The United States sent a group of migrants back to China on the first large deportation flight there since 2018, and said on Tuesday that it was working with Chinese authorities to arrange additional flights.

美国用2018年以来的首个大型遣返航班将一批移民送回中国，并于周二表示，正在与中国当局合作安排更多航班。

The deportation, on a charter flight, took place over the weekend in coordination with Chinese authorities, the Department of Homeland Security said. The department confirmed that 116 people from China were deported.

国土安全部表示，这次遣返行动是与中国当局协调后，在周末采用包机形式完成的。该部门证实，116名中国籍人士被驱逐出境。

U.S. and Chinese authorities were working together on additional removal flights, the statement said.

声明称，美国和中国当局正在合作安排更多的遣返航班。

The announcement comes during an intense debate about immigration and border policy in the lead-up to the U.S. presidential election in November. Since last year, a growing number of Chinese migrants has made the journey into the U.S. through its southern border, hoping to escape bleak economic prospects and political oppression.

这一声明是在11月美国总统大选前就移民和边境政策展开激烈辩论之际宣布的。自去年以来，越来越多的中国移民通过美国南部边境进入美国，希望逃离黯淡的经济前景和政治压迫。

Many follow a route made popular on social media that takes them through the treacherous Darién Gap on the border of Panama and Colombia, the only land route north from South America as migrants head to the United States. Once they arrive at the southern border, they surrender to U.S. border officers and apply for asylum, citing a credible fear if they are sent back to China.

许多人走的是一条因社交媒体而广受欢迎的路线，他们穿越巴拿马和哥伦比亚边境上险象环生的达连隘口，这是移民从南美向北前往美国的唯一陆路。一旦到达南部边境，他们就向美国边境官员自首并申请庇护，理由是如果被遣返回中国，他们对可能面临怎样后果会产生可信的恐惧。

On Monday, the U.S. government announced that it had signed an agreement with Panama aimed at halting the flow of migrants through the Darién Gap. The United States will provide funding and training for the new flight removal program, the State Department said.

周一，美国政府宣布与巴拿马签署了一项协议，旨在阻止移民通过达连隘口流入巴拿马。美国国务院表示，美国将为这项新的遣返计划提供资金和培训。

Liu Pengyu, a spokesman for the Chinese Embassy in Washington, said in a statement that the Chinese government “has carried out international law enforcement cooperation with the immigration law enforcement departments of relevant countries to repatriate people involved in smuggling activities,” adding that it has sent them “to their original places of residence, and pursued their legal responsibility in accordance with the law.”

中国驻华盛顿大使馆发言人刘鹏宇在声明中表示，中国政府“同有关国家移民执法部门开展了国际执法合作，遣返参与偷渡活动的人员”，并称已将他们“送回原居住地，并依法追究法律责任”。

In the 2023 fiscal year, more than 24,000 Chinese migrants were temporarily detained on the U.S. southern border, according to U.S. Customs and Border Protection — more than in the preceding 10 years combined.

据美国海关与边境保护局的数据，在2023财政年度，有超过2.4万名中国移民在美国南部边境被暂时拘留，比此前10年的总和还要多。

Last year, Chinese migrants became the fourth-largest group crossing into the U.S. that way, exceeded only by Venezuelans, Ecuadoreans and Haitians, according to Panama immigration authorities.

巴拿马移民局的数据显示，去年，中国移民成为通过这种方式进入美国的第四大移民群体，仅次于委内瑞拉人、厄瓜多尔人和海地人。