Erika Pinheiro: What's really happening at the US-Mexico border -- and how we can do better | TED

翻译人员: Yanyan Hong 校对人员: psjmz mz

Twice a week,

每周有两天，

I drive from my home near Tijuana, Mexico,

我会从我在墨西哥 蒂华纳附近的家里出发

over the US border, to my office in San Diego.

开车跨越美国边境， 到我位于圣地亚戈的办公室。

The stark contrast between the poverty and desperation on one side of the border

边境的一侧是贫穷和绝望， 而另一侧则是明显的富裕，

and the conspicuous wealth on the other

形成了鲜明的对比，

always feels jarring.

这样的对比让我觉得震撼。

But what makes this contrast feel even starker

但有个因素让这种对比更显突兀

is when I pass by the building that those of us who work on the border

那就是当我经过在边境 工作的人所住的大楼时，

unaffectionately refer to as the black hole.

那里有个无情的称号：黑洞。

The black hole is the Customs and Border Protection,

黑洞就是美国海关和边境保护局，

or CBP facility,

或者简称 CBP，

at the San Ysidro port of entry,

位于圣伊西德罗入境港，

right next to a luxury outlet mall.

就在一个豪华购物中心旁边。

It's also where, at any one time,

此外，在那里，无论何时，

there's likely 800 immigrants

都会有大约 800 移民

locked in freezing, filthy, concrete cells below the building.

被关在建筑物底下、 冰冷肮脏的水泥牢房里。

Up top: shopping bags and frappuccinos.

上面是，购物袋和星冰乐。

Downstairs: the reality of the US immigration system.

下面却是：美国移民系统的现实。

And it's where, one day in September of 2018,

2018 年 9 月，某一天，

I found myself trying to reach Anna,

我试着去接触安娜，

a woman who CBP had recently separated from her seven-year-old son.

CBP 最近才将这名女子 与 7 岁的儿子拆散。

I'm an immigration attorney

我是移民律师，

and the policy and litigation director of Al Otro Lado,

也是 Al Otro Lado 政策及诉讼总监，

a binational nonprofit helping immigrants on both sides of the US-Mexico border.

它是一个旨在协助美墨边境 两侧移民的双国非盈利组织。

We'd met Anna several weeks earlier at our Tijuana office,

几周前，我们才在蒂华纳的 办公室会见了安娜，

where she explained that she feared she and her son would be killed in Mexico.

在那里她解释说，她害怕 她的儿子在墨西哥被杀害。

So we prepared her for the process of turning herself over to CBP

所以我们帮助她准备流程，

to ask for asylum.

以便她向 CBP 寻求庇护。

A few days after she'd gone to the port of entry to ask for help,

就在她去入进口岸 寻求协助的几天后，

we received a frantic phone call

她在美国的亲人着急地

from her family members in the United States,

给我们打了电话，

telling us that CBP officials had taken Anna's son from her.

告诉我们 CBP 官员 已经将安娜的儿子带走。

Now, not that this should matter,

并不是说这很重要，

but I knew that Anna's son had special needs.

但是我知道安娜的儿子有特殊需求，

And once again,

再一次，

this news filled me with the sense of panic and foreboding

这消息让我慌张且不详的预感，

that has unfortunately become a hallmark of my daily work.

很不幸，这种感觉已经成了家常便饭。

I had a signed authorization to act as Anna's attorney,

我签署了授权书 以安娜律师的身份行事，

so I rushed over to the port of entry

所以我赶去入境岸口，

to see if I could speak with my client.

去看看我能否和我的客户说话。

Not only would CBP officials not let me speak to Anna,

不仅 CBP 的官员 拒绝我和安娜说话，

but they wouldn't even tell me if she was there.

而且他们也不告诉我她在哪里。

I went from supervisor to supervisor,

我找了一位又一位高层，

begging to submit evidence of Anna's son's special needs,

恳请他们接受关于 安娜儿子的特殊需求，

but no one would even talk to me about the case.

但关于此事，无人关心。

It felt surreal to watch the shoppers strolling idly by

看着购物者无所事事地 从这个事关生死之地逛过，

what felt like a life-and-death situation.

感觉就像是虚幻。

After several hours of being stonewalled by CBP,

在被 CBP 阻碍了几个小时后，

I left.

我离开了。

Several days later,

几天后，

I found Anna's son in the foster-care system.

我在寄养照顾体系中 找到了安娜的儿子，

But I didn't know what happened to Anna

但我不知道安娜此时怎样，

until over a week later,

直到一周以后，

when she turned up at a detention camp a few miles east.

