Last summer, I got a call from a woman named Ellie. And she had heard about the family separations at the southern border and wanted to know what she could do to help. She told me the story of her grandfather and his father. When they were kids in Poland, their father, fearing for his son's safety, gave them a little bit of money and told them to walk west, to just keep walking west across Europe. And they did. They walked all the way west across Europe, and they got on a boat and they got to America. Ellie said that when she heard the stories of the teens walking up across Mexico, all she could think about was her grandfather and his brother. She said that for her, the stories were exactly the same.
O verán pasado recibín a chamada dunha muller, Ellie. Escoitara falar da separación de familias na fronteira sur e quería saber como podía axudar. Contoume a historia do seu avó e o seu bisavó. Cando eran cativos, en Polonia, o seu pai, temendo pola seguridade do seu fillo, deulles algúns cartos e díxolles que marchasen cara ao oeste, que non parasen de camiñar ata ter cruzado Europa. E así o fixeron. Cruzaron Europa camiñando cara ao oeste, subiron a un barco e chegaron aos Estados Unidos. Ellie díxome que cando escoitaba as historias dos rapaces que cruzaban México camiñando, non podía deixar de pensar no seu avó e o seu irmán. Para ela, díxome, as historias eran exactamente iguais.
Those brothers were the Hassenfeld Brothers -- the "Has" "bros" -- the Hasbro toy company, which, of course, brought us Mr. Potato Head.
Aqueles irmáns eran os Irmáns Hassenfeld -- os "Has" "bros" -- os de Hasbro, a empresa de xoguetes, coñecerédelos porque crearon Mr. Potato.
But that is not actually why I'm telling you this story. I'm telling you this story because it made me think about whether I would have the faith, the courage, to send my teens -- and I have three of them -- on a journey like that. Knowing that they wouldn't be safe where we were, would I be able to watch them go?
Pero esa non é a razón pola que vos conto esta historia. Cóntovola porque esta historia fíxome pensar en se eu tería a fe, a coraxe, de enviar os meus rapaces -- e teño tres -- a unha viaxe como aquela. Sabendo que non estaban seguros onde estaban, sería quen de velos marchar?
I started my career decades ago at the southern US border, working with Central American asylum seekers. And in the last 16 years, I've been at HIAS, the Jewish organization that fights for refugee rights around the world, as a lawyer and an advocate. And one thing I've learned is that, sometimes, the things that we're told make us safer and stronger actually don't. And, in fact, some of these policies have the opposite of the intended results and in the meantime, cause tremendous and unnecessary suffering.
Comecei na miña profesión hai décadas na fronteira sur dos EUA, traballando con solicitantes de asilo centroamericanos. Desde hai 16 anos estou na HIAS, a organización xudía que loita polos dereitos dos refuxiados do mundo, como avogada. Unha das cousas que aprendín é que, ás veces, aquilo que nos din que nos vai dar máis seguridade e forza non fai tal. De feito, algunhas desas medidas teñen un efecto contrario ao esperado e entrementres causan un sufrimento enorme e innecesario.
So why are people showing up at our southern border? Most of the immigrants and refugees that are coming to our southern border are fleeing three countries: Guatemala, Honduras and El Salvador. These countries are consistently ranked among the most violent countries in the world. It's very difficult to be safe in these countries, let alone build a future for yourself and your family. And violence against women and girls is pervasive. People have been fleeing Central America for generations. Generations of refugees have been coming to our shores, fleeing the civil wars of the 1980s, in which the United States was deeply involved. This is nothing new. What's new is that recently, there's been a spike in families, children and families, showing up at checkpoints and presenting themselves to seek asylum.
