Some Migrants Switch from American Dream to Mexican One

Some Migrants Switch from American Dream to Mexican One

一些移民从美国梦转向墨西哥梦

【原文听力】

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　　By Andrew Smith

　　03 December 2023

　　Walter Banegas is a refugee from the Central American country of Honduras. He now lives in the northern Mexican city of Saltillo. There, he works in a factory, making aluminum parts for machines.

　　But Mexico is not the first country Banegas, 28, has tried to call home. To avoid violent drug gangs in Honduras, he first fled to the United States as a teenager. But he was deported in 2014. Hoping to seek asylum, he re-entered the U.S. in 2020, only to be deported once again.

　　So when Banegas fled Honduras once more in 2021, he aimed for Mexico instead of the U.S. He was granted refugee status and with help from a United Nations refugee program, moved to Saltillo. There, he was connected to a job at Pace Industries, a U.S.-based metal manufacturer with plants in the U.S. and Mexico.

　　In the last five years, Mexico has seen an increase in the number of refugees choosing to stay in the country. There, the asylum system is less strict than in the U.S., and refugees can find jobs because companies in Mexico need more workers.

　　Banegas said he is earning about $800 a month at Pace Industries. This is less than he thought he would make in the U.S. But it is enough to send at least $50 a month home to his family. He says he likes his Mexican co-workers and is proud his six-month-old son, David, is a Mexican citizen.

　　"I feel at peace here," he said. "It's not necessary to go to the United States. You can also get ahead here, in Mexico."

　　A good choice for some refugees

　　About ten years ago, only a few hundred people received asylum in Mexico each year. By 2021, the number rose to 27,000, according to Mexico's refugee agency. Mexico will likely approve at least 20,000 asylum cases this year, with most of the arrivals coming from Honduras, Haiti, Venezuela, El Salvador and Cuba.

　　A large majority of migrants entering Mexico continue north toward the U.S. The U.S. had more than 700,000 individual asylum claims last year.

　　But the head of the U.N. refugee agency (UNHCR) in Mexico, Giovanni Lepri, said Mexico is becoming a good choice for refugees, in part because of its high need for workers.

　　Coparmex studies Mexico's economy and social issues. The organization says Mexico has more than one million job openings nationwide. In a recent study of more than 2,500 businesses in Mexico, it says 85 percent of employers in manufacturing report trouble finding workers, more than in any other employment area.

　　U.S., Mexican and U.N. officials have called for cooperation to help migrants resettle in places such as Mexico, Costa Rica and Colombia, aiming to reduce illegal migration to the U.S.

　　Arturo Rocha is the migration director for Mexico's foreign ministry. He said the government is trying to expand work visa programs and connect employers with migrants looking for jobs.

　　Mexico is working with Guatemala's government to bring up to 20,000 workers to Mexico each year. Mexico also aims to expand the program to Honduras and El Salvador.

　　Jose Medina Mora, the head of Coparmex, praised the U.N. program that helped Banegas relocate to Saltillo. He also urged the Mexican government to expand work visa programs so more migrants can be quickly matched with employers.

　　The U.N. program helps refugees relocate from southern Mexico, where most complete their asylum process, to cities in central and northern Mexico. The program gives money and helps with finding jobs. It also helps refugees find childcare, schools and healthcare. It helped connect 5,500 refugees with a job in 2022, and nearly 3,000 so far this year.

　　"Couldn't ask for more"

　　Fernando Hernandez, 24, fled Honduras for southern Mexico last year with his partner and young daughter. He planned to cross the country as quickly as possible to reach the U.S.

　　But then he saw social media posts of children drowning in the river at the U.S. border. He imagined his two-year-old daughter also dying in the water. And he thought about his mother, who migrated to the U.S. in 2017. She lives in a small mobile home in the state of Texas and uses most of her pay for housing.

　　So, Hernandez decided to seek asylum in Mexico. After it was approved in February, the U.N. helped his family relocate to the northern industrial city of Monterrey. There, Hernandez began working at a small store that sells food, drink, and other things people need.

　　Hernandez quickly learned that there were job openings everywhere, he said. He got a job in a factory, and then became a cook at P.F. Chang's, earning about $225 a week.

　　"Here we have everything: a house, food and family," he said. "I couldn't ask for more."

　　I'm Andrew Smith. And I'm Anna Mateo.

　　Laura Gottesdiener and Daina Beth Solomon wrote this story for Reuters News. Andrew Smith adapted it for VOA Learning English.