她在东边几英里外的 一个难民营里出现。

Now, Anna didn't have a criminal record,

安娜从未有过任何犯罪记录，

and she followed the law when asking for asylum.

且在寻求庇护时， 有走正规法律途径，

Still, immigration officials held her for three more months,

但是移民官员依旧 把她拘禁了三个多月，

until we could win her release

直到我们帮她争取到了自由，

and help her reunify with her son.

并协助她和儿子重聚。

Anna's story is not the only story I could tell you.

安娜的故事并非特例， 还有许许多多这样的故事。

There's Mateo, an 18-month-old boy,

一位 18 个月大的男孩，马提欧，

who was ripped from his father's arms

他被从父亲的怀里带走，

and sent to a government shelter thousands of miles away,

送到几千英里外的集中营，

where they failed to properly bathe him for months.

在那里，他们有好几个月 都没帮他洗澡。

There's Amadou,

还有一个孤儿，

an unaccompanied African child,

非洲小孩，阿马杜，

who was held with adults for 28 days in CBP's horrific facilities.

和成年人一起关在 CBP 恐怖的集中营里足足 28 天，

Most disturbingly, there's Maria,

最让人心碎的是玛丽亚，

a pregnant refugee who begged for medical attention for eight hours

一位怀着身孕的难民 为了恳请医疗照顾，求了 8 个小时，

before she miscarried in CBP custody.

最后 CBP 眼睁睁让她流产了。

CBP officials held her for three more weeks

CBP 官员依然把她关了三个多星期，

before they sent her back to Mexico,

才把她送回了墨西哥，

where she is being forced to wait months

在那里她被迫等了数月，

for an asylum hearing in the United States.

才等到了在美国的难民庇护听证会。

Seeing these horrors day in and day out has changed me.

日复一日目睹 这一切惨状，改变了我。

I used to be fun at parties,

以前，我是个在派对上很有趣的人，

but now, I inevitably find myself telling people

现在，我总会不由自主地告诉人们，

about how our government tortures refugees at the border

我们的政府在边境及集中营内，

and in the detention camps.

如何虐待难民。

Now, people try to change the subject

对方会试着转移话题，

and congratulate me for the great work I'm doing in helping people like Anna.

祝贺我帮助到了 像安娜这样子的人们，

But I don't know how to make them understand

但我不知道要如何让他们明白，

that unless they start fighting, harder than they ever thought possible,

除非他们开始抗争， 除非他们能尽可能加倍努力，

we don't know which of us will be the next to suffer Anna's fate.

不然我们不会知道， 我们中谁会成为下一个安娜。

Trump's mass separations of refugee families

特朗普在南方边境，

at the southern border

大量拆散难民的政策，

shocked the conscience of the world

撼动了世界的良知，

and woke many to the cruelties of the US immigration system.

让许多人意识到了 美国移民系统的冷酷无情。

It seems like today,

似乎现在，

more people than ever are involved in the fight for immigrant rights.

越来越多的人开始为移民权力而战，

But unfortunately, the situation is just not getting better.

但不幸的是，情况并没有好转。

Thousands protested to end family separations,

数千人站出来抗议 要求终止将家庭拆散，

but the government is still separating families.

但是政府仍然在拆散家庭，

More than 900 children have been taken from their parents

从 2018 年 6 月至今，

since June of 2018.

有超过 900 名孩子被迫与父母分离，

Thousands more refugee children have been taken from their grandparents,

还有数千名难民的孩子在边境

siblings and other family members at the border.

被迫与祖父母、兄弟姐妹 和其他家庭成员分离。

Since 2017,

从 2017 年起，

at least two dozen people have died in immigration custody.

至少有 20 多个人 在移民局的监管下死去，

And more will die, including children.

死亡人数还会上升，包括儿童。

Now, we lawyers can and will keep filing lawsuits

目前，我们律师能够 并且也会提出诉讼，

to stop the government from brutalizing our clients,

来阻止政府残酷地对待我们的客户，

but we can't keep tinkering around the edges of the law

但我们依然希望移民 能得到人道的对待，

if we want migrants to be treated humanely.

而非只在法律边缘做些小修补。

This administration would have you believe that we have to separate families

政府会要你相信， 我们必须拆散这些家庭，

and we have to detain children,

我们必须要拘留这些孩子，

because it will stop more refugees from coming to our borders.

因为这样才能阻止 更多的移民来到我们边境。

But we know that this isn't true.

但我们知道这不是真的，

In fact, in 2019,

事实上，在 2019 年，

the number of apprehensions at our southern border

我们在南方边境逮捕的

has actually gone up.

