[ti:Increase in Roma Immigrants Enter US from Mexico] [by:www.51voa.com] [00:00.00]更多听力请访问51VOA.COM [00:00.04]Every day, hundreds of Central American immigrants [00:04.88]cross the Rio Grande River on rafts from Mexico to Texas. [00:12.68]However, on a recent day, many people stood out [00:17.16]among migrants wearing T-shirts and jeans. [00:22.44]These people were also generally taller. [00:26.76]Some wore skirts and nice shoes. [00:31.76]When U.S. border patrol officers arresting them near the river [00:36.52]tried to speak to them in Spanish, they did not speak Spanish. [00:42.56]Some of the border crossers explained in broken English [00:46.72]that they were Romanians, a Reuters photographer said. [00:52.80]Many Romanians who are part of the Roma ethnic minority [00:57.68]have crossed the U.S.-Mexico border in south Texas [01:02.76]in recent weeks to seek asylum. [01:07.08]This shows how far away some immigrants are coming. [01:12.04]They have added to the high number of recent border arrests, [01:16.32]which have reached a 20-year high. [01:20.84]Reuters workers witnessed large amounts of these immigrants [01:25.76]crossing the Rio Grande on rafts many times in May. [01:31.76]The immigrants explained to Reuters [01:34.36]that they were fleeing racism in Romania [01:38.24]and wanted to seek asylum in the United States. [01:43.60]The Roma are Europe's largest ethnic minority [01:48.28]and have a long history of social exclusion and discrimination. [01:55.32]Over three weeks, a Reuters photographer saw nearly 200 Romanians [02:00.88]crossing at different points along the Texas border. [02:06.48]Many groups were extended families of 10 to 15 people. [02:13.32]According to Romanian media reports, many Romanian migrants [02:19.48]fly from Paris to Mexico City as tourists. [02:23.28]They do not need visas to enter Mexico. [02:27.32]Then human traffickers take them by bus to the U.S. border [02:33.28]where they cross the Rio Grande by boat or raft. [02:39.08]So far in 2021, border patrol officers [02:43.72]have arrested just over 2,200 Romanians. [02:48.40]In 2020, 266 Roma were taken into custody. [02:54.60]And in 2019 that number was 289. [03:01.24]These numbers come from the U.S. Customs [03:04.24]and Border Protection agency. [03:07.84]Current arrivals are on pace to be the highest since 2007. [03:15.20]That is the earliest year [03:17.40]for which citizenship arrival numbers are available. [03:23.20]Margareta Matache is director of the Roma Program [03:28.20]at the FXB Center for Health and Human Rights at Harvard University. [03:35.24]She said many Roma left Romania [03:39.28]to escape oppression and very poor economic situations. [03:45.28]Recently, their situation in Europe [03:47.84]has worsened from the COVID-19 pandemic. [03:52.56]"Currently, U.S. policies and policy proposals offer hope [03:58.36]for more humane and just policies, including for immigrants," Matache said. [04:06.36]"They (Roma) are looking for a better life [04:09.40]in a place where they are not exposed to violence, [04:13.68]discrimination, and disrespect." [04:17.72]Romania's foreign ministry did not respond to a request for comment. [04:24.68]The European Union Agency for Fundamental Rights [04:29.16]did a survey in 2016 of nearly 8,000 Roma people [04:34.64]in nine European countries. [04:38.04]That survey found that about 80 percent of the Roma population [04:44.16]was living below the national poverty line. [04:49.28]There is no official population count for Roma people. [04:53.68]They live in many countries [04:56.04]and have long faced prejudice in Europe and worldwide. [05:01.72]Most live in eastern Europe, particularly in Romania, [05:06.56]Bulgaria, Slovakia and Hungary. [05:11.00]I'm Anna Matteo. [05:12.84]更多听力请访问51VOA.COM