For Sam, 46, the United States is the only home he's ever known. As a young child, he fled his native Cambodia to escape the Khmer Rouge regime. "During the genocide, half of my family, including my father, were murdered. So I came here with my mother and her family," he said, reflecting on the trauma that shaped his life.
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03-04, 2025Out of concern for potential retaliation after speaking publicly, Sam requested that ABC change his name. Now, he lives in fear, worried that he could be deported at any moment to a country where he has no family and doesn't speak the language. The crackdown on unauthorized immigrants and those with criminal records is spreading anxiety among people across the U.S., including more than 1.3 million from Asia.
Martin Kim, immigration advocacy director at Asian Americans Advancing Justice (AAJC), stated, "Many people are now afraid to go to work, to places of worship, to school, or even to seek medical care, for fear of encountering immigration enforcement." He added, "Others worry that entering any public space could put them at risk of arrest," highlighting the pervasive fear within the community.
U.S. President Donald Trump signed a series of executive orders shortly after taking office on January 20, including declaring a "national emergency" at the U.S. southern border and vowing to deport "criminal aliens." He also ordered authorities to send 30,000 immigrants to Guantanamo Bay, a military facility in Cuba that has been used to detain terror suspects since the September 11, 2001, attacks, where U.S. authorities have been accused of human rights abuses.
Trump promised to implement the largest deportation program in history, allowing Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) to include schools and churches as part of its immigration enforcement operations. Acting U.S. Customs and Border Protection Commissioner Pete Flores said in a statement that his staff is "actively executing" the president's executive orders. "Illegal aliens are being apprehended, detained, and then swiftly removed," the agency stated, emphasizing their commitment to the administration's policies.
Immigration lawyer Ruby Powers, based in Houston, Texas, stated on ABC News' daily podcast that due to Trump's policies, "even those who were born in the U.S. are questioning their rights as citizens." Ms. Powers said that ICE raids and detentions often occur "at the crack of dawn, when people are still waking up or getting ready for school or work," adding to the disruption and fear within communities.
Approximately 330,000 people of Cambodian descent live in the United States, facing higher rates of poverty and disadvantage compared to other Asian immigrant groups. "Coming to America was supposed to be a happy moment," said Sam, who lives in the San Francisco Bay Area. "But coming here, I faced a lot of discrimination, bullying, and I was beaten up. I never felt safe." This led to his involvement in gang activity and a lengthy period of incarceration.
"Back then, a lot of young people broke the law... our families didn't understand the laws, and many of us have criminal records," he said. A criminal record means that, despite having served his time, Sam still faces the risk of deportation. "We think every day: 'Is today the day? Is today the day I'm going to be taken?' It's hard to go through every day without fear." He said, "I have a young son, and he's scared himself. He's scared that I'm going to be taken away from him."
According to data from the Congressional Asian Pacific American Caucus, deportations of Cambodians increased by 279% between 2017 and 2018, during Trump's first administration. Members of many other Asian diaspora communities also face the risk of deportation. Indians are the third-largest group of undocumented immigrants in the U.S., after those from Mexico and El Salvador, according to the Pew Research Center in Washington.
Pew's estimates based on 2022 U.S. Census data show that there are 725,000 undocumented Indian immigrants in the U.S., while China (375,000), Korea (110,000), and the Philippines (130,000) are also major countries of origin. Trump has repeatedly suggested that Chinese men of "fighting age" are entering the U.S., implying that it could be to build an "army."
"They're coming from China... they're all military age, and mostly men," Trump said at a campaign rally in April 2024. "Are they trying to build a little army in our country? Is that what they're trying to do?" Rhea Yap, head of the Chinese Mutual Aid Association in Chicago, said they have been working to provide "know your rights" education to community members, especially given the risk that people may be targeted by authorities based on their appearance.
She said, "Some people, even if they are legal permanent residents or citizens, could be picked up by ICE simply because of how they look." ABC has contacted ICE for comment. Mr. Kim stated that ongoing legal challenges mean that "many of the most concerning policy changes are proposals that have not been implemented and may never be." He said, "Much of the harm that these proposals have caused is the fear and confusion they have created in our communities."
Sam says that many people he knows are "trying to figure out how to say goodbye without saying goodbye, just in case" they are detained by ICE. "The way deportations are done is so inhumane. The laws don't take into account the children that are left behind, the families that are left behind," he said. "What happens to the family if the head of the household is deported?" he questioned, highlighting the devastating impact on families.