人数在上升，

And we tell people every day at the border,

每天我们都在边境告诉大家，

"If you seek asylum in the United States,

“若你想要向美国寻求庇护，

you risk family separation,

就要冒着与家人分离、

and you risk being detained indefinitely."

无限期被拘留的风险。“

But for many of them, the alternative is even worse.

但对于很多人来说， 另一个选择更加糟糕。

People seek refuge in the United States for a lot of different reasons.

人们向美国寻求庇护的原因很多，

In Tijuana, we've met refugees from over 50 countries,

在蒂华纳，我们遇见过 超过 50 多个国家，

speaking 14 different languages.

说着 14 种不同语言的难民们。

We meet LGBT migrants from all over the world

我们见到来自世界各地的 同性恋 LGBT 移民们。

who have never been in a country in which they feel safe.

他们从未在任何国家里感受到安全。

We meet women from all over the world

我见过来自世界各地的女性，

whose own governments refuse to protect them

她们自己的政府拒绝保护她们，

from brutal domestic violence or repressive social norms.

让她们遭受残忍的家庭暴力 或者来自社会的规范。

Of course, we meet Central American families

当然我们也见过中美洲的家庭，

who are fleeing gang violence.

他们为了逃离帮派斗争。

But we also meet Russian dissidents,

但我们也见过持不同政见的俄罗斯、

Venezuelan activists,

委内瑞拉活动家，

Christians from China, Muslims from China,

来自中国的基督徒， 来自中国的穆斯林，

and thousands and thousands of other refugees

还有数以千计的其他难民，

fleeing all types of persecution and torture.

想要逃离各种迫害和虐待。

Now, a lot of these people would qualify as refugees

根据国际法的定义， 这些人当中很多都符合

under the international legal definition.

难民身份的资格。

The Refugee Convention was created after World War II

难民地位公约 于第二次世界大战后签订，

to give protection to people fleeing persecution

旨在保护逃难的人们，

based on their race, religion, nationality, political opinion

因为种族、宗教、国籍、政见，

or membership in a particular social group.

或身为特定社会群体成员 而遭受迫害的人。

But even those who would be refugees under the international definition

但即使是符合国际公约的难民，

are not going to win asylum in the United States.

也无法取得在美国的庇护。

And that's because since 2017,

那是因为从 2017 年起，

the US Attorneys General have made sweeping changes to asylum law,

美国总检察长针对难民法 做了巨大的修改，

to make sure that less people qualify for protection in the United States.

以确保减少符合美国保护资格的人数。

Now these laws are mostly aimed at Central Americans

这些法律主要针对中美洲人群，

and keeping them out of the country,

避免他们进入美国，

but they affect other types of refugees as well.

但也会影响到其他类型的难民。

The result is that the US frequently deports refugees

结果导致美国经常驱逐难民，

to their persecution and death.

以至于他们遭受迫害和死亡。

The US is also using detention to try to deter refugees

美国也用集中营拘留手段震慑难民，

and make it harder for them to win their cases.

且让他们更难胜诉。

Today, there are over 55,000 immigrants detained in the United States,

今天，超过五万五千移民 被拘留在美国，

many in remote detention facilities,

许多在偏远的拘留集中营里，

far from any type of legal help.

远离任何法律协助。

And this is very important.

而这点至关重要，

Because it's civil and not criminal detention,

因为这是民事而非刑事拘留，

there is no public defender system,

没有公设辩护人的体制，

so most detained immigrants are not going to have an attorney

所以，多数被拘留的移民不会有

to help them with their cases.

律师协助他们的案件，

An immigrant who has an attorney

有律师的移民，

is up to 10 times more likely to win their case

比没有律师的移民

than one who doesn't.

胜算高出 10 倍。

And as you've seen, I hate to be the bearer of bad news,

如你所见，我讨厌带来坏消息。

but the situation is even worse for refugee families today

但现今难民家庭所面临的状况

than it was during family separation.

远比家庭分离更糟糕。

Since January of 2019,

从 2019 年 1 月起，

the US has implemented a policy

美国实施了一项政策，

that's forced over 40,000 refugees to wait in Mexico

迫使超过四万名难民滞留墨西哥

for asylum hearings in the United States.

等待在美国的听证会。

These refugees, many of whom are families,

这些难民中，有很多携家带口，

are trapped in some of the most dangerous cities in the world,

被困在世界上最危险的城市之一，

where they're being raped, kidnapped

在那里他们遭受犯罪集团的

and extorted by criminal groups.

强奸、绑架、勒索。

And if they survive for long enough to make it to their asylum hearing,

如果他们撑得够久 或许能撑到听证会，

less than one percent of them are able to find an attorney

其中也只有不到 1% 的人能找到律师

to help them with their cases.

