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Koreans in LA caught in the crossfire as Trump immigration crackdown protests intensify

Published: 08 Jun. 2025, 15:12 Updated: 08 Jun. 2025, 19:14

Police detain a man during a protest in the Paramount section of Los Angeles, Saturday, June 7, 2025, after federal immigration authorities conducted operations. [AP/YONHAP]

Korean nationals are getting caught in the crossfire as immigration enforcement has intensified under the Donald Trump administration in Los Angeles, home to the world’s largest Korean community, triggering two consecutive days of clashes between Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents and protesters. The White House has deployed National Guard troops in response.

According to AFP on Saturday, White House spokesperson Karoline Leavitt said President Donald Trump had signed a presidential memorandum ordering the deployment of 2,000 National Guard troops “to address the lawlessness that has been allowed to fester.”

Trump also posted on Truth Social.

"If Governor Gavin Newscum, of California, and Mayor Karen Bass, of Los Angeles, can’t do their jobs, which everyone knows they can’t, then the Federal Government will step in and solve the problem, RIOTS & LOOTERS, the way it should be solved!!!”

Gov. Newsom responded that deploying the National Guard is “purposefully inflammatory and will only escalate tensions.”

Protests began on Friday in Los Angeles in response to ICE’s aggressive raids on undocumented immigrants. On Saturday, hundreds of demonstrators clashed with ICE agents in the city of Paramount, located about 18.6 miles south of central Los Angeles. Officers in riot gear fired rubber bullets and flash grenades in a forceful crackdown.

Protesters confront Border Patrol personnel during a demonstration over the dozens detained in an operation by federal immigration authorities a day earlier, in Paramount, Calif., Saturday, June 7, 2025. [AP/YONHAP]

A protester is given aid during a demonstration over the dozens detained in an operation by federal immigration authorities a day earlier, in Paramount, Calif., Saturday, June 7, 2025. [AP/YONHAP]

Images from the scene showed protesters pouring milk over their eyes and faces to wash away tear gas. AP reported that fires were burning in the streets and protesters were seen kicking Border Patrol vehicles.

Miller demands '3,000 arrests per day'

The protests were sparked when ICE carried out simultaneous raids on Friday using search warrants for undocumented immigrants. ICE agents swept through the downtown garment district and areas near Home Depot stores, where many immigrants gather for day labor.

According to The New York Times, 120 people have been arrested so far in Los Angeles as part of the enforcement push. Images from the scene showed Hispanic immigrants being detained with their hands tied behind their backs and loaded into transport vans.

Los Angeles County Sheriff's deputies maintain a cordon during a standoff by protesters and law enforcement, following multiple detentions by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), in the Los Angeles County city of Paramount, California, U.S., June 7, 2025. [REUTERS/YONHAP]

Border Patrol personnel deploy tear gas during a demonstration over the dozens detained in an operation by federal immigration authorities a day earlier, in Paramount, Calif., Saturday, June 7, 2025. [AP/YONHAP]

“I can’t believe this is happening," an 18-year-old Katia Garcia told the Los Angeles Times in an interview. Her 37-year-old father, Marco Garcia, has lived in the United States for 20 years, and neither of them ever thought he would get arrested, she said.

Foreign news outlets reported that ICE created a threatening atmosphere by firing warning shots at anyone who resisted arrest. Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem wrote in an X (formerly Twitter) post, reading "A message to the LA rioters."

"You will not stop us or slow us down. ICE will continue to enforce the law. And if you lay a hand on a law enforcement officer, you will be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law."

Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth also warned on X that active-duty Marines would be deployed if violence continues.

People shield themselves as a fire burns during a protest in Compton, Calif., Saturday, June 7, 2025, after federal immigration authorities conducted operations. [AP/YONHAP]

A man looks back at a fire after law enforcement helped him out of a car during a protest in Compton, Calif., Saturday, June 7, 2025, after federal immigration authorities conducted operations. [AP/YONHAP]

Koreans caught in the crossfire

According to the Consulate General of Korea in Los Angeles, there have been four to five cases of Korean nationals requesting consular visits after being detained under Trump’s second administration. Before Trump returned to office, only one such request had been filed in two years.

When detained by ICE, undocumented immigrants may request a consular visit from their country of origin. Because not all individuals want such visits, the actual number of detained Koreans is likely higher.

The Korean Consulate in Los Angeles also confirmed that no Koreans or Korean nationals have been reported among those arrested.

Immigration enforcement is expected to intensify in the coming weeks. Stephen Miller, White House deputy chief of staff and the architect of Trump’s immigration policy, posted footage of the Los Angeles protests on X, calling them an "insurrection against the laws and sovereignty of the United States."

Last month, Miller directed ICE officials to arrest 3,000 undocumented immigrants per day. To meet Trump’s second-term campaign goal of deporting 1 million undocumented immigrants per year, about 2,700 arrests would need to occur daily. That figure far exceeds the daily average of 665 arrests during the first 100 days of Trump’s second administration.

Miller has reportedly pressured ICE officers after seeing fewer arrests than at the end of the Biden administration.

Translated from the JoongAng Ilbo using generative AI and edited by Korea JoongAng Daily staff.
BY SUH YOU-JIN [[email protected]]