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SEARAC Southeast Asian Americans protest deportations targeting their community. |
Its crazy. US military veterans who fought for their country are not immune from the out-of-control agents of Immigration and Customs Enforcement trying to meet a "quota" mandated by Donald Trump officials.
Recent news from ICE raises concerns regarding non-citizen military veterans and Southeast Asian refugees who served with US forces during the Vietnam War, or as the Vietnamese government calls the "American War."
The situation is worse for some AAPI than others. Hmong and Laotian allies, who aided US forces during that conflict, have come under scrutiny.
This issue is not new. Earlier this year, the US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) rescinded a policy that generally allowed pre-1995 immigrants to remain in the country, leading to a significant increase in deportations. The Trump administration previously increased deportations of Southeast Asian refugees, sometimes for offenses committed years prior.
Concerns also extend to non-citizen military veterans and their families, with increased detentions by ICE reported since 2025. Examples provided include:
Advocates suggest that many veterans facing deportation are being targeted for long-past offenses, sometimes linked to untreated service-related trauma.
For now, groups like the Asian Law Caucus and the Southeast Asia Resource Action Center (SEARAC) are fighting on the front lines, and legislation like the Southeast Asian Deportation Relief Act (SEADRA) is in the works. It's a small spark of hope in an otherwise dark time. But it's not enough. We need to do more. And we need to hold our leaders accountable for this disgraceful treatment of those who once served this nation.
"We expect to see a dramatic increase in the number of Asians arrested in the latter half of 2025. This will be driven by the Trump administration’s e�fort to ramp up the number of ICE arrests exponentially to reach its target of one million deportations per year," concludes the UCLA study.
"So far, ICE arrests have disproportionately impacted and harmed Latino communities, who have been subjected to extensive racial profiling. This will likely change because Asians are 16% of the estimated number of undocumented immigrants and 25% of the non-citizen immigrants, but they made up less than 3% of those arrested during the first few months of the Trump Administration," the UCLA analysis concludes. "The predicted increase may very well be accompanied by a resurgence in anti-Asian xenophobia."
A recent report from UCLA Asian American and Pacific Islander Policy Initiative. found that arrests of Asian immigrants by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) more than tripled between 2024 and mid-2025. Enforcement actions have included workplace raids, such as one at a Hyundai plant in Georgia where over 300 Korean nationals were arrested.
Recent news from ICE raises concerns regarding non-citizen military veterans and Southeast Asian refugees who served with US forces during the Vietnam War, or as the Vietnamese government calls the "American War."
The situation is worse for some AAPI than others. Hmong and Laotian allies, who aided US forces during that conflict, have come under scrutiny.
Reports indicate detentions for deportation, with 16 individuals arrested in Michigan in July and August 2025 based on older criminal records. Advocacy groups and state legislators have highlighted their service, but the federal government's focus on immigration enforcement, no matter how harsh, appears to continue.
State Representative Mai Xiong, Michigan's first Hmong American legislator, said in a Facebook video that many of the detainees had never been to Laos, having been born in refugee camps in other countries, or had been brought to the US as children.
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Xiong is the wife of Wa Kong Lor, one of the detained immigrants, read a statement during a press conference: "This appeared to be a targeted operation, an easy way for ICE officers to detain people without going to their homes."
"My husband, like many others that day, was taken without warning," she said.
"My husband, like many others that day, was taken without warning," she said.
With policies indicating military service does not automatically prevent deportation, ICE has continued to act on these cases. Many have lived with final removal orders for years, in uncertainty because their countries of origin initially did not accept them back. However, US pressure is reportedly leading these nations to change their policies, increasing vulnerability for these refugees.
Concerns also extend to non-citizen military veterans and their families, with increased detentions by ICE reported since 2025. Examples provided include:
- A veteran reportedly detained without a warrant during a raid.
- An Army veteran and U.S. citizen allegedly subjected to tear gas and pepper spray during a raid despite identifying himself.
- A disabled veteran with a green card reportedly detained during a routine citizenship interview.
The Department of Homeland Security highlighted an individual who falsely claimed US military service, which some view as an attempt to justify enforcement actions.
Advocates suggest that many veterans facing deportation are being targeted for long-past offenses, sometimes linked to untreated service-related trauma.
For now, groups like the Asian Law Caucus and the Southeast Asia Resource Action Center (SEARAC) are fighting on the front lines, and legislation like the Southeast Asian Deportation Relief Act (SEADRA) is in the works. It's a small spark of hope in an otherwise dark time. But it's not enough. We need to do more. And we need to hold our leaders accountable for this disgraceful treatment of those who once served this nation.
And it appears that the situation will get worse for AAPI communities as the Trump administration feels emboldened on the issue. In the first half of 2025, nationals from China, India, Vietnam, Laos, and Nepal accounted for 80% of Asian arrests.
"We expect to see a dramatic increase in the number of Asians arrested in the latter half of 2025. This will be driven by the Trump administration’s e�fort to ramp up the number of ICE arrests exponentially to reach its target of one million deportations per year," concludes the UCLA study.
"So far, ICE arrests have disproportionately impacted and harmed Latino communities, who have been subjected to extensive racial profiling. This will likely change because Asians are 16% of the estimated number of undocumented immigrants and 25% of the non-citizen immigrants, but they made up less than 3% of those arrested during the first few months of the Trump Administration," the UCLA analysis concludes. "The predicted increase may very well be accompanied by a resurgence in anti-Asian xenophobia."
News reports say the Trump administration has set a quota system for ICE detentions and deportations. Initially Trump explained that his administration would target violent criminals for deportation but as in order to meet the reported quota, federal agents have been arresting legal residents as they report to immigration courts, rounding up suspects in church, schools and at their jobs.
The recent Supreme Court ruling allowing racial profiling so that federal agents to arrest anyone that looks like, sounds like or suspected of being an illegal immigrant broadens ICE powers will broaden the pool of people that can be arrested.
Any belief by conservative Asians and Asian Americans who voted for Trump that they are immune to his administration's racist immigration policies is a fantasy and should be put to rest.
EDITOR'S NOTE: For additional commentary, news, views and chismis from an AANHPI perspective, follow me on Threads, on X, BlueSky or at the blog Views From the Edge.
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