美国海关和边境保护局表示，越来越多美国青少年被招募来非法运送移民穿越该国西南边境。
Border control officials say in the Sunland Park-Saint Teresa area of New Mexico last year, about one in four drivers stopped for transporting migrants were children. Most were American citizens.
边境管制官员表示，去年在新墨西哥州的桑兰公园市到圣特雷莎市地区，大约1/4运送移民被拦下来的司机是儿童。大多数是美国公民。
Mexican youth have long guided migrants into the United States. Government officials, law experts, and local people told Reuters that recruiters trick the children. They said the recruiters tell minors that they will not face legal action because they are children.
墨西哥青年长期以来引导移民进入美国。政府官员、法律专家以及当地人告诉路透社，招募人员欺骗了孩子们。他们表示，招募人员告诉这些未成年人，他们不会面临法律诉讼，因为他们是儿童。
U.S. children as young as 14 learn about the possible employment from social media and friends. They transport mainly Mexican adults.
年龄小到14岁的儿童从社交媒体或是朋友那里了解到这种可能的就业机会。他们主要运送墨西哥成年人。
The young drivers can earn hundreds of dollars per migrant, and local people jokingly call them "Ubers," after the transportation company. Some young people in Sunland Park see it as a way to get ahead. The area struggles with a poverty rate three times higher than the national average.
这些年轻司机每运送一名移民可以赚取数百美元，当地人开玩笑地称他们为优步司机，这是一家网约车公司。桑兰公园的一些年轻人将其视为一种出人头地的方式。该地区的贫困率是全国平均水平的三倍。
The transport can be dangerous. Federal officials in New Mexico seem ready to enforce the law on the young drivers.
这种运送可能很危险。新墨西哥州的联邦官员似乎准备对这些年轻司机执行法律。
Border Patrol officers say child drivers often flee at high speeds when officers try to stop them. That can lead to chases by Border Patrol and crashes.
边境巡逻官员表示，当警察试图拦下儿童司机时，他们经常飞车逃跑。这可能会导致边境巡逻队的追捕和撞车。
Gerardo Galvan is the officer in charge of the Sunland Park area. He noticed the rise in young drivers in 2021 after a 14-year-old fled officers and crashed into a Border patrol vehicle.
吉拉尔多·加尔万是负责桑兰公园地区的官员。他指出，2021年一名14岁少年逃离警察并撞上边境巡逻车之后，年轻司机有所增加。
"They're told that if they go fast enough we're going to stop pursuing them," Galvan said.
加尔万表示：“他们被告知，如果他们跑得够快，我们就会停止追捕他们。”
Galvan said he was working with the U.S. Attorney's Office in Las Cruces, New Mexico, to charge child drivers.
加尔万表示，他正在跟新墨西哥州拉斯克鲁塞斯市的美国检察官办公室合作，对这些儿童提出控告。
Amanda Skinner is an Assistant Federal Public Defender in Las Cruces. She said her office represented four minors for transporting migrants in the first few months of 2022. In all of 2021, Skinner said there were only six such cases.
阿曼达·斯金纳是拉斯克鲁塞斯市的助理联邦公设辩护人。她称其办公室在2022年头几个月代理了4位运送移民的未成年人。斯金纳表示，在2021年全年只有6起类似案件。
Unless the child has been in trouble before, the majority of cases involving minors result in probation until the age of 21, she said.
她说，除非孩子以前惹过麻烦，否则大部分涉及未成年人的案件都会受到缓刑，直到21岁。
"We don't typically see higher-ups charged," Skinner said, noting the large majority of arrests are of drivers.
斯金纳表示：“我们通常看不到幕后高层受到指控，”并指出大多数被捕者是司机。
The administration of U.S. President Joe Biden expects another record-breaking year for border control arrests in the Southwest. A COVID-era policy that blocked most asylum claims is set to lift in May.
拜登总统领导下的美国政府预计美国西南地区的边境管制逮捕今年将会再创记录。一项阻止大多数庇护申请的新冠肺炎时期政策将于5月取消。
Sunland Park Mayor Javier Perea sees no easy fix to the child driver problem.
桑兰公园市市长哈维尔·佩雷亚认为解决儿童司机问题并不容易。
"The last thing we want to do is criminalize our youth," said Perea. The town provides work possibilities for working-age children and is planning an outreach program to stop drivers.
佩雷亚表示：“我们最不愿意将我们的青年定为犯罪。”该市镇为适龄儿童提供工作机会，并正在筹划一项阻止司机的外展项目。
Accidents on the road are a top worry. In 2020, a police chase of a migrant transport led to a deadly crash in El Paso, Texas. The 18-year-old driver was carrying ten people in a vehicle designed for five. The vehicle crashed as it tried to flee the police. Seven people were killed, including four local children.
路上发生事故是最大的担忧。2020年，警察对移民交通工具的追捕导致德克萨斯州埃尔帕索发生致命车祸。这位18岁的司机用一辆限乘5人的汽车搭载了10人。这辆车在试图逃离警察时撞毁。7人遇难，其中包括4名当地儿童。
The American Civil Liberties Union and U.S. lawmakers are calling on Border Patrol to only chase suspects at high speed if they suspect violence has or will take place.
美国公民自由联盟和美国国会议员呼吁边境巡逻队仅在怀疑已经或将要发生暴力的情况下才可以高速追捕嫌疑人。
I'm Gregory Stachel.
我是格雷戈里·斯塔切尔。(51VOA.COM原创翻译，请勿转载，违者必究！)