Ever since immigration raids swept Los Angeles in June, Han Lihua, 46, has spent much of his time hiding in his apartment, skipping his Amazon delivery shifts and scrolling on social media to look for nearby sightings of Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents.

自6月大规模移民抓捕行动席卷洛杉矶以来，46岁的韩立华（音）大部分时间都足不出户，他放弃了亚马逊送货员的工作，躲在自己的公寓里不停地刷社交媒体，关注着周围是否有移民和海关执法局(ICE)出没的消息。

In 2022, he fled China, where he ran an independent student newspaper and taught high school literature. He crossed the treacherous Darién Gap on the border of Colombia and Panama before crossing the Southern border of the United States illegally in early 2023.

2022年，曾负责一份独立学生报刊并在高中教语文的韩立华逃离中国。他穿越哥伦比亚与巴拿马边境危险的达连隘口，于2023年初非法越过美国南部边境。

Now, with the Trump administration carrying out a sweeping immigration crackdown, he is among the Chinese immigrants who say fear has eclipsed their fragile new lives, forcing difficult questions about whether the United States can offer them a better situation after they fled an authoritarian government.

眼下，随着特朗普政府展开大规模的移民打击行动，他跟许多华人移民都感到本就不稳定的新生活笼罩在恐惧之下，这也迫使他们不得不思考一个艰难的问题：在逃离了一个专制政府之后，美国是否真能为他们提供更好的处境。

“Everyone is so afraid,” Mr. Han said. “I didn’t expect this would happen in the United States.”

“每个人都很害怕，”韩立华说。“我从没想过这种事会发生在美国。”

Since China reopened its borders in January 2023 after Covid lockdowns, more than 63,000 Chinese nationals like Mr. Han have fled and crossed the U.S. southern border without authorization, according to the U.S. Customs and Border Protection, making them the fourth-largest group by nationality after migrants from Venezuela, Haiti, and Ecuador. Under Trump’s policies, however, illegal crossings along the southern border have dropped dramatically, reaching 6,000 arrests in June, a low not seen in decades.

根据美国海关与边境保护局的数据，自2023年1月中国在新冠疫情封锁后重新开放边境以来，超过6.3万名像韩立华这样的中国公民逃离，并未经授权穿越美墨边境，成为继委内瑞拉、海地和厄瓜多尔移民之后的第四大群体。然而在特朗普的政策下，南部边境非法越境人数骤降，6月逮捕量仅6000人次，创数十年未见的低点。

Most Chinese immigrants fled strict censorship, growing political repression or Beijing’s zero-Covid policies, which often shut down entire cities for weeks, if not months, trapping people in their homes with little access to food, medical care or work. Those who spoke out against the policies could face harassment or detention. But with the Trump administration’s escalating immigration enforcement, many Chinese immigrants like Mr. Han now confront a question they never imagined they would face: Should they stay or leave?

这些中国移民中的多数是为了逃避严格的审查制度、日益加剧的政治压迫或者新冠清零政策——该政策时常导致整座城市封锁数周甚至数月，民众被困家中难以获取食物、医疗资源和工作机会。公开反对这些政策的人可能面临骚扰或拘留。但随着特朗普政府加大移民执法力度，许多像韩立华这样的中国移民正面临从未设想过的抉择：是留下还是离开？

Huang Xiaosheng, a Los-Angeles-based Chinese immigration lawyer, described the situation as “much harsher” since May, when the Trump administration set a goal of a minimum of 3,000 arrests a day. Securing bail has become nearly impossible, he said.

洛杉矶的华人移民律师黄笑生表示，自5月特朗普政府设定每天至少逮捕3000人的目标以来，形势变得“严峻得多”。他说，保释现在几乎不可能了。

And dozens of videos of ICE arrests have circulated on Chinese social media, fueling fear among the community, he said.

他还说，数十个ICE抓人的视频在中国的社交媒体上传播，加剧了这个群体的恐惧。

Some Chinese immigrants “are thinking about their Plan B,” Mr. Huang said. “They’re considering Canada or other countries, or even going back to China.”

黄笑生说，一些华人移民“正在考虑备选方案”，“他们考虑去加拿大或其他国家，甚至回国。”

Chinese immigrants are far from alone in their heightened fears during the Trump administration. ICE has stepped up arrests across the country of all nationalities, conducting raids in major cities such as San Francisco, New York and Los Angeles. Arrests and detentions have swept through restaurants, courthouses, and other public spaces.

在特朗普政府执政期间，华人移民并非是唯一感到强烈恐惧的群体。ICE加大了在全美各地搜捕所有国籍非法移民的行动，在旧金山、纽约和洛杉矶等大城市发起突查。拘捕行动席卷了餐馆、法院和其他公共场所。

In the past six months, the administration has also deported migrants to third countries that agreed to take them, including Panama, Costa Rica and El Salvador.

过去六个月里，美国政府还将一些非法移民遣送至同意接收他们的第三国，包括巴拿马、哥斯达黎加和萨尔瓦多。

Immigration lawyers said Chinese immigrants could face criminal prosecution by the Chinese government if they are deported by the U.S., but those who return voluntarily likely would only be fined.

移民律师表示，如果中国移民被美国驱逐出境，可能面临中国政府的刑事检控，但那些自愿回国的人可能只会被罚款。

A little over a year ago, former President Joseph R. Biden arranged the first deportation flight back to China since 2018. China doesn’t usually accept deportation flights, but it again allowed the Trump administration to deport a group of 122 Chinese nationals in June.

