The married couples filed into a federal building in San Diego last week for green card interviews that they believed would secure their future together in the United States. Half of each pair was American. Stephen Paul came with his British wife and their 4-month-old baby. Audrey Hestmark arrived with her German husband, days before their first wedding anniversary. Jason Cordero accompanied his Mexican wife.

上周，数对已婚夫妇陆续走进圣迭戈的一栋联邦政府大楼参加绿卡面谈，他们原本以为这将确保自己与伴侣在美国共同生活的未来。这些夫妇中的一方是美国公民。斯蒂芬·保罗带着英国妻子和四个月大的婴儿前来。奥黛丽·赫斯特马克在结婚一周年纪念日前夕与德国丈夫共同到场。与杰森·科尔德罗同来的是他的墨西哥妻子。

It was supposed to be a celebratory milestone, the final step in the process to obtain U.S. permanent residency. Instead, as each interview with an immigration officer wrapped up, federal agents swooped in, handcuffed the foreign spouse and took him or her away.

这本该是个值得庆祝的大事——获得美国永久居留权的最后一步。然而，在每位申请人与移民官的谈话结束后，联邦探员便突然现身，将外籍配偶铐上手铐带走。

“I had to take our baby from my crying wife’s arms,” Mr. Paul, 33, said, recalling the moment that agents said they were arresting his wife, Katie.

“我不得不从哭泣的妻子怀中接过我们的孩子，”33岁的保罗回忆探员宣布逮捕他的妻子凯蒂时说道。

Ms. Paul was sent to an immigration detention center with hundreds of other people swept up in the Trump administration’s crackdown. Her husband had to take a leave from his job at the San Diego County Sheriff’s Department to care for their child and try to secure her release.

保罗的妻子被押送至一处移民拘留中心，那里还有数以百计同样在特朗普政府严厉打击行动中被捕的移民。保罗在圣迭戈县警署工作，他不得不请假照顾孩子，并设法争取让妻子获释。

“It’s insane to have them rip our family apart,” Mr. Paul said. “Whoever is directing this has completely lost touch with their mission to the country.”

“他们这样拆散我们的家庭，简直疯了，”保罗说。“指挥这一切的人已经完全背离了服务国家的使命。”

In recent weeks, immigration lawyers in several cities have seen a surge in arrests of foreign spouses of Americans during interviews at U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services offices.

近几周来，多个城市的移民律师发现，在美国公民及移民服务局面谈过程中被捕的美国公民外籍配偶数量大幅上升。

In San Diego alone, immigration lawyers in the region estimate that several dozen foreign-born spouses have been detained since Nov. 12, when the new tactic first surfaced, according to Andrew Nietor, an immigration lawyer. A former chair of the San Diego chapter of the American Immigration Lawyers Association, Mr. Nietor said the estimate was based on members’ communications about their clients. The exact number of spouses detained is unclear because many couples attend the routine interviews without lawyers, who would alert colleagues. The government has not disclosed a tally of such detentions.

据移民律师安德鲁·尼托尔称，圣迭戈的移民律师估计自11月12日这种新手段首次出现以来，仅该地区就已经有数十名外籍配偶被拘留。曾任美国移民律师协会圣迭戈分会主席的尼托尔指出，这一估算是基于协会成员间关于客户情况的交流得出的。被拘留配偶的确切人数尚不明确，因为许多夫妇在参加例行面谈时不会请律师——而律师通常会向同行通报此类情况。政府尚未披露相关拘留数据。

In every case, agents with Immigration and Customs Enforcement told the applicants that they had overstayed tourist or business visas. An arrest warrant, reviewed by The New York Times, states that “there is probable cause to believe” that the named spouse is “removable from the United States.”

