(单词翻译:单击)
听力文本
Human Smuggling a Profitable Business at Immigrants’ Cost
Ronald Garcia is a 39-year-old Guatemalan man who recently entered the United States illegally. He is currently at Casa Alitas, a shelter for immigrants in Tucson, Arizona. While there, he told about his border crossing.
Garcia said he paid smugglers $20,000 to get him across the border. He said he had to sell all he owned to come to the U.S.
Crossing into the United States illegally is a big business in Central and South America. Many people leave their countries due to the violence and poverty. They pay huge amounts of money and risk their lives to leave.
Garcia said of his experience, "They put me in a trunk where you couldn't breathe, and well, thank God (I survived), because they say that all those who are put there, they die."
The U.S. Border Patrol (USBP) says illegal smuggling operations are big business.
A RAND Corporation study estimated smugglers made between $200 million and $2.3 billion in 2017 transporting people into the U.S., mostly from Central America.
USPB spokesman Mario Escalante said it is a dangerous business as well. He said smugglers sometimes abandon the migrants, steal from them, rape them and worse.
Garcia agrees.
"They ask for a quantity of money, and if they don't get it by the time and date they say, they'll kill you," he said.
Henry Cuellar is a U.S. lawmaker from Texas. The congressional area he represents stretches from San Antonio to the border town of McAllen in southern Texas.
Cuellar told VOA that smugglers also provide transport for illegal drug traffickers.
But it is not just criminal organizations making money from immigrants.
Private research business Dynamic Securities Analytics reports that the American financial industry also profits from the illegal business. They profit from fees connected to electronic payments made by undocumented immigrants.
President Joe Biden supports extensive immigration reform. Biden has also warned migrants against making illegal border crossings.
Former ambassador Roberta Jacobson is Biden's adviser on southern border issues. She told VOA that the administration is working with foreign intelligence sources to fight human smuggling operations.
I'm John Russell.
重点解析
重点讲解：
1. as well 也；同样地；逃离
Hey, that's an idea! And we could get a band, as well.
嘿，好主意！而且我们还可以找支乐队。
2. get across 通过；使...被理解
The bridge was destroyed so we couldn't get across the river.
大桥已经毁坏，我们无法过河了。
3. be connected to 与...有关联
The scientists were most interested in parts connected to the ends of the chromosomes.
科学家们对连接到染色体末端的部分最感兴趣。
4. a quantity of 一些；大量的
The police found a quantity of drugs at his home.
警察在他家发现了大量毒品。
参考译文
偷渡美国已成为“谋利”的产业链
39岁的危地马拉男子罗纳德·加西亚（Ronald Garcia）最近非法入境美国。他目前住在亚利桑那州图森市的Casa Alitas移民收容所。在那里，他讲述了自己穿越边境的经历。
加西亚称他给了走私者2万美元的过境费。他说，为了筹钱来美国，他不得不变卖自己所有的财产。
在中美洲和南美洲，非法进入美国已经成为一项火爆的生意。许多人因为暴力和贫穷而离开自己的国家。为了离开，他们不惜花高价，甚至冒着生命危险。
谈到他的经历时，加西亚说:“他们把我放在一个无法呼吸的后备箱内，谢天谢地，我活了下来，因为他们说所有被关在后备箱里的人都没活下来。”
美国边境巡逻队(USBP)表示，非法走私活动是一笔大买卖。
兰德公司(RAND Corporation)的一项研究估计，2017年，走私者通过将大部分来自中美洲的偷渡者运送到美国，获利2亿至23亿美元。
美国边境巡逻队发言人马里奥·埃斯卡兰特（Mario Escalante）表示，这也是一种危险的交易。他说，走私者有时会抛弃移民，偷盗他们的物品，强奸他们，甚至会出现更糟糕的情况。
加西亚对此表示认可。
他说，“他们会漫天要价，如果没能在指定的时间和日期付钱，他们就会杀了你”。
亨利·奎利亚尔(Henry Cuellar)是美国德克萨斯州的议员。他所代表的国会选区从圣安东尼奥一直延伸到德克萨斯州南部的边境小镇麦卡伦。
奎利亚尔对美国之音表示，走私者还为非法毒品贩子提供运输服务。
不过，从移民身上捞金的不只犯罪组织。
私人研究公司“动态证券分析”(Dynamic Securities Analytics)报告称，美国金融业也从这种非法业务中获利。他们从非法移民的电子支付中获利。
美国总统拜登支持全面的移民改革。拜登还警告移民不要非法越境。
前大使罗伯塔·雅各布森（Roberta Jacobson）是拜登在南部边界问题方面的顾问。她对美国之音表示，美国政府正在与外国情报来源合作打击人口走私活动。
约翰·拉塞尔为您播报。
译文为可可英语翻译，未经授权请勿转载！
