The US Can Move past Immigration Prisons – and towards Justice | César Cuauhtémoc García Hernández

譯者: Melody Lin 審譯者: Shelley Tsang 曾雯海

Outside of Philadelphia,

在費城外

there is an old nursing home that peaks out from behind lush trees.

有一棟悠久的養老院藏在高大的樹叢後方

Instead of caring for the old, these days, it detains the young.

這間養老院近年來不再關照年邁老人

轉向改為拘留孩子們

Kids who came to the United States with their parents.

那些與父母一同來到美國的孩子們

Inside its hallways,

養老院的走廊上

a little boy named Diego went from diapers to detention.

一名叫迪亞哥的男孩

從穿尿布的孩子變成拘留犯

在他一歲時

When he was just one year old,

Diego's mother, Wendy, decided that life in Honduras was too dangerous

迪亞哥的媽媽溫蒂發覺在宏都拉斯的生活

對他們來說實在太危險

for them to stay.

就像世界上世世代代的家庭一樣

Like people from all over the world have done for generations,

迪亞哥跟媽媽前往美國尋求安全的生活

Diego and Wendy turned to the United States for safety.

If you are in the United States and you are afraid for your life,

如果你人在美國

而你覺得受到安全上的威脅

federal law is clear that you can ask for asylum.

聯邦法中明文規定

你有權尋求庇護

It does not matter where you came from or how you got here.

無論你是哪裡人，或怎麼進入美國

Diego and Wendy did just that.

也因此迪亞哥跟溫蒂申請庇護

Within a few days,

幾天之後

they found themselves inside that Pennsylvania immigration prison.

他們人就被關進那間賓州的移民監獄

Two among half a million people

他們成為每年被關進那裡

五十萬人中的兩位

who will be locked up every single year,

while the government decides

在裡面等政府判定

if they will be allowed to stay in the United States.

他們是否有資格待在美國境內

Instead of a fair match

這不是場公平的對決

between a prosecutor and a defense attorney,

不像檢察官對上辯護人一樣

imprisoned migrants usually walk into court alone.

被關起來的移民通常得獨自面對法庭

It's a high-stakes legal battle

如此重要的官司

that they are forced to fight with their hands tied behind their backs.

移民們卻被迫身處於無能為力的絕境

As the courts deliberate, the days pass.

法院審議期間

時間不斷流逝

From your community to mine, today, someone is locked up

你我的群體之中

每天都有明明沒被控告 卻被關起來的事情上演

who has not been accused of any crime.

Often, they haven't seen a judge or even a lawyer.

通常移民都見不到法官， 更別說是律師了

And yet, in most immigration prisons

但是

身為律師及研究者的我

that I have visited as a lawyer or a researcher,

見識過的移民監獄

the steel door is closed shut with the clink of confinement.

絕大多數牢房

都像囚禁的鐵籠

For the sake of votes,

為求選票

politicians claim people like Diego and Wendy are dangerous, or dishonest.

政客宣稱迪亞哥和溫蒂這類型的人很危險

不誠實

For the sake of profits,

為了利益

private corporations run prisons to house them.

私人企業經營監獄來收容他們

It seems unimaginable today,

可能聽起來難以置信 但在過去

but we haven't always locked up migrants

並不是所有等待著政府決定他們 往後命運的移民都會被關起來

who are waiting for the government to decide their fate.

At one time,

曾經

the United States stood on the verge of abolishing immigration prisons.

美國有一度快要廢除移民監獄

"This was the sign of an enlightened civilization,"

「這是人類文明發蒙的象徵」

the Supreme Court wrote in 1958.

最高法院於1958年寫道

We were so close.

差一點就要實現了

But politics and profits pushed us in the opposite direction.

但政治和利益卻把現實推往反方向走

With the support of Republicans and Democrats,

在共和黨與民主黨的支持下

today, we lock up men, we lock up women, and we lock up children.

今天，國家把男性、女性和孩子都關進去

But in our past, I see hope for the future.

但從過去歷史中，我看到未來的希望

We can take clear steps toward abolishing immigration prisons.

有明確的手段可以用來廢除移民監獄

Most people think of Ellis Island

多數人把埃利斯島視為

as the place that welcomed generations of newcomers to the United States.

一個歡迎不同世代新移民進入美國的地方

的確

It did that,

but it was also an immigration prison

但這座島同時也是移民監獄

配有自由女神像在眼前的諷刺景象

with an ironic view of the Statue of Liberty.