Así que por que razón aparecen estas persoas na nosa fronteira sur? A maioría dos inmigrantes e refuxiados que chegan á nosa fronteira sur veñen fuxindo de tres países: Guatemala, Honduras e El Salvador. Son países que sistematicamente encabezan a lista de nacións máis violentas do mundo. É moi difícil estar seguro neses países, para canto máis construír un futuro para ti e a túa familia. E a violencia contra mulleres e nenas é xeralizada. A xente leva fuxindo de Centroamérica durante xeracións. Xeracións de refuxiados seguen chegando ás nosas costas, escapando das guerras civís da década de 1980, nas que Estados Unidos estivo moi involucrado. Isto non é novo. O novo é que ultimamente aumentou a chegada de familias, de nenos e familias, que se presentan nos postos de control solicitando asilo.
Now, this has been in the news lately, so I want you to remember a few things as you see those images. One, this is not a historically high level of interceptions at the southern border, and, in fact, people are presenting themselves at checkpoints. Two, people are showing up with the clothes on their backs; some of them are literally in flip-flops. And three, we're the most powerful country in the world. It's not a time to panic. It's easy from the safety of the destination country to think in terms of absolutes: Is it legal, or is it illegal? But the people who are wrestling with these questions and making these decisions about their families are thinking about very different questions: How do I keep my daughter safe? How do I protect my son? And if you want absolutes, it's absolutely legal to seek asylum. It is a fundamental right in our own laws and in international law. And, in fact --
Vímolo estes días nos noticiarios, e quero que lembredes un par de cousas cando vexades esas imaxes. Primeiro, non estamos ante un máximo histórico de interceptacións na fronteira, e, de feito, estas persoas preséntanse nos postos de control. Segundo, chegan só co que traen posto; algúns veñen literalmente en chancletas. E terceiro, somos o país máis poderoso do mundo. Non hai motivo para o pánico. É doado desde a seguridade do país de destino pensar en termos absolutos: É legal ou é ilegal? Pero as persoas que pelexan con estas preguntas e toman estas decisións sobre as súas familias pensan en preguntas moi distintas: Como manteño a miña filla a salvo? Como protexo o meu fillo? E se queredes termos absolutos, é absolutamente legal pedir asilo. É un dereito fundamental recoñecido nas nosas leis e no dereito internacional. De feito --
(Applause)
(Aplausos)
it stems from the 1951 Refugee Convention, which was the world's response to the Holocaust and a way for countries to say never again would we return people to countries where they would harmed or killed.
derívase da Convención de 1951 sobre o Estatuto dos Refuxiados, que foi a resposta do mundo ao Holocausto e un modo para que as nacións se comprometesen a non devolver a ninguén a un país onde puidese sufrir mal ou ser asasinado.
There are several ways refugees come to this country. One is through the US Refugee Admissions Program. Through that program, the US identifies and selects refugees abroad and brings them to the United States. Last year, the US resettled fewer refugees than at any time since the program began in 1980. And this year, it'll probably be less. And this is at a time when we have more refugees in the world than at any other time in recorded history, even since World War II.
Os refuxiados chegan aquí de varias formas. Unha é a través do Programa de Admisión de Refuxiados dos EUA. Por medio dese programa, identifícanse e seleccionan refuxiados no estranxeiro para traelos aos Estados Unidos O ano pasado acollimos o número máis baixo de refuxiados desde que o programa se puxo en marcha en 1980. Este ano serán probablemente aínda menos. E iso ocorre nun momento en que temos máis refuxiados no mundo ca en ningún outro período da historia, mesmo desde a Segunda Guerra Mundial.
Another way that refugees come to this country is by seeking asylum. Asylum seekers are people who present themselves at a border and say that they'll be persecuted if they're sent back home. An asylum seeker is simply somebody who's going through the process in the United States to prove that they meet the refugee definition. And it's never been more difficult to seek asylum. Border guards are telling people when they show up at our borders that our country's full, that they simply can't apply. This is unprecedented and illegal. Under a new program, with the kind of Orwellian title "Migrant Protection Protocols," refugees are told they have to wait in Mexico while their cases make their way through the courts in the United States, and this can take months or years. Meanwhile, they're not safe, and they have no access to lawyers.
