[ti:US Expels Thousands of Asylum Seekers to Mexico Over Virus Fears] [by:www.51voa.com] [00:00.00]更多听力请访问51VOA.COM [00:00.04]The administration of United States President Donald Trump is using a public health law [00:07.48]to limit the number of people who can seek asylum in the U.S. [00:14.44]People seeking safety in the U.S. from Mexico are quickly returned to Mexico without the chance to ask for asylum. [00:26.60]U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) said that nearly 10,000 Mexicans and Central Americans [00:35.08]have been expelled to Mexico since the rules took effect on March 21. [00:42.36]Mark Morgan is the agency's acting leader. [00:47.64]He said the changes were "not about immigration." [00:53.68]Morgan said there was a "public health crisis" from the coronavirus pandemic. [01:01.48]He added that there is a "national emergency declared by this president [01:06.44]to protect the health and safety of every American in this country." [01:13.60]Mexico is providing important support. [01:17.64]It has agreed to take migrants from Guatemala, El Salvador and Honduras. [01:26.24]More than 50 percent of all people arrested at the U.S. border last year were from those countries. [01:35.48]The Trump administration has not released a lot of information about the rules. [01:42.40]They have not been challenged in court. [01:46.72]The change got little attention when it was released to the public on March 20. [01:54.92]That was the same day Trump announced he was closing the southern border to unnecessary travel. [02:03.64]The administration used a law permitting the head of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention [02:11.36]to ban foreigners if their entry would create "a serious danger" related to the spread of disease. [02:21.16]CDC director Dr. Robert Redfield banned foreigners for 30 days. [02:29.24]He said he may extend the ban. [02:33.80]"The administration is able to do what they always wanted to do. [02:38.76]I don't see this slowing down," said Aaron Reichlin-Melnick. [02:45.00]He is with the American Immigration Council, which has criticized the Trump administration. [02:52.84]Mexico said it will reject children who are alone and other vulnerable people. [03:01.00]Carlos Gonzalez Gutierrez is Mexico's consul general in San Diego. [03:07.56]He said that includes people who are over 65, pregnant or sick. [03:15.24]A congressional assistant said the U.S. also is returning Central American children [03:21.84]who travel with grandparents, brothers and sisters or other relatives. [03:29.32]The assistant received information from Customs and Border Protection officials [03:35.36]and asked not to be identified because the information was not supposed to be made public. [03:43.48]Until recently, children without their parents [03:47.44]were immediately put on the path to asylum, the Associated Press says. [03:54.60]Redfield wrote that the health danger of holding migrants at detention centers is the reason for the order. [04:03.88]Morgan said some cases for asylum would be considered. [04:10.08]ProPublica is an independent organization of reporters. [04:15.40]It has a Border Patrol document that explains when asylum should be considered. [04:22.64]For example, when an agent decides a migrant's fears of being tortured [04:28.60]are "reasonably believable," the migrant can ask for asylum under the U.N. Convention Against Torture. [04:38.60]It is a lower level of asylum that is more difficult to receive. [04:45.04]Under the rules, agents take migrants to the nearest border crossing [04:50.96]in ways that reduce the risk of exposure to the virus. [04:56.92]Those not sent to Mexico are flown to their home countries. [05:03.72]CBP said it is currently holding fewer than 100 people. [05:10.04]Last year, the agency was holding more than 19,000 as a wave of people tried to cross the border. [05:19.72]During the first 11 days of the new rules, 6,375 people were expelled [05:28.04]at the Mexican border and 20 at the Canadian border. [05:34.20]Ten Senate Democrats sent a letter to acting Homeland Security Secretary Chad Wolf. [05:42.72]He supervises border agencies. [05:46.48]They wrote, "A public health crisis does not give the Executive Branch a free pass to violate constitutional rights, [05:56.72]nor does it give the Executive Branch permission to operate outside of the law." [06:04.00]I'm Jonathan Evans. 更多听力请访问51VOA.COM