VOA常速英语2007年-US Interception of Cuban Migrants Spiked in 200
时间:2019-01-31 作者:英语课 分类:VOA常速英语2007年(十二月)
Miami
20 December 2007
In 2007, the number of Cubans caught at sea while trying to enter the United States surged to a 13-year high. In Miami, VOA's Brian Wagner reports more Cubans are leaving the island illegally because of obstacles to legal migration 1 and political uncertainties 2 in Cuba.
Coast Guard statistics show Cuban interdictions in 2007 rose nearly 40 percent over 2006 levels to more than 3,100 people. The number is the highest since 1994, when more than 37,000 Cubans were caught at sea trying to flee economic conditions on the island.
Despite the efforts of Coast Guard and border agents, many Cuban migrants still reach U.S. soil and often are allowed to apply for legal residency. Officials say some of those avoid the heavily patrolled waters near Florida and cross into Mexico, where they enter the United States by land.
The difference between Cubans and other undocumented migrants is that Cubans who reach U.S. soil can apply for legal residency, under the Cuban Adjustment Act.
Zachary Mann, a special agent for Customs and Border Protection in Miami, says many Cubans who arrive undetected often seek out U.S. authorities.
"If they make it to shore, they will flag down the first law enforcement vehicle they find. They want to be discovered, they want to begin the process of Cuban adjustment in the United States," he said.
The charity Church World Service helps Cubans who have arrived legally or illegally in the country, helping 3 them file residency applications, contact family in the United States and find jobs.
The director of the group's Miami office, Virginia Coto, says there has been an increase in the number of illegal Cuban migrants, partly due to recent problems in legal migration.
"The pattern has always been that if people are not arriving through orderly and safe and legal means, then they will find a way to get here," she noted 4.
This year, U.S. officials were not able to issue the 20,000 travel documents they offer each year to Cubans seeking to enter the country. Washington has blamed Cuba's government for placing constraints 5 on the system, such as failing to issue exit visas for Cubans.
Coto says difficult conditions in Cuba are the main reason people want to leave the island.
"They are coming for the same reason they have always come. It is a repressed country, it is a Communist country, and there are no freedoms there," she added.
Coto says political developments in Cuba also influence illegal migration. She says some 400 Cubans arrived on a single weekend earlier this year following rumors 7 that ailing 6 Cuban leader Fidel Castro had died.
The temporary transfer of power from Fidel Castro to his brother, Raul, last year also has raised questions about a possible impact on Cuban migration.
Andy Gomez, senior fellow for the Institute for Cuban and Cuban-American Studies at the University of Miami, says recent migrants report the transfer has done little to ease concerns.
"We know there is a great deal of dissatisfaction among the Cuban population in terms of what hopes, if any, Raul Castro can bring them," he said.
Gomez says many Cubans do not expect officials to relax tight political restrictions 8 in the coming years, but they are pressing for economic reforms to open up activity on the island. Gomez says Cuba's government must consider changes, such as expanding private farms, to give young Cubans a reason to stay.
- 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。
- One of the uncertainties of military duty is that you never know when you might suddenly get posted away. 任军职不稳定的因素之一是你永远不知道什么时候会突然被派往它处。
- Uncertainties affecting peace and development are on the rise. 影响和平与发展的不确定因素在增加。 来自汉英非文学 - 十六大报告
- The poor children regularly pony up for a second helping of my hamburger. 那些可怜的孩子们总是要求我把我的汉堡包再给他们一份。
- By doing this, they may at times be helping to restore competition. 这样一来, 他在某些时候,有助于竞争的加强。
- The local hotel is noted for its good table.当地的那家酒店以餐食精美而著称。
- Jim is noted for arriving late for work.吉姆上班迟到出了名。
- Data and constraints can easily be changed to test theories. 信息库中的数据和限制条件可以轻易地改变以检验假设。 来自英汉非文学 - 科学史
- What are the constraints that each of these imply for any design? 这每种产品的要求和约束对于设计意味着什么? 来自About Face 3交互设计精髓
- They discussed the problems ailing the steel industry. 他们讨论了困扰钢铁工业的问题。
- She looked after her ailing father. 她照顾有病的父亲。
- Rumors have it that the school was burned down. 有谣言说学校给烧掉了。 来自《简明英汉词典》
- Rumors of a revolt were afloat. 叛变的谣言四起。 来自《简明英汉词典》
- 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