在所有案例中，美国移民和海关执法局(ICE)的探员均告知申请人其旅游或商务签证已逾期。《纽约时报》查阅的一份逮捕令称，“有合理理由认定”被列名的配偶“应被驱逐出美国”。

“Apprehensions at U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services offices may occur if individuals are identified as having outstanding warrants; being subject to court-issued removal orders; or having committed fraud, crimes or other violations of immigration law while in the United States,” said Matthew J. Tragesser, an agency spokesman, noting that the arrests were typically carried out by ICE.

ICE发言人马修·特拉格瑟表示：“若发现当事人身负未执行的逮捕令、法院签发的驱逐令，或在美期间存在移民欺诈、犯罪及其他违反移民法行为，那么有可能在美国公民及移民服务局办公室实施拘捕。”他强调逮捕行动通常由ICE执行。

“从业25年来，我还从未见过这样的事情，”保罗夫妇的律师乔安娜·基米说。周一，在圣迭戈的5号州际公路沿线，人们举行示威游行，抗议近期的ICE突击行动。

But the couples and their lawyers said they had followed the required steps: They had submitted extensive paperwork and paid fees. The foreign spouses had been fingerprinted and passed medical exams. None had criminal records. None had entered the country illegally. They had already been granted employment authorization.

但这些夫妻及其律师表示，他们已经遵循了所有的必要步骤：他们提交了大量文件并缴纳了相关费用。外籍配偶已经进行指纹录入并通过了体检。无人有犯罪记录。无人系非法入境。他们甚至已经拿到了工作许可。

“In 25 years of practice, I have never seen anything like this,” Johanna Keamy, the Pauls’ lawyer, said, echoing the view of other lawyers.

“从业25年来，我还从未见过这样的事情，”保罗夫妇的律师乔安娜·基米与其他律师都表达了同样的观点。

“The proper procedure was exactly what they did,” she said. “What’s next? Revoking green cards from millions who followed these same steps?”

“他们完全遵循了正规流程，”她说。“接下来要怎样？是要撤销数百万遵循同样步骤获得绿卡者的身份吗？”

Green-card applicants’ temporary visas often lapse while their “adjustment-of-status” proceeds over several months or longer.

在为期数月或更长的“身份调整”程序进行期间，绿卡申请人的临时签证往往已经过期。

An immigration statute passed by Congress in 1986 allows a spouse who entered the country lawfully to be eligible for a green card through marriage even if the person’s visa has expired.

国会在1986年通过的一项移民法案允许合法入境的配偶即使签证已过期，也有资格通过婚姻关系获得绿卡。

“Congress was unambiguous — these people are eligible for green cards,” said Doug Rand, who was a senior official at Citizenship and Immigration Services during the Biden administration.

“国会的立场非常明确——这类人完全有资格获得绿卡，”曾在拜登政府担任公民及移民服务局高级官员的道格·兰德表示。

While federal law does not prohibit spouses with expired visas from being detained and placed in deportation proceedings, in the past they have rarely been detained while applying for green cards.

虽然联邦法律并未禁止对签证过期的配偶实施拘留并启动递解程序，但过去这类申请人在办理绿卡期间遭到拘留的情况非常少见。

The Trump administration is carrying out such detentions without having announced any change in policy.

特朗普政府在未宣布任何政策变更的情况下正在执行此类拘留。

The recent spate of arrests comes amid a leadership shake-up at ICE, including the San Diego region, designed to accelerate and advance the president’s agenda.

近期大规模拘捕事件发生之际，ICE正在进行领导层大调整以加速推进总统的移民议程，其中包括包括圣迭戈地区的ICE。

Ordinarily, foreign spouses of Americans are approved for U.S. permanent residency during or shortly after the in-person interview.

通常情况下，美国公民的外籍配偶会在面谈过程中或不久之后获批美国永久居留权。

Audrey Hestmark, 38, and her husband, Thomas Bilger, 40, reported to the government office in San Diego on Nov. 20, hopeful he would have his green card for their first wedding anniversary two days later.