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　　由Andrew Smith撰写

　　2023年12月3日

　　Walter Banegas是来自中美洲国家洪都拉斯的难民。他现在住在墨西哥北部城市萨尔蒂约。在那里，他在一家工厂工作，制造机器的铝部件。

　　但墨西哥并不是Banegas，28岁，首次尝试定居的国家。为了避开洪都拉斯的暴力毒品帮派，他首次作为青少年逃往美国。但他在2014年被遣返回国。希望寻求庇护，他在2020年重新进入美国，但又一次被遣返回国。

　　所以，当Banegas在2021年再次逃离洪都拉斯时，他选择了墨西哥而不是美国。他获得了难民身份，并在联合国难民项目的帮助下，搬到了萨尔蒂约。在那里，他找到了在Pace Industries的工作，这是一家在美国和墨西哥都有工厂的美国金属制造商。

　　在过去的五年中，选择留在墨西哥的难民数量有所增加。在那里，庇护系统比美国的要宽松，而且难民可以找到工作，因为墨西哥的公司需要更多的工人。

　　Banegas说他在Pace Industries每月赚取大约800美元。这比他预计在美国能赚的要少。但这足以每月至少给他的家人寄回50美元。他说他喜欢他的墨西哥同事，并为他六个月大的儿子David是墨西哥公民而感到自豪。

　　"我在这里感到安宁，"他说。"没有必要去美国。你也可以在墨西哥有所作为。"

　　对一些难民来说，这是一个好的选择

　　大约十年前，每年只有几百人在墨西哥获得庇护。到2021年，这个数字已经上升到27000人，这是墨西哥难民机构的数据。墨西哥今年可能会批准至少20000个庇护案件，大部分来自洪都拉斯、海地、委内瑞拉、萨尔瓦多和古巴。

　　大多数进入墨西哥的移民仍然会继续向北走向美国。美国去年有超过70万个单独的庇护申请。

　　但是，联合国难民署（UNHCR）在墨西哥的负责人Giovanni Lepri表示，墨西哥正在成为难民的好选择，部分原因是其对工人的高需求。

　　Coparmex研究墨西哥的经济和社会问题。该组织表示，墨西哥全国有超过一百万个职位空缺。在对墨西哥2500多家企业的最近一项研究中，它表示85%的制造业雇主报告找工人有困难，这个比例超过任何其他就业领域。

　　美国、墨西哥和联合国官员呼吁合作，帮助移民在墨西哥、哥斯达黎加和哥伦比亚等地重新安置，目标是减少非法移民进入美国。

　　Arturo Rocha是墨西哥外交部的移民主管。他说，政府正在试图扩大工作签证计划，并将雇主与寻找工作的移民联系起来。

　　墨西哥正在与危地马拉政府合作，每年将多达20000名工人带到墨西哥。墨西哥也计划将该计划扩大到洪都拉斯和萨尔瓦多。

　　Coparmex的负责人Jose Medina Mora赞扬了联合国帮助Banegas搬到萨尔蒂约的计划。他还敦促墨西哥政府扩大工作签证计划，以便更多的移民可以快速与雇主匹配。

　　联合国的这个项目帮助难民从墨西哥南部（大多数人在那里完成了他们的庇护程序）搬迁到墨西哥中部和北部的城市。该项目提供资金并帮助找工作。它还帮助难民找到托儿所、学校和医疗保健。2022年，它帮助5500名难民找到了工作，今年到目前为止已经帮助了近3000人。

　　"无法再要求更多"

　　24岁的Fernando Hernandez去年和他的伴侣以及年幼的女儿一起逃离洪都拉斯，前往墨西哥南部。他计划尽快穿越整个国家，到达美国。

　　但是，当他看到社交媒体上关于孩子们在美国边境的河流中溺水的帖子时，他想象到他两岁的女儿也在水中死去。他想到了他的母亲，她在2017年移民到美国。她在德克萨斯州的一个小型移动房屋中生活，大部分工资都用于住房。

　　于是，Hernandez决定在墨西哥寻求庇护。在今年二月份获得批准后，联合国帮助他的家庭搬迁到了北部的工业城市蒙特雷。在那里，Hernandez开始在一家销售食品、饮料和其他生活必需品的小商店工作。

　　Hernandez说，他很快就发现到处都有工作机会。他在一家工厂找到了工作，然后成为了P.F. Chang's的一名厨师，每周赚取约225美元。

　　"在这里我们拥有一切：房子、食物和家人，"他说。"我无法再要求更多了。"

　　我是Andrew Smith。我是Anna Mateo。

　　Laura Gottesdiener和Daina Beth Solomon为路透社新闻写了这个故事。Andrew Smith为VOA学习英语改编了它。

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　　本文中的词汇

　　gang -n.一群共同犯罪的罪犯

　　teenager -n. 13至19岁的年轻人

　　relocate -v.移动到另一个城市或国家

　　match -v. 以一种良好的方式与另一个相连接