在49岁的约翰尼·诺维耶洛（Johnny Noviello）今年夏天在美国移民驱赶潮中不幸失去生命后，他的家人对其死因一无所知，多次询问未果更是让家人的悲痛雪上加霜。约翰尼是一名加拿大公民，在佛罗里达州生活了将近40年，他活着的时候对美国公共安全未曾构成任何威胁，而其唯一的罪名是参与了一起与其父经营的二手车行有关的非暴力毒品犯罪。且当时约翰尼已服刑期满，并正在接受法院规定的狱外监督。然而，他还是未能逃脱特朗普政府重新启动的移民打击行动。
When 49-year-old Johnny Noviello died in U.S. immigration custody this summer, his family was left with nothing but questions—and a grief made worse by silence. Johnny was a Canadian citizen who had lived in Florida for nearly four decades. He wasn’t a threat to public safety. His only crime was a non-violent drug offence linked to his father’s used car dealership. He had already served his sentence and was on probation. Still, the Trump administration’s revived crackdown on immigrants swept him up.
约翰尼患有癫痫，必须每日服药以防止发作。然而，在被捕后，他被关押在因对体弱病患照护不当而饱受诟病迈阿密联邦拘留中心长达40天之久。在他被拘押期间，家人除了一次简短的通话外，基本无法与他联系。狱警发现他失去意识时，为时已晚，约翰尼在ICE拘押期间离世，成为今年在该系统中丧生的至少11名人士之一。
Johnny suffered from epilepsy and relied on daily medication to prevent seizures. Yet after his arrest, he was held for 40 days at the Federal Detention Centre in Miami—a facility with a troubling record of failing medically vulnerable detainees. His family was unable to reach him, apart from one short phone call. When he was found unresponsive in his cell, it was too late. He became one of at least 11 people to die in ICE custody this year.
约翰尼的故事让我不禁想起了我的母亲。
Johnny’s story hit painfully close to home. It reminded me of my own mother.
母亲的情况真让我有些后怕。2013年，美国边境官员将她拦下，并为她拍了案底照，怀疑她因同时持有美国和加拿大的永久居民身份、且长期在境外居住而违反移民法规定。当时在较为宽松的政治环境下，她被允许入境，即没遭指控，也没有被拘留。但那是发生在特朗普政府大规模移民打击政策之前。
Looking back, I realize how vulnerable my mother truly was. In 2013, U.S. border agents pulled her aside and took her mug shot, suspecting that she may have violated immigration rules by holding dual permanent residencies and spending extended time abroad. At the time, she was let in—no charges, no detention. But that was before the Trump administration’s sweeping immigration crackdown.
我母亲在2023年以91高龄去世。我常想，如果她还活着，今天情况会怎样？在这个对弱势群体毫无同情、以逮捕和驱逐为首要目标的移民政策之下，像我母亲这样年迈体弱、仅因技术性违规而“犯错”的人，很可能成为被打击的对象。美国移民及海关执法局（ICE）接到命令，每天要逮捕3,000人，是拜登当局每日逮捕人数的两倍以上。这可不是危言耸听，美国的移民拘押人数已超过58,000人，创下历史新高。
My mother passed away in 2023 at the age of 90. But I often wonder—what if she were still alive today? Under a system that prioritizes arrests and removals over compassion or common sense, someone like my mother—elderly, frail, and with a minor technical violation—could easily become a target. The U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency (ICE) has been ordered to arrest 3,000 people per day. That’s not a typo. It’s more than double the average under the Biden administration. There are now over 58,000 people in immigration detention in the U.S.—a record high.
如今川普的移民系统早已不再区分寻求庇护者、长期合法居民，还是年迈老人。它不把一个个活生生的个体当作人，而只是一份份待处理的文件。约翰尼的死亡，不只是一起令人遗憾的意外，更是一个将“抓人指标”置于生命尊严之上的制度产物。
The system no longer makes meaningful distinctions between asylum seekers, long-term permanent residents, or the elderly. It treats people as paperwork—not as human beings. Johnny’s death is not just a tragic oversight. It’s the product of a system that prioritizes quotas over lives.
作为加拿大人，我们常常以为，加美之间的特殊关系会为我们的公民提供某种程度的保护。但约翰尼的故事恰恰证明了事实并非如此。在美国的移民执法体系中，加拿大人并不比其他国家人士更安全。随着加拿大人口老龄化日益加剧，以及在美加籍移民数量不断上升，越来越多的家庭可能会像约翰尼的亲属一样，陷入突如其来的噩梦之中。
As Canadians, we often assume our country’s close relationship with the United States gives our citizens some degree of protection. But Johnny’s story proves otherwise. When it comes to immigration enforcement, we are no safer than anyone else. And with Canada’s aging population and growing diaspora in the U.S., more families could find themselves blindsided by the same nightmare.
加拿大外交部承认，目前约有55名加拿大公民被美国移民及海关执法局（ICE）拘押。但谁也不知道这些人姓甚名谁、被关押了多久，或者是否向他们提供了应有的关照。美国方面拒绝回应这些最基本的问题，而加拿大官方也保持沉默。
Canada’s Global Affairs department acknowledges that about 55 Canadians are currently detained by ICE. We don’t know who they are, how long they’ve been held, or what kind of care they’re receiving. The U.S. authorities refuse to answer basic questions. Even Canadian officials have been silent.
我母亲也因此很可能经历像约翰尼那样的悲剧性遭遇。这正是为什么加拿大人士，尤其是那些在美国有亲属的家庭绝不可掉以轻心。
My mother’s story could have ended like Johnny’s. That’s why Canadians—especially those with loved ones in the United States—should be deeply alarmed.
美国这场针对移民的打压行动，不仅是出于有害的政策，更是出于一个无视道德底线的霸凌系统。如果我们对此保持沉默，更多家庭将会蒙难——他们的亲人不仅会被遣返，且会沦为一个冷漠封闭、并将血肉之躯视为编号的专制系统的牺牲品。
The crackdown on immigrants is not just a policy issue. It’s a moral one. If we don’t speak up, more families will lose someone—not to deportation, but to neglect, secrecy, and a system that dehumanizes the very people it claims to regulate.