38岁的奥德丽·赫斯特马克和40岁的丈夫托马斯·比尔格于11月20日前往圣迭戈的政府办公室，满心期待两天后的结婚周年纪念日时他能拿到绿卡。

Mr. Bilger, a robotics engineer, had met and fallen in love with Ms. Hestmark during his business trips from Germany. After dating for four years, they were married on Nov. 22, 2024.

比尔格是一名机器人工程师，他在从德国到美国出差期间遇见并爱上了赫斯特马克。经过四年的交往，两人于2024年11月22日结为连理。

“Tom was super excited to become a U.S. resident, so much so that he had insisted on a cowboy-themed wedding,” said Ms. Hestmark, a registered nurse.

“汤姆对成为美国居民兴奋不已，甚至坚持要办一个牛仔主题的婚礼，”注册护士赫斯特马克回忆道。

They immediately hired a lawyer and assembled documents from Germany and the United States to support their petition.

他们立刻聘请律师，并从德国与美国搜集各种证明文件来支持他们的申请。

奥德丽·赫斯特马克说，“我们按照所有该做的步骤去做了，而现在汤姆却在遭罪。我们所有人都在遭罪。”奥德丽·赫斯特马克和她的丈夫汤姆·比尔格在他们2024年的婚礼上。

At the interview, they brought requisite evidence that their marriage was legitimate — photos of a vacation to Hawaii with his parents; leases, bank statements and utility bills in both names; and other records.

面谈时，他们带来了证明婚姻真实性的必要材料——与他父母一起去夏威夷度假的照片、两人共同名下的租约、银行账单与水电账单，以及其他记录。

The officer asked routine questions. But the last one, according to Ms. Hestmark, was whether her husband had ever overstayed his visa. He responded truthfully and cited their lawyer’s assurance that this was a nonissue.

移民官循例提问，但赫斯特马克表示最后一个问题直指她丈夫是否曾逾期居留。比尔格如实回答，并引用律师的保证称这并不构成障碍。

“Suddenly, we were ambushed by three masked men in bulletproof vests with guns who told Tom they had a warrant for his arrest, that he is here unlawfully,” Ms. Hestmark recalled.

“突然，三名蒙面、穿防弹背心、持枪的男子将我们围住，他们告诉汤姆有逮捕令，说他在这里是非法居留，”赫斯特马克回忆说。

The agents handcuffed her husband, gave her a card with a QR code for the ICE website and took him away. She did not hear from him again until the next morning. He has been bounced between a basement in downtown San Diego and an immigration detention center, where he remains.

探员给她的丈夫戴上手铐，递给她一张带有ICE官网二维码的联系卡，然后把他带走。直到第二天早上她才再次听到丈夫的消息。他先后被押送至圣迭戈市中心的一个地下室和一个移民拘留中心，至今仍关在拘留中心。

Some U.S. citizens have hired lawyers to seek the release of spouses, through actions such as posting bond. Once released, the foreign spouses must try to pursue green cards through immigration court, where judges are grappling with yearslong backlogs.

部分美国公民已聘请律师通过缴纳保释金等方式争取配偶获释。一旦获释，这些外籍配偶须转而通过移民法庭申请绿卡，而当前移民法官正疲于应付积压多年的案子。

Mr. Nietor, the immigration lawyer, said that the government’s strategy appeared to be to induce the couples “to give up and abandon their cases and accept the foreign spouse’s deportation.”

移民律师尼托尔表示，政府的策略似乎是想让这些夫妇“放弃、撤回他们的案件，并接受外籍配偶被驱逐出境”的事实。

Jason Cordero, 26, whose wife, Ludmila, a Mexican national, was detained last week during their interview, said she had been suffering from severe anxiety and having panic attacks in the detention facility.

26岁的杰森·科尔德罗说，其墨西哥籍妻子卢德米拉上周在面谈时遭到拘留，目前在拘留所饱受严重焦虑症与惊恐发作的折磨。

Mr. Cordero hails from a family of modest means, he said, and he had been working two jobs to get them on a stable footing since they married early this year. The couple had recently upgraded from a studio to a one-bedroom apartment in Oceanside, Calif., he said.