来协助他们的案件。

The US government will point to the lowest asylum approval rates

美国政府会用最低的难民庇护准许率

to argue that these people are not really refugees,

来证明这些人不是难民，

when in fact, US asylum law is an obstacle course

但事实上，美国庇护法 本身就是障碍，

designed to make them fail.

设计出来为了让难民败诉。

Now not every migrant at the border is a refugee.

现在，在边界的移民， 并非都是难民，

I meet plenty of economic migrants.

我见过很多经济移民，

For example, people who want to go to the United States to work,

比如，人们想要来美国工作，

to pay medical bills for a parent

以支付父母亲的医疗费用，

or school fees for a child back home.

或者家里孩子的学费。

Increasingly, I'm also meeting climate refugees.

我逐渐也遇到一些气候难民，

In particular, I'm meeting a lot of indigenous Central Americans

特别是一些中美洲的原住民，

who can no longer sustain themselves by farming,

他们所处的地区发生灾难性的干旱，

due to catastrophic drought in the region.

以至于他们不能依靠农业为生。

We know that today,

我们知道现在

people are migrating because of climate change,

很多人因为气候恶化而移民，

and that more will do so in the future,

在未来这些人会越来越多，

but we simply don't have a legal system to deal with this type of migration.

但我们却没有法律制度 可以处理这类移民。

So, it would make sense, as a start,

所以，合理的做法，是从

to expand the refugee definition

扩展难民本身的定义开始，

to include climate refugees, for example.

比如，包括气候难民。

But those of us in a position to advocate for those changes

但我们这些有立场 可以支持这些改变的人，

are too busy suing our government

正忙于告我们的政府

to keep the meager legal protections that refugees enjoy under the current law.

努力维持目前法律之下 难民还能享有稀有法律政策的庇护。

And we are exhausted,

我们太累了，

and it's almost too late to help.

现在伸出援手也太迟。

And we know now

我们现在知道

that this isn't America's problem alone.

这不只是美国的问题，

From Australia's brutal offshore detention camps

从澳大利亚的近海难民营，

to Italy's criminalization of aid to migrants drowning in the Mediterranean,

到意大利的将援助地中海 快要淹死的难民非法化，

first-world countries have gone to deadly lengths

第一世界国家不遗余力地

to keep refugees from reaching our shores.

让难民远离我们的海岸。

But they've done more than restrict the refugee definition.

但它们所做的不只是 限制了难民的定义，

They've created parallel, fascist-style legal systems

它们也创造出了同等 与法西斯的法律制度，

in which migrants have none of the rights that form the basis of a democracy,

在这样的的制度下， 移民无法行使基本的民主权利，

the alleged foundation of the countries in which they're seeking refuge.

再者这些权力恰恰是难民 寻求庇护国家的法律根基。

History shows us that the first group

历史告诉我们，第一批被

to be vilified and stripped of their rights is rarely the last,

诬蔑和剥夺权利的人民， 往往不是最后一批。

and many Americans and Europeans

且许多美国人和欧洲人，

seem to accept an opaque and unjust legal system for noncitizens,

似乎能接受非公民受到不公正、 不透明的法律系统的制裁，

because they think they are immune.

因为他们觉得这不会 发生在自己身上。

But eventually,

但最终，

these authoritarian ideals bleed over and affect citizens as well.

这些专治的效应也体现在公民身上。

I learned this firsthand

我亲身体会到

when the US government placed me on an illegal watch list

当时美国政府把我放在 非法观察名单上，

for my work helping immigrants at the border.

因为我在边界做协助移民的工作。

One day, in January of 2019,

2019 年 1 月的某一天，

I was leaving my office in San Diego

我正离开圣地亚戈的办公室，

and crossing the border to go back to my home in Mexico.

跨越边境要回到我在墨西哥的家。

Mexican officials, although they had given me a valid visa,

墨西哥官员虽然给我了有效签证，

stopped me and told me that I couldn't enter the country

但是依然把我拦下 告诉我不得进入这个国家，

because a foreign government had placed a travel alert on my passport,

因为有一个外国政府针 对我的护照开了旅行警示，

designating me as a national security risk.

说我会威胁国家安全。

I was detained and interrogated in a filthy room for hours.

我被拘留在一个肮脏的房间 接受了长达数小时的盘问。

I begged the Mexican officials

我恳求墨西哥官员

to let me go back to Mexico and pick up my son,

让我回墨西哥，接我儿子，

who was only 10 months old at the time.

