US Sen. Andy Kim blasts Trump's immigration crackdown as 'political retribution'

U.S. Senator Andy Kim speaks at a town hall meeting for constituents at Teamsters Local 331 Hall in Egg Harbor City, N.J., March 20. Reuters-Yonhap

U.S. Senator Andy Kim, a Korean American lawmaker from New Jersey, slammed the Donald Trump administration’s sweeping immigration crackdown, calling it a "political retribution" which abandons constitutional principles.

Kim’s condemnation comes in response to the Trump administration’s hardline immigration policies, which have now led to the revocation of hundreds of international student visas based on the students’ political expression. This development has stoked fear among immigrant communities, including Korean Americans.

"No matter the challenges we face, there is no justification for abandoning basic constitutional principles like the right to due process and freedom of speech in our country," Kim told The Korea Times in a recent email.

"The cruelness being inflicted on people like Yunseo Chung, who has been in the U.S. since she was a little kid, is yet more evidence of this administration’s lawlessness and failure to lead with a sense of humanity," he said.

Chung, a 21-year-old Columbia University student and permanent U.S. resident, had faced deportation proceedings for her involvement in pro-Palestinian protests — until a federal judge granted a temporary restraining order blocking the government’s move on March 25.

Chung filed the lawsuit in a federal court in Manhattan after Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officers attempted to arrest her.

A woman reads a leaflet given to her by an immigration advocacy group containing information about immigrants' rights in a neighborhood in Washington, D.C., March 21. AFP-Yonhap

Kim further stated, "At this moment for Korean Americans and immigrant communities of all backgrounds, it is crucial we denounce this for what it is, political retribution — that cannot stand."

Kim, who became the first Korean American elected to the U.S. Senate after winning a seat for New Jersey in the November 2024 general elections, comes from an immigrant background, born to Korean parents who moved to the U.S. decades ago.

His concerns over Chung’s case come as her story resonated widely among Korean American communities in the U.S., many of whom are increasingly fearful of Trump’s immigration crackdown.

In the weeks following Trump’s inauguration, his administration’s tightened border policies — implemented through a series of executive orders — have sparked unrest among immigrant communities. In recent weeks, these measures appear to have expanded to target foreign-born students who participated in pro-Palestinian protests.

Secretary of State Marco Rubio said on March 28 that more than 300 student visas had been revoked due to "activities that are counter to U.S. foreign policy and its national interest."

Approximately 150,000 Koreans — about 1.4 percent of the estimated 11 million undocumented immigrants in the U.S. — are living without proper documentation, including an estimated 20,000 Korean adoptees whose status remains unresolved due to the failure of adoption agencies or their adoptive parents to complete necessary paperwork.

U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents detain a man after conducting a raid at the Cedar Run apartment complex in Denver, Colo., Feb. 5. Reuters-Yonhap

Korea’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs said it is closely monitoring the potential impact of Trump's immigration policies on Korean residents.

"We are closely tracking the developments and communicating with our diplomatic missions in the U.S.," a ministry official said Wednesday, noting that no formal requests for assistance had yet been filed with the Korean Embassy in the U.S.

On March 27, Yoon Joo-seok, the ministry's director-general for overseas Koreans and consular affairs, convened a virtual meeting with consular officers in charge of citizen safety at 14 diplomatic missions in the U.S., including those in New York, Los Angeles, Seattle and San Francisco.

Yoon urged continued cooperation with U.S. authorities to prevent Korean nationals from being subjected to unfair treatment during immigration enforcement and emphasized the need for timely consular support.