Arrests of Asians by US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) have more than tripled in just one year (2024–2025).
A joint report released by UCLA’s Asian American Studies Center and the Center for Neighborhood Knowledge found that in the first week of June 2025 alone, arrests of Asians were nearly nine times higher than during the same period a year earlier — a clear sign that ICE enforcement has intensified to unprecedented levels.
The report comes on the heels of the largest ever raid conducted by ICE on a Hyundai plant in Georgia, where agents arrested more than 300 Korean nationals on September 4. The operation has stoked anger in South Korea and has strained relations between the two countries.
Signs of increased enforcement are also evident in the Korean American community in Los Angeles. On the morning of June 3, ICE agents raided a Korean-owned car wash on Olympic Boulevard in Koreatown. Without a warrant, they searched the premises, checked workers’ immigration status, and reportedly detained about five employees.
Raids target states with large Asian populations
Just days earlier, on June 6, ICE agents stormed a Korean-owned garment business in downtown Los Angeles’s Fashion District, arresting more than 10 employees. The incident sent shockwaves through the Korean American community, heightening fear and tension.
UCLA Professor Paul Ong, who led the study, told ACoM in an email interview, “The surge in arrests is the result of the administration’s policy goal of deporting one million immigrants annually. This approach is tied to the exclusionary sentiments prevalent among many white nativists.”
He added, “It is important to move beyond anecdotal accounts and examine the actual arrest data and statistical shifts. The report provides evidence that helps track enforcement changes under the new administration and informs public debate.”
According to the report, Asian arrests, which numbered about 700 in 2024, jumped to more than 2,000 in just one year. By state, California accounted for 19 percent of arrests, followed by New York and Texas with 11 percent each, then Virginia, Pennsylvania, and Oklahoma. Together, the top five states represented half of all arrests.
By nationality, China (676, 30 percent), India (578, 26 percent), and Vietnam (342, 15 percent) accounted for the largest shares. Along with Laos and Nepal, the top five countries made up 80 percent of Asian arrests. Korean nationals were estimated at around 20, but the number is expected to rise as deportation cases increase. According to Syracuse University’s Transactional Records Access Clearinghouse (TRAC), in fiscal year 2025 there were 184 deportation cases involving Koreans, including 69 deportations and 13 voluntary departures.
The numbers do not take into account the latest operations in Georgia.
Ong noted, “Arrests are especially concentrated in states with larger Asian populations, particularly non-citizens, but they are happening nationwide.”
The report also pointed to another trend: the proportion of ICE arrestees with prior criminal convictions has declined significantly. Nearly half of arrestees in early 2025 had prior records, but by June the share had dropped to about one-third — a shift critics say contradicts the Trump administration’s pledge to “deport the worst criminals first.”
Deportation-driven policies signal further escalation ahead
“Although Asians still account for a small share of total ICE arrests, their growth rate is far steeper than other racial and ethnic groups,” Ong explained. He further warned, “Too many arrests are carried out without due process or respect for rights. The United States must be a nation of just laws.”
Melany De La Cruz, associate director of UCLA’s Asian American Studies Center, expressed concern that “undocumented Asians make up about 16 percent of all non-citizen immigrants. The surge in arrests risks fueling anti-Asian sentiment and xenophobia.” She added that arrests of Hispanic and African immigrants have also risen sharply, spreading fear across immigrant communities and dampening economic activity. The report projected that Asian arrests are likely to rise further in the second half of 2025. With the administration doubling down on deportation-focused policies, experts warn that heightened anxiety and growing social tension in immigrant communities are inevitable.
