a job

privilege - n. a right or benefit that is given to some people and not to others

fraud - n. the crime of using dishonest methods to take something valuable from another person

broader perspective - adj. see something from a larger point of view

naturalized - adj. to allow someone who was born in a different country to become a new citizen