Korean American organizations across the U.S. are condemning the Trump Administration’s ongoing immigration crackdown, saying it is harming communities and businesses while fueling growing anxiety and fear.
During a recent press conference, representatives from seven organizations representing Korean American communities nationwide shared their perspectives on Trump’s mass deportation campaign.
“Last Friday (Jun. 6), there was an immigration raid at a major Asian grocery store in North Philadelphia,” said Jay Lee, advocacy manager with the non-profit Woori Center in Pennsylvania. “Based on our investigation, about 10 agents showed up and arrested at least two workers there.”
Unverified reports suggest the market targeted by ICE was the popular Korean American chain, H Mart.
“This past weekend, there were immigration raids in downtown Philadelphia’s Chinatown and in the South Village, where there are large concentrations of Southeast Asian and Latino immigrant communities,” Lee added, noting local immigrant organizations are on alert and have recruited volunteers to be on the lookout for future raids.
Jonghun Kapsong Kim directs the MinKwon Center, which serves the New York and New Jersey Korean American communities. “According to the New Jersey Nail Association, several Korean American owned nail businesses have been forced to close recently,” Kim said. “Employees are not coming to work because they’re scared… there’s no one to work.”
A UCLA study shows that 70-80% of nail businesses in the New York metropolitan area, a multi-billion-dollar industry, are Korean owned.
The administration appeared to soften its approach somewhat late last week after the president acknowledged in a social media post the negative impact the raids are having on specific sectors, including agriculture and hospitality. But just hours after calling for a pause on raids targeting farms and restaurants, the president released another statement ordering a resumption of raids specifically targeting larger, Democrat-controlled cities.
The moves come after a weekend of protests that estimates say drew millions in cities across the country denouncing Trump’s policies on immigration and his decision to deploy the U.S. military to Los Angeles to quell protests there.
“This situation is not unique to LA,” said Jeong Woo Kim, executive director of the National Korean American Service and Education Consortium (NAKASEC). “It is likely that the Trump administration will take similar actions in other cities with large Korean American populations,” he said.
Kim also criticized a social media post by the president’s son, Donald Jr., who took to the social media platform X at the height of the protests in Los Angeles last week to post a meme of a rifle-toting Korean American on a rooftop above the city. “Make Korean rooftops great again,” the president’s son wrote.
The image harks back to the 1992 riots that swept Los Angeles following the killing of Black motorist Rodney King by LAPD when armed Korean store owners were seen defending their businesses.
Kim accused Trump Jr. of “politicizing the past pain of the Korean American community and exacerbating the current conflict.”
Other organizations joining the conference included The Hamkae Center in Virginia, the Hana Center in Chicago, and Woori Juntos in Houston.
Concerns over continued ICE raids go beyond the impact on local businesses, says Judy Choi, manager of the Korean Resource Center (KRC) in Los Angeles.
“Many Asian immigrants are delaying their U.S. citizenship applications,” she noted, citing widespread fears of being caught up in the deportation dragnet. Choi also described growing numbers of immigrants unwilling to apply for green card renewals and families abroad deciding not to apply for student visas for their children.
In May the administration ordered embassies abroad to halt appointments for student visa applicants even as it promised heightened scrutiny of applicants’ social media posts.
Community fears were heightened further this week following news of the arrest of Justin Chung, a Korean immigrant who was detained by ICE as he was preparing to self deport, according to the Korea Times. Chung, who came to the U.S. at the age of two, spent 14 years in prison on murder charges before being released back into the community, where he made a name for himself as a mentor for at-risk youth and the formerly incarcerated.
Video of ICE agents apprehending Chung and pulling him from his vehicle have circulated widely on social media.
Speakers stressed the emotional and psychological toll the raids are taking on their communities, and said their organizations are now actively planning a Know Your Rights campaign to educate residents through ads in Korean media and on social media platforms popular with Korean Americans.
“In the past, we’ve been promoting immigrant rights, but this time we’re focusing on specifics, such as how to deal with workplace raids and protecting your rights in immigration court,” Kim said.
The organizations also put out a joint statement calling on Congress to act swiftly to ensure due process for all and to block passage of a Republican spending package that, among other controversial items, would increase funding for ICE and its targeting of immigrants and people of color.
“Policies and rhetoric that discriminate against immigrants, marginalize them, and stoke social tensions are unjustifiable,” said Kim. “We call on the Trump administration to respect human rights and implement policies that promote social inclusion and peace.”
Image published under Creative Commons license 2.0.