科尔德罗表示自己出身清寒，自从今年初结婚后一直打两份工维持家计。这对夫妇刚在加州欧申赛德从单间公寓搬进了一居室。

“Little by little we were moving up,” said Mr. Cordero, who works for a beverage distribution company and a fast-food chain. When three ICE agents took Ms. Cordero into custody for overstaying her visa, she began to weep, as did the Citizenship and Immigration Services officer who had been interviewing her, according to Mr. Cordero.

“我们正一步步改善生活，”在饮料分销公司和快餐连锁店工作的科尔德罗说。据他描述，当三名ICE探员以逾期居留为由拘留卢德米拉时，她当场泣不成声，连负责面谈的移民局官员也随之落泪。

The ICE agents instructed his wife to remove her bracelets, earrings and wedding band, which she placed in her small brown purse and handed to her husband.

ICE探员要求他的妻子取下手镯、耳环和婚戒，她将这些物品放进一个棕色的小手袋里交予丈夫。

“I was shocked and heartbroken,” Mr. Cordero said. “We tried to be respectful because of everything about immigration we’d been seeing on the news.”

“我既震惊又心碎，”科尔德罗说，“那些关于移民的新闻我们已经看到了，所以我们一直尽量保持尊重。”

Katie and Stephen Paul met on a gaming platform more than two years ago. Their friendship flourished into a romance, and she visited Mr. Paul several times under the visa-waiver program for British nationals, which permits stays of up to three months at a time. She joined Mr. Paul’s family on a trip to Japan, and the couple married last October. Two days later, they discovered she was pregnant with Alan, now 4 months old.

凯蒂和斯蒂芬·保罗是在两年多前通过一个游戏平台认识的。他们的友谊发展成恋情，她多次通过英国公民免签计划来探望保罗，该计划允许一次入境最长停留三个月。她还与保罗的家人一起去日本旅行，这对夫妻于去年10月结婚。两天后，他们发现她已经怀上了现在四个月大的儿子艾伦。

They filed their green-card petition in July.

今年7月，他们正式提交了绿卡申请。

Their interview last week was going smoothly, he said, until three ICE agents walked in and informed them that Ms. Paul, who was holding her infant, was under arrest.

他说，他们上周的面谈原本进行得很顺利，直到三名ICE探员走进来，告知正抱着婴儿的凯蒂，她被逮捕了。

Their lawyer, Ms. Keamy, who was participating by telephone, objected, saying this had never happened before.

通过电话参与面谈的律师基米当即提出异议，指出以前从未发生过这样的事情。

“I was completely dumbfounded,” she said. “I went numb.”

“我完全惊呆了，”她说。“整个人都僵住了。”

Mr. Paul said the agents had told him that they disagreed with the directive to arrest Ms. Paul but that they had to follow orders.

保罗说，探员对他讲，他们并不认同逮捕保罗夫人的指令，但他们必须服从命令。

“They are having them grab everyone they can,” Mr. Paul said. “This is just not right.”

“他们现在是能抓一个算一个，”保罗说。“这是不对的。”

妻子遭ICE拘留期间，在圣迭戈县警署工作的斯蒂芬·保罗不得不请假，以便照顾他们的孩子。斯蒂芬和凯蒂·保罗在他们2024年于加州拉荷亚举行的婚礼上。

After Mr. Paul learned from his wife that the authorities were threatening to deport her without a hearing, he said, their lawyer filed a lawsuit in federal court in San Diego to halt her removal and secure her release.

保罗说，在他从妻子那里得知当局威胁要在没有听证的情况下驱逐她后，他们的律师马上在圣迭戈的联邦法院提起诉讼，以阻止她被遣返，并争取让她获释。

In response, the government approved Ms. Paul’s green card on Tuesday and freed her.

作为回应，政府于周二批准了保罗太太的绿卡申请，并将其释放。