那时他才 10 个月大。

But they refused,

但是他们拒绝了，

and instead, they turned me over to CBP officials,

反之他们把我交给了 CBP 官员，

where I was forced back into the United States.

他们强行把我拉回美国，

It took me weeks to get another visa so that I could go back to Mexico,

我花了数周的时间才重新 获得返回墨西哥的签证，

and I went to the border, visa in hand.

我到了边境，手里拿着签证。

But again, I was detained and interrogated

但我再次被拘留和审问，

because there was still a travel alert on my passport.

因为我的护照仍然在旅行警示名单上，

Shortly after,

没多久之后，

leaked internal CBP documents

泄露的 CBP 文件

confirmed that my own government

指出我自己的政府共同谋划

had been complicit in issuing this travel alert against me.

针对我发出的旅行警告。

And since then, I haven't traveled to any other countries,

自那以后，我再也没去 其他国家旅行，

because I'm afraid I'll be detained

因为我怕会被拘留，

and deported from those countries as well.

从那些国家遣返。

These travel restrictions, detentions

这些旅行限制，拘留，

and separation from my infant son

以及把我和小儿子分离

are things I never thought I would experience as a US citizen,

作为美国公民，我从来没有 预期到这些事会发生在我身上，

but I'm far from the only person being criminalized for helping immigrants.

但除我之外，还有很多人 也因为帮助移民而被定罪。

The US and other countries have made it a crime to save lives,

美国和其他国家 把拯救生命当成了犯罪，

and those of us who are simply trying to do our jobs

而我们这些只是做本职工作的，

are being forced to choose between our humanity and our freedom.

则被迫要在人性 和我们的自由间做出选择。

And the thing that makes me so desperate

这让我非常绝望，

is that all of you are facing the same choice,

各位都面临同样的选择，

but you don't understand it yet.

但是你们还不知道，

And I know there are good people out there.

我知道，外面有好人在，

I saw thousands of you in the streets,

我看到数千个你们走上街头，

protesting family separation.

抗议将家庭拆散，

And that largely helped bring about an end to the official policy.

这些运动对于终止 这项政策大有帮助，

But we know that the government is still separating children.

但我们知道政府仍然在将孩子分离，

And things are actually getting worse.

而事情变得更糟。

Today, the US government is fighting for the right

今天，美国政府为争取难民儿童、

to detain refugee children indefinitely in prison camps.

无限期拘留在集中营的权利。

This isn't over.

这还没结束，

We cannot allow ourselves to become numb or look away.

我们不能麻木不仁或熟视无睹。

Those of us who are citizens of countries

我们国家的政策

whose policies cause detention, separation and death,

正造成拘留、分离和死亡，

need to very quickly decide which side we're on.

我们作为公民必须 赶快决定我们的立场，

We need to demand that our laws respect the inherent dignity of all human beings,

我们需要要求我们的法律 尊重每一个生命与生俱来的尊严，

especially refugees seeking help at our borders,

特别是当难民来到 我们的边境寻求庇护，

but including economic migrants and climate refugees.

但也包括经济移民和气候难民，

We need to demand that refugees get a fair shot

我们要给他们平等的机会

at seeking protection in our countries

在我们的国家内寻求庇护，

by ensuring that they have access to council

需要确保他们有机会协商，

and by creating independent courts

通过建立独立的法庭，

that are not subject to the political whims of the president.

这些法庭不应该受到 总统一时政治念头的影响。

I know it's overwhelming,

我知道要做的很多，

and I know this sounds cliché, but ...

我知道这听起来老套，但是……

we need to call our elected representatives

我们要打电话 选出我们的代表，

and demand these changes.

我们要争取改变。

I know you've heard this before,

我知道各位听过很多遍，

but have you made the call?

但是你们真的打出了那通电话吗？

We know these calls make a difference.

我们知道这些会改变一切。

The dystopian immigration systems being built up in first-world countries

第一国际所建立的 这些反乌托邦移民体系，

are a test of citizens

是对公民的考验，

to see how far you're willing to let the government go

在测试的是 当你认为这些事无关与你时，

in taking away other people's rights when you think it won't happen to you.

你们愿意让政府夺取 他人的权利上做到什么地步，

But when you let the government take people's children

当你允许政府不经程序

without due process

就带走人们的孩子，

and detain people indefinitely without access to council,

并不经商量就无限期拘留别人时，

you are failing the test.

你们就没有通过这项考验。

What's happening to immigrants now

现在发生在移民身上的事情，

is a preview of where we're all headed if we fail to act.

如果我们再不采取行动， 明天就会轮到我们。

Thank you.

谢谢。

(Applause)

（掌声）