VOA慢速英語(yǔ)：美國(guó)國(guó)務(wù)院指示設(shè)定簽證新步驟

State Department Directives Describe New Steps for US Visas

美國(guó)國(guó)務(wù)院指示設(shè)定簽證新步驟

The United States has told its diplomats overseas to identify groups whose members should be thoroughly investigated when they request a visa. The State Department sent a series of directives to U.S. embassies and diplomatic offices earlier this month.

美國(guó)已經(jīng)要求海外外交官確定在簽證時(shí)應(yīng)當(dāng)進(jìn)行徹底調(diào)查的群體。本月初國(guó)務(wù)院向美國(guó)大使館和外交部門發(fā)出了一系列指示。

The department told them to investigate the social media messages and activities of visa applicants. It said officials should be looking for people who are suspected of terrorist ties or of having been in areas controlled by the Islamic State group.

國(guó)務(wù)院要求他們調(diào)查簽證申請(qǐng)人的社交媒體信息和活動(dòng)，稱有關(guān)官員應(yīng)該審查涉嫌與恐怖分子存在關(guān)聯(lián)或曾經(jīng)身處伊斯蘭國(guó)控制地區(qū)的申請(qǐng)人。

Another directive ordered embassies to set up security and intelligence working groups to establish guidance for "population sets." It said these measures would identify which people require a detailed investigation before they are permitted in the United States.

另一項(xiàng)指示命令大使館設(shè)立安全和情報(bào)工作組為特定人群制定指導(dǎo)方針，并稱這些措施將會(huì)確定“哪些人在被允許進(jìn)入美國(guó)之前需要進(jìn)行詳細(xì)調(diào)查。”

Even if someone is qualified for a visa, they could still be barred from entering the country if they do not meet the rules set by the working groups.

即使某些人有資格獲得簽證，如果不符合該工作組所制定的規(guī)則，他們?nèi)钥赡軙?huì)被禁止入境。

The directives are the first evidence of a Trump administration plan for the "extreme vetting" of foreigners before they are given visas.

這些指示是川普政府計(jì)劃對(duì)外國(guó)人簽發(fā)簽證前進(jìn)行“極度審查”的第一個(gè)例證。

Before becoming president, Donald Trump promised such a plan to American voters during the 2016 election campaign.

在成為總統(tǒng)前，川普在2016年競(jìng)選期間向美國(guó)選民承諾了這樣一個(gè)方案。

The four documents sent between March 10 and March 17 do not tell which "population sets" are to be given additional examination.

3月10日到17日發(fā)出的四份文件并未指明哪些人群需要進(jìn)行額外審查。

But one document says investigators should ask visa applicants about where they worked, who they worked for and where they traveled over the past 15 years. The document also tells investigators to ask applicants for all email addresses and social media names used over the past five years.

但有一份文件稱，調(diào)查人員應(yīng)該詢問簽證申請(qǐng)人他們?cè)谀墓ぷ?，為誰(shuí)工作以及過去15年去過那些地方。這份文件還讓調(diào)查人員詢問申請(qǐng)人過去五年使用過的電子郵件地址和社交媒體賬戶名。

The State Department said later it was withdrawing the questions until they are approved by another federal agency.

國(guó)務(wù)院隨后表示正在撤回這些問題，直到被另一家聯(lián)邦機(jī)構(gòu)批準(zhǔn)為止。

The Reuters news agency first reported on the series of directives last week.

上周路透社率先報(bào)道了這一系列指示。

Rights groups and others have criticized the directives and accused Trump of discriminating against Muslims. They note his recent executive order to block travelers from six countries: Iran, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria and Yemen.

權(quán)利組織和其他人批評(píng)了這些指示，并指責(zé)川普歧視穆斯林。他們提到了川普最近禁止六個(gè)國(guó)家旅客入境的行政命令，這六個(gè)國(guó)家包括伊朗、利比亞、索馬里、蘇丹、敘利亞和也門。

A federal judge has suspended the government's enforcement of the ban.

一位聯(lián)邦法官已經(jīng)暫停了政府執(zhí)行這一禁令。

The rights group Amnesty International wrote a letter to Secretary of State Rex Tillerson last week. It said the documents "could provide license for discrimination based on national origin and religion. They could provide a pretext for barring individuals based on their nonviolent beliefs and expression. Social media checks, as well as demands for social media passwords at U.S. borders, have significant implications for privacy and freedom of expression."

大赦國(guó)際組織上周給國(guó)務(wù)卿蒂勒森致信。信中寫道，這些文件“給基于國(guó)籍和宗教的歧視提供了許可證，也為以非暴力信仰和言論為由禁止個(gè)人入境提供了借口。審查社交媒體賬戶，以及要求在入境美國(guó)時(shí)提供社交媒體賬戶密碼對(duì)個(gè)人隱私和言論自由帶來了重大影響。”

Law professor Anil Kalhan leads the international human rights committee of the New York City Bar Association. He said the documents "will needlessly worsen visa processing backlogs" and may lead to applications for visas being wrongly denied.

法律教授Anil Kalhan領(lǐng)導(dǎo)了紐約市律師協(xié)會(huì)國(guó)際人權(quán)委員會(huì)。他說這些文件“將會(huì)不必要地加大簽證處理的積壓”，并可能會(huì)導(dǎo)致簽證申請(qǐng)被錯(cuò)誤地拒絕。

Some refugee aid groups and even State Department workers have said the visa investigation process is already very strong.

一些難民援助團(tuán)體甚至國(guó)務(wù)院工作人員都表示，簽證調(diào)查程序已經(jīng)很嚴(yán)格。

Stephen Yale-Loehr is an immigration law professor at Cornell University's law school. Last month, he told CBS News "we have a terrorist watch database. We have known immigration violators database. We have a criminal background check database that they have to go through. They don't just take the visa applicant's word. They do go through all of these computer databases to verify for themselves that it's appropriate to issue the visa to a particular individual."

Stephen Yale-Loehr是康奈爾大學(xué)法學(xué)院的移民法教授。上個(gè)月他對(duì)CBS新聞表示，“我們擁有一個(gè)恐怖分子監(jiān)視數(shù)據(jù)庫(kù)，我們已經(jīng)了解了移民違規(guī)者數(shù)據(jù)庫(kù)。我們擁有一個(gè)申請(qǐng)者必須通過的犯罪背景調(diào)查數(shù)據(jù)庫(kù)。簽證官不只是獲取簽證申請(qǐng)表格上的數(shù)據(jù)，他們會(huì)認(rèn)真檢查所有這些計(jì)算機(jī)數(shù)據(jù)庫(kù)，以驗(yàn)證向特定個(gè)人簽發(fā)簽證是否適當(dāng)。”

I'm Dorothy Gundy.

多蘿西·甘地報(bào)道。