Immigration policies in US and Korea

The U.S. Trump administration’s hardline immigration policies are unraveling the very fabric of American society. The aggressive crackdown has led to the deportation of countless undocumented immigrants who had built roots in the U.S. and who constitute a major economic force. In the process, families and communities are torn apart; hundreds are designated as gang members based merely on tattoos and sent to maximum-security prisons without due process; innocent people and even U.S. citizens are arrested due to administrative errors; and small businesses, factories, and farms are struggling to find workers willing to take on difficult, low-wage jobs.

On college campuses across the United States, international students are seeing their visas revoked over minor infractions such as speeding tickets. An estimated 4,700 international students were affected just in the past month alone, according to the American Immigration Law Association. International scholars and professors are not safe either. Some have been forced to leave the U.S. mid-semester after abrupt, poorly explained visa revocations. In a recent case, a Korean professor at the University of Houston was ordered to leave the country immediately, leaving students bewildered.

Many international students and scholars I know are living in fear and uncertainty. Prospective students are scrapping their plans to study in the U.S., and graduates are voluntarily leaving. Exceptional scholars, scientists and artists are taking their talents elsewhere. The U.S. is facing a brain drain. What made America great — freedom of expression, diversity and inclusion — is eroding at an alarming pace. I was drawn to those ideals, but now I myself, an immigrant, feel betrayed by the promises that once seemed so certain.

These profound shifts in the U.S. have prompted me to reflect on immigration policies in Korea too, the country where I was born and raised. Unfortunately, Korea’s approach to immigration is just as harsh and short-sighted as the Trump administration’s. Despite facing urgent demographic challenges like a declining birth rate and an aging population, Korea continues to treat immigrants primarily as temporary laborers, offering few paths to long-term integration or citizenship. This not only fosters instability among migrant communities but also threatens Korea’s own economic and social future.

Compounding these issues is a deeper societal problem: racism and prejudice against foreigners, particularly those from non-Western countries. Integration programs are minimal, and government efforts to shift public attitudes have been weak. Korea’s refugee acceptance rate remains among the lowest in the world, with asylum seekers navigating a notoriously difficult and slow process. Even as demographic realities call for a more open and welcoming immigration policy, political leaders have been reluctant to enact meaningful reforms, choosing instead to maintain a complicated visa system that prioritizes control over integration.

In Korea, skilled workers from Western countries are favored, while low-skilled workers who are vital to industries like agriculture and manufacturing face poor working conditions and weak legal protections. Marriage migrants, for example, many of them women from Southeast Asia, often endure discrimination, exploitation and inadequate legal support. It’s understandable that a country would favor skilled immigrants to boost competitiveness. But the reality is that Korea is not an especially attractive destination for talented professionals either. Where are many of the top scientists and scholars leaving the U.S. headed? Not Korea. There’s little incentive for skilled talent, Korean or foreign, to work in Korea. In fact, many Korean scientists and scholars dream of leaving due to subpar treatment both socially and financially. The former Yoon Suk Yeol administration’s major cuts to research and development funding have only worsened this trend.

Korea faces an existential threat from its shrinking population. Perhaps the most viable solution to avoid national decline is to adopt more open and flexible immigration policies. Without a fundamental shift in both policy and public attitudes, Korea risks alienating the very people it needs to sustain its future. In a world where countries like the U.S. are turning inward, Korea has a chance to lead by showing how inclusive and forward-looking immigration policies can rejuvenate a nation’s economy and society.

Min Seong-jae (smin@pace.edu) is a professor of communication and media studies at Pace University in New York.