By the 1950s, the Ellis Island facility needed to be repaired,

直到1950年代

埃利斯島上的設施需要整修、 替換或是淘汰時

replaced or discarded.

The government of the war hero turned Republican president,

從戰爭英雄轉為共和黨的美國前總統 杜懷特‧艾森豪

Dwight Eisenhower,

decided to shut it down.

下令關閉監獄

But then, starting in the late 1970s,

但是

自1970年代後期

the United States built the largest immigration prison system in the world.

美國開始建立全球最大型的移民監獄體制

Republicans and Democrats worked together,

共和黨與民主黨攜手合作

pointing to the prison's barbed wire to uphold the law to protect you ...

指向監獄鐵絲網說那是維護法律

以防我這種人傷害你們

from me.

When Haitians started arriving in large numbers in the 1970s,

當1970年代，海地人大批湧進時

前總統卡特決定拘留他們

Carter turned to detention.

In the 1980s, Reagan followed by jailing Cubans and Central Americans.

在80年代，前總統雷根效仿這作法

拘留來自古巴及中美洲的人

George H. W. Bush turned to the military base at Guantanamo, Cuba,

前總統老布希

把古巴關塔那摩灣的軍事基地 改為移民監獄

to jail migrants.

柯林頓總統漠視此事

President Clinton left them there.

This isn't a partisan issue.

這並非黨派問題

而是利益糾葛

This is a profits issue.

To local governments and private businesses,

對地方政府和私人企業來說

immigration prisons are a financial spigot.

移民監獄就是獲利的泉源

The two largest private prison corporations in the United States,

美國兩間最大的民營監獄營運商

CoreCivic and the GEO Group,

CoreCivic 及 The GEO Group

get about half of their money from the federal government.

有一半的營收是來自聯邦政府

With that, they hire people in out-of-the-way locations,

在一個找不到高薪工作的偏僻地區， 用那些錢來聘請員工

where decent-paying jobs are hard to come by.

Down in South Texas, head north from the border,

南德州下方，邊境再上去一點的地帶

and eventually, you will catch the sharp stench of onions

當聞到空氣中的洋蔥惡臭時， 你就抵達了

filling the air.

The local economy of Raymondville --

雷蒙德維爾是威拉西縣的縣首府

that's the county seat of Willacy County --

it runs on produce --

當地經濟的主要收入來自農產品及監獄

on produce and on prisons.

Tucked behind a state jail,

州監獄的背後

the Willacy County Detention Center houses federal immigration prisoners

是把違反聯邦法的移民

拘留在大型帆布帳篷內的威拉西縣收容所

in large canvas tents.

A few years ago, this facility shut down,

幾年前，在囚犯們暴動之下

after inmates rebelled.

該機構停止營運

And when that happened, I was not surprised,

事情爆發時，我並不意外

because back when I used to represent clients there,

因為我當年在那裡替客戶辯護時

stories of rape, harassment and abuse were common.

有關強姦，騷擾及暴力的事件層出不窮

Eventually, the county lost a few hundred jobs.

最終，該縣流失數百個工作機會

Even the Walmart shut down.

就連沃爾瑪也倒閉

但是，在 2018 年的夏天

But then, in the summer of 2018,

when the refurbished prison was ramping up to reopen,

翻新後的監獄力求重新開張時

the county's elected officials celebrated.

該縣的選舉官員們大肆慶祝

Why was the county so interested?

為何縣首府如此想要監獄呢?

It owned the prison, and the private company just ran it.

因為監獄為政府所有，民營公司僅負責營運

Having prisoners on the inside

拘留犯人意味著民營公司可以聘請門衛

meant that the private company could hire guards,

and it could hire nurses,

雇用護士

and it meant that the county could pay its bills.

也代表該縣可從中獲利

With support from Washington down to Willacy County,

來自聯邦政府及威拉西縣的支持下

it's a good time to be in the business of locking up migrants.

當今已成為賺拘留移民生意的好時機

But we can't forget that these are people who we're talking about,

但是別忘了，我們在講的都是人

from kids who are too young to be asked their opinions,

從年紀小到無法表達自己的孩子

到長期在美國深根的成年人

to adults with longtime ties to the United States.

Diego and Wendy were stuck inside that old nursing home turned prison,

迪亞哥和溫蒂被困在那棟 老舊養老院改建的監獄

waiting for the legal process to slowly grind forward.

等待進度緩慢的法律程序結束

Just one when he arrived,

進去時他才一歲

Diego was three by the time he got out.