Outro dos modos de entrar no país como refuxiado é solicitando asilo. Os solicitantes de asilo son persoas que se presentan na fronteira e din que serían perseguidos se os enviasen de volta. Un solicitante de asilo é só alguén que se somete a este proceso nos Estados Unidos para demostrar que se axusta á definición de refuxiado. E nunca antes fora tan difícil solicitar asilo. Os gardas dinlles aos que aparecen nas nosas fronteiras que o país está cheo e non poden solicitar. É algo sen precedentes e ilegal. No marco dun novo programa, co título orwelliano de "Protocolo de Protección de Migrantes", díselles aos refuxiados que teñen que agardar en México a que o seu caso supere os trámites xudiciais nos Estados Unidos, o que pode levar meses ou anos. Entre tanto, non están seguros, e non teñen acceso a un avogado.
Our country, our government, has detained over 3,000 children, separating them from their parents' arms, as a deterrent from seeking asylum. Many were toddlers, and at least one was a six-year-old blind girl. And this is still going on. We spend billions to detain people in what are virtually prisons who have committed no crime. And family separation has become the hallmark of our immigration system. That's a far cry from a shining city on a hill or a beacon of hope or all of the other ways we like to talk about ourselves and our values.
O noso país, o noso goberno leva detido a máis de 3.000 nenos, separándoos dos seus pais, como estratexia disuasoria fronte ás solicitudes de asilo. Moitos eran nenos pequenos, incluso unha nena cega de seis anos. E iso aínda continúa. Gastamos miles de millóns en reter no que practicamente son prisións a persoas que non cometeron ningún delito. A separación familiar converteuse no selo do noso sistema de inmigración. Está lonxe daquilo da "cidade brillante do outeiro" ou "o faro de esperanza" ou deses outros xeitos nos que falamos de nós mesmos e dos nosos valores.
Migration has always been with us, and it always will be. The reasons why people flee -- persecution, war, violence, climate change and the ability now to see on your phone what life is like in other places -- those pressures are only growing. But there are ways that we can have policies that reflect our values and actually make sense, given the reality in the world.
As migracións sempre estiveron con nós, e sempre estarán. Os motivos polos que foxe a xente -- persecución, guerra, violencia, cambio climático e a capacidade de ver no teléfono como é a vida noutros sitios -- esas presións non fan máis ca medrar. Pero existen modos de ter políticas que reflictan os nosos valores e teñan sentido de verdade na realidade actual.
The first thing we need to do is dial back the toxic rhetoric that has been the basis of our national debate on this issue for too long.
En primeiro lugar é necesario reducir a retórica tóxica que está no fondo do debate nacional sobre esta cuestión desde hai demasiado.
(Applause)
(Aplausos)
I am not an immigrant or a refugee myself, but I take these attacks personally, because my grandparents were. My great-grandmother Rose didn't see her kids for seven years, as she tried to bring them from Poland to New York. She left my grandfather when he was seven and didn't see him again until he was 14. On the other side of my family, my grandmother Aliza left Poland in the 1930s and left for what was then the British Mandate of Palestine, and she never saw her family and friends again. Global cooperation as a response to global migration and displacement would go a long way towards making migration something that isn't a crisis but something that just is, and that we deal with as a global community. Humanitarian aid is also critical. The amount of support we provide to countries in Central America that are sending refugees and migrants is a tiny fraction of the amount we spend on enforcement and detention. And we can absolutely have an asylum system that works. For a tiny fraction of the cost of a wall, we could hire more judges, make sure asylum seekers have lawyers and commit to a humane asylum system.
