Tag: immigration

What this article is not telling readers is that many of the Korean-American owned businesses in LA’s Koreatown use illegal immigrant labor, especially from Latin-American countries. This is the primary reason the Korean American Federation is speaking out against the ICE raids:

US federal immigration authorities conducted a series of coordinated enforcement operations across Los Angeles on Friday, including in neighborhoods with a high concentration of Korean American-owned businesses. The move has raised concerns within the local Korean diaspora.

The raids reportedly targeted areas in downtown Los Angeles’ fashion district, commonly referred to as the “Jobber Market,” where several Korean American-run wholesale clothing stores are located.

In a statement released the same day, the Korean American Federation of Los Angeles condemned the enforcement actions, describing them as “unilateral and heavy-handed.”

“These actions by ICE (Immigration and Customs Enforcement) disregard proper legal procedures,” the organization said. “We urgently call on our local elected officials to take action and provide solutions to this crisis. In addition, we will work closely with local organizations to ensure that no individuals are unjustly harmed.”

“Even individuals who struggle with English or are unable to provide identification immediately are reportedly being arrested or detained first,” the organization added. “This has caused significant harm and confusion, not only among Korean nationals but also among local residents.”

Korea Herald

You can read more at the link, but what do ROK Heads think would happen in Korea if a bunch of Americans started attacking Korean law enforcement while waving U.S. flags?

As we have seen with just about every immigration case the media brings up there is always more to the story they leave out. In this case it is hard to say what happened, but it appears he may have had a visa to be a researcher at Ohio State University and then took a job to teach at the University of Houston instead which might have been in violation of his visa:

As the second Trump administration expelled illegal immigrants, a Korean scientist, a professor at an American university, suddenly canceled his visa and left for Korea.

U.S. media, including the University Herald, the Houston Chronicle and the Daily Cougar, reported on the 15th (local time) that Korean assistant professor Cho Hyung-sun, who works at the University of Houston’s mathematics department, is preparing to leave for Korea after her visa was abruptly canceled. Jeon served as a postdoctoral researcher at Ohio State University in the U.S. from September 2022 to June 2024, and began teaching as an assistant professor at Houston University last fall.

Jeon is known to have been notified of the cancellation of his visa because he is working on a doctoral program at another institution. He was virtually kicked out after failing to finish the course he was in charge of this semester to go back to Korea and solve his identity problem.

Maeil Business Newspaper

You can read more at the link, but this guy appears to be handling things correctly by going back to Korea and reapplying for the appropriate visa to teach at the University of Houston. It sounds like a lot of visa holders had been able to cut corners for a long time in regards to what their visas could be used for and ICE is now cracking down on it. Anyone that has a visa in the U.S. should fully understand what their allows them to do and comply by it because clearly ICE is strictly enforcing immigration laws now.

I wonder if the United States is going to see a reduction in pregnant Korean women coming to give birth so their sons can get American citizenship in order to avoid the ROK’s mandatory service requirement?

More and more people are immigrating to South Korea:

The number of immigrants in South Korea, which includes foreign nationals residing here as well as naturalized citizens, reached a record high of over 1.56 million in 2024, according to government data released Tuesday. Similarly, the number of employed foreign nationals also hit an all-time high at 1.01 million.

The number of those having resided in South Korea for at least 91 days, aged 15 and above, reached about 1,561,000 as of May, compared to 1.48 million tallied a year earlier, according to data compiled by Statistics Korea.

Specifically, foreign nationals accounted for 1.51 million, with naturalized citizens being 51,000.

Korea Herald

You can read more at the link.

South Korea best be careful on what foreigners it embraces. It needs foreigners that learn to speak Korean and understands Korean culture and history. If not the country could become less Korean and look more like this and this:

President Yoon Suk Yeol said Thursday that local governments’ cooperation with the state was crucial in encouraging foreign residents to settle here to address the population crisis in South Korea.

At a meeting held in Hongseong-gun, South Chungcheong Province, Yoon, who presided over a meeting with heads of the autonomous governments, said the central and local governments should take preemptive actions to support foreign nationals to settle and work in Korean society, as the country faces a growing shortage in its working-age population.

“We must take preemptive action on the labor shortage in the wake of the fast aging of the population coupled with the low birth rate,” Yoon said before some 100 participants. “The low birth rate issue and the foreign worker issue must be seriously addressed through the collaboration of central and local governments.”

Korea Herald

You can read more at the link.