離開時，迪亞哥已經三歲了

Eventually, he won his legal case to stay in the United States,

最終，他贏了官司，可以留在美國

but not before 650 nights passed.

但這過程耗費他 650 天

And yet ...

可是

其他人並沒那麼幸運

others are not so lucky.

Kamyar Samimi ...

Kamyar Samimi

had a green card and 40 years in the United States,

持有綠卡，也在美國待了40年

when one day, ICE showed up at his door

有天，美國移民局來到他家

and took him down to a private prison in suburban Denver.

把他帶去位於丹佛郊區的民營監獄

Within 13 days,

不到 13 天

he was dead.

他就離世了

The government never got around to deciding

政府根本還來不及決定是否要驅逐他

if he should be deported.

In this topsy-turvy world,

在這個動盪不安的社會

we feel better when we lock up kids with their mothers,

我們總以為把孩子及母親關在一起

or when people don’t meet the same end as Mr. Samimi.

或是防止Samimi 的故事 再度上演就行了

但我們真的只能做到這樣嗎?

Is this really the best that we can do?

在通往廢除世上所有移民監獄的道路上

The path to a world that's free of immigration prisons

does not begin by pretending that migrants are perfect.

不是要先從聲稱移民們有多麼優秀

It starts with a reality check.

而是要從現實層面去認清

Immigration law tells us that migrants are aliens.

移民法告訴我們移民都是外來者

但你我都知道事實並非如此

But we all know that migrants are not aliens.

Migrants are just people.

他們只是人

And like most people,

就像多數人一樣

most of the time, migrants are profoundly ordinary --

多數時候他們都是非常普通的平凡人

ordinary people asked to do the extraordinary:

被迫要有不平凡體驗的平凡人

wage your final fight to stay in this country

為了留在這個國家還得做好搏鬥的準備

while you are locked up far away from family, your friends --

此時還被關在離家人朋友很遠

where lawyers are hard to come by.

連律師都很難前去的地方

To fix this and move toward a world without immigration prisons,

要解決問題並邁向一個 沒有移民監獄的世界

我們不要再付錢讓CoreCivic 跟The GEO Group收容移民

let's stop paying CoreCivic and the GEO Group

to lock up migrants,

and let's start paying lawyers to defend them.

而是要把錢付給幫移民辯護的律師

(Cheers and applause)

(掌聲)

Having a lawyer just means that the courts are more likely to reach

律師的存在只代表法庭會給出一個更公平

a fair and a just conclusion.

更公正的判決

And when it comes to important legal questions,

當談及重大的法律問題時

let's be honest,

老實說

有甚麼比律師們互鬥還更美式的做法了

what's more American that a fight between lawyers?

(Laughter)

(笑聲)

And we've done this in the past.

過去就有成功過

政府嘗試過幾個推動計畫

The government has run several pilot projects.

Every time, support has proven enough to get migrants out of prison,

每次得到的支持都足夠使移民離開監獄

to keep them on top of their court dates and away from trouble.

提醒他們開庭日期，省去不必要的麻煩

But we've never let these projects grow.

可是這些計畫沒有擴大

Politics and profits have always stamped out

政治及利益總使自由的承諾瓦解

the promise of freedom.

We can lock up migrants,

拘留移民是種選擇

這不是種必然

but we don't have to.

Instead of hoping that barbed wire and steel doors

比起認為鐵絲網跟鐵籠就是

will guide us out of the labyrinth of immigration law,

那錯綜複雜的移民法需要的解套

we could invest in justice.

我們應該給予正義

We could make sure that every migrant

我們可以確保每一位移民都能公平地

has a fair chance of putting their best legal case forward.

在法律上爭取最想要的結果

Because immigration prisons don't get us out of a problem.

因為

移民監獄解決不了任何問題

Immigration prisons are the problem.

移民監獄就是問題本身

(Cheers and applause)

(掌聲)

在以前我們正準備改變時，他們使我們盲目

They blind us to the past, when we did things differently,

使我們沒有注意到操縱金錢的幕後黑手

and they distract us from the moneymaking tentacles

that tie our future to the prison gates.

以及把人的未來囚禁在監獄裡的陰謀

Well, the thing is,

但是

liberty is too precious for any of us to lose it

自由珍貴到沒有人能承受失去它的後果

because politicians want votes

這一切都只因為政客們想要選票

and private corporations want money.

私人企業想要錢財

Thank you.

謝謝

(Cheers and applause)

(掌聲)