Eu non son unha inmigrante nin unha refuxiada, pero tomo estes ataques como algo persoal porque os meus avós si que o eran. A miña bisavoa Rose estivo sete anos sen ver os seus fillos, cando trataba de traelos desde Polonia a Nova York. Deixou o meu avó cando tiña sete anos e non o volveu ver ata que tiña 14. No outro lado da miña familia, a miña avoa Aliza saíu de Polonia nos anos 30 do século pasado para ir ao que entón era o Mandato británico de Palestina e non volveu ver a familia nin os amigos. A cooperación global como resposta á migración e ao desprazamento global contribuiría moito a facer da migración algo que non é unha crise senón algo que está aí e debemos afrontar como comunidade global A axuda humanitaria tamén é crucial. A asistencia que lles damos aos países centroamericanos que envían refuxiados e migrantes é unha mínima fracción do que gastamos en aplicación da lei e detencións. Está claro que podemos ter un sistema de asilo que funcione. Por unha fracción minúscula do custo de construír un muro, poderiamos contratar máis xuíces, garantir avogados aos solicitantes e comprometernos cun sistema de asilo decente.
(Applause)
(Aplausos)
And we could resettle more refugees. To give you a sense of the decline in the refugee program: three years ago, the US resettled 15,000 Syrian refugees in response to the largest refugee crisis on earth. A year later, that number was 3,000. And last year, that number was 62 people. 62 people.
E poderiamos acoller a máis refuxiados. Isto daravos unha idea da redución do programa de acollida: hai tres anos, Estados Unidos acolleu a 15.000 refuxiados sirios en resposta á maior crise de refuxiados do planeta. Un ano despois, a cifra era de 3.000. E o ano pasado foron 62 persoas. 62 persoas.
Despite the harsh rhetoric and efforts to block immigration, keep refugees out of the country, support for refugees and immigrants in this country, according to polls, has never been higher. Organizations like HIAS, where I work, and other humanitarian and faith-based organizations, make it easy for you to take a stand when there's a law that's worth opposing or a law that's worth supporting or a policy that needs oversight. If you have a phone, you can do something, and if you want to do more, you can. I will tell you that if you see one of these detention centers along the border with children in them -- they're jails -- you will never be the same.
Malia crueza retórica e os esforzos por bloquear a inmigración e manter os refuxiados fóra do país, o apoio aos refuxiados e inmigrantes no noso país, segundo as enquisas, é máis forte ca nunca. Organizacións como HIAS, para a que traballo, e outras organizacións humanitarias e relixiosas, facilitan que nos pronunciemos cando unha lei merece que nos opoñamos a ela ou merece o noso apoio, ou unha política require supervisión. Se tedes teléfono, podedes facer algo, e se queredes facer máis, podedes. Direivos que se algunha vez vedes un destes centros de detención distribuídos pola fronteira onde hai nenos -- son cárceres -- non volveredes ser os mesmos.
What I loved so much about my call with Ellie was that she knew in her core that the stories of her grandparents were no different than today's stories, and she wanted to do something about it.
O que máis me gustou da miña conversa con Ellie foi ver que no fondo ela sabía que as historias dos seus avós non eran diferentes das historias de hoxe, e quería facer algo ao respecto.
If I leave you with one thing, beyond the backstory for Mr. Potato Head, which is, of course, a good story to leave with, it's that a country shows strength through compassion and pragmatism, not through force and through fear.
Se quero que quededes con algo, ademais da historia tras Mr. Potato, que, por suposto, tamén é unha boa historia que deixarvos, é a idea de que un país amosa fortaleza a través da compaixón e o pragmatismo, non por medio da forza e do medo
(Applause)
(Aplausos)
These stories of the Hassenfelds and my relatives and your relatives are still happening today; they're all the same. A country is strong when it says to the refugee, not, "Go away," but, "It's OK, we've got you, you're safe."
Estas historias dos Hassenfeld e dos meus parentes e os vosos seguen a acontecer hoxe; son todas a mesma. Un país é forte cando non lle di "Fóra!" ao refuxiado, senón que lle di: "Está ben, xa te temos, estás a salvo".
Thank you.
Grazas.
(Applause)
(Aplausos)
Thanks.
Grazas.
(Applause)
(Aplausos)