[Interview] After 18 months in ICE detention, one man leaves behind a US life for a Korea he barely remembers

Kim Chung-sik, a 57-year-old Korean immigrant, described his 18-month detention in U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) facilities as a "swamp" from which he feared he might not escape alive. Released in May from a California detention center, Kim had lived in the United States since he was 10 years old, but his deportation order, issued in November 2024 due to gambling debts and allegations of fraud, was eventually vacated by an immigration court.

Despite the court's decision in August of the previous year, Kim's release was indefinitely postponed as the Trump administration appealed the ruling. This prolonged uncertainty left him feeling hopeless. The article notes that the Trump administration has intensified its anti-immigrant stance since taking office for its second term, leading to large-scale arrest operations that have impacted various immigrant communities.

The crackdown has not spared Korean immigrants, with an estimated 2 million living in the U.S. The arrest of 300 Korean laborers at a Georgia battery factory in September underscored the vulnerability of this community, which had previously believed itself to be less of a target. Kim's case is presented alongside the grim statistic that 22 individuals have died in ICE detention facilities this year, putting the agency on track for a record number of fatalities.

Kim, who had taken his mother's surname Seong after her divorce, lost the documents proving this name. His 1991 application for U.S. citizenship was rejected due to the lack of documentation, and he had been living as a permanent resident since then. His arrest stemmed from allegations of fraud related to his gambling debts, which he argued were not serious enough to warrant deportation.

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Detention facilities are like a swamp. I didn’t think I could get out of there alive.