一年多以前，拜登总统安排了自2018年以来首趟飞往中国的遣返航班。中国通常不接受遣返航班，但它在6月再次允许特朗普政府将122名中国公民遣返回国。

“The Chinese government firmly opposes any form of illegal migration,” Mao Ning, a Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson, said in January. The ministry said it has cooperated with the United States on repatriation.

中国外交部发言人毛宁在今年1月表示：“中国政府坚决反对任何形式的非法移民活动。”中国外交部还称，已就遣返事宜与美国开展合作。

Recently, discussions on Chinese social media have centered around questions including “Should I go back?” or “Who has been back?” Users who have left the country often debate the pros and cons of their decisions. They once discussed “runology” — figuring out how to leave China during the lockdowns. Now, they discuss “reverse runology,” or mapping a way back to China.

最近，中国社交媒体上的热议话题包括“该不该回国”以及“谁已回国”等。离开中国的用户经常讨论当初决定的利弊。他们曾经讨论过“润学”（指如何在疫情封锁期间离开中国）。现在，他们讨论“逆向润学”，或者归国攻略。

Experts noted that, despite the online chatter, the number of voluntary returns appeared to be small. They predicted it would likely stay that way, given China’s faltering economy, soaring youth unemployment and stifling censorship that has continue to drive people out — plus any legal consequences of returning.

专家指出，尽管网上讨论热烈，但自愿回去的人数似乎很少。考虑到中国经济疲软、青年失业率飙升，以及持续驱使人们流向海外的令人窒息的审查制度，再加上回国可能面临的法律后果，专家预测，未来回国人数也不太可能增加。

移民律师陈闯创在加州蒙特利公园市的办公室。

Xu Feng, who arrived in 2023, said two of his friends returned to China, but he hoped to remain.

2023年抵美的徐峰（音）表示，他有两位朋友已返回中国，但他自己希望留下。

Since his arrival, he has toiled in massage parlors, restaurants and now a supermarket in Flushing, a bustling hub for Chinese immigrants in New York City. After work, the 33-year-old regularly attended nine hours of English classes each week. Mr. Xu added that he worked hard, obeyed the law and paid taxes while waiting for his asylum.

来美后，他辗转于按摩店、餐馆打工，如今在纽约华人聚居区法拉盛一家超市工作。33岁的徐峰下班后坚持每周上九小时的英语课。他还表示，自己在等待政治庇护期间努力工作、遵纪守法并依法纳税。

“I believe the United States needs human resources like us,” he said. But if arrests continue to target individuals like him, he said, “I’d rather go to other countries or go back to China.”

“我相信美国需要我们这样的劳动力，”他说。但如果逮捕行动继续针对他这样的人，“我宁愿去其他国家或者回国。”

Mr. Xu’s two friends confirmed their return to The New York Times but declined to be interviewed. Both paid a fine of 1,000 Chinese yuan (about $140), and one of them had their passport confiscated.

徐峰提到的那两位朋友向《纽约时报》证实他们已返回中国，但回绝了采访请求。两人都支付了1000元人民币的罚款，其中一人的护照被没收。

“Very few clients have actually gone back to China,” said Chen Chuangchuang, an L.A.-based immigration lawyer. “And they often regretted it after doing so.”

“实际回国的客户非常少，”洛杉矶的移民律师陈闯创说。“而且他们回国后常常感到后悔。”

Mr. Chen, whose office in the Fatman Ding Plaza in California, serves as a first stop for some Chinese undocumented immigrants who cross the U.S.-Mexico border. He added that China has a broad definition of illegal border crossing, so entering the United States without authorization can be prosecuted as a crime. One of his client’s family members, deported back to China late last year, was later convicted.

陈闯创的办公室位于加州“丁胖子广场”，是部分穿越美墨边境的中国无证移民的第一站。他补充说，中国对非法越境的定义宽泛，因此未经授权进入美国可能会面临刑事指控。他的一位客户的亲属去年底被遣返回国后获刑。

The Trump administration continues to urge their return, saying that illegal immigrants have been sent back home “nearly every day.”

特朗普政府持续敦促他们回国，表示“几乎每天”都有被遣送回国的非法移民。

Despite the threats, some are trying to stay hopeful.

尽管受到威胁，一些人仍在努力保持希望。

“I can’t control the country’s policies,” said Shen Weihao, a 28-year-old who said he fled China after being arrested during a protest in Shanghai. “I can only focus on what I can control.”

“我无法左右国家政策，”28岁的沈伟豪说。他说自己在上海参加抗议活动被捕后逃离中国。“我只专注于自己能掌控的事。”

Now living in New York, Mr. Shen has enrolled in flight training and hopes to become a pilot.

沈伟豪现居纽约，他已经报名参加飞行训练，希望有朝一日能当上飞行员。

For Mr. Han, returning home isn’t an option.

对于韩立华来说，回国不是一个可行的选项。

Ever since he converted to Christianity in 2016, he said his church faced harassment, surveillance and government orders to terminate activities. Even after he left, the authorities continued questioning his parents and brother back home.

他说，自2016年皈依基督教以来，所在教会就持续遭受骚扰、监视，并接到政府终止活动的命令。即使在他出国后，当局仍持续盘问他在国内的父母兄弟。

“I can’t go back,” Mr. Han said. “If I do, I’ll probably be thrown in jail.”

“我回不去了，”韩立华说，“如果回去，很可能会被抓进监狱。”