South Korea’s diplomatic missions in the U.S. say they will provide active consular support in the wake of the Donald Trump administration’s massive immigration crackdown. 

An official with South Korea’s consulate general in New York told South Korean journalists on Thursday that the agency is closely monitoring the situation and thoroughly reviewing the impact the crackdown could have on the Korean community and South Korean businesses. 

By consular support, the official was apparently referring to assistance provided in line with related laws to protect overseas Koreans and their assets. 

In the event that a South Korean is arrested for possible immigration violations, consular support would entail informing the arrested person of U.S. laws and relief measures.

It would also mean providing legal advice on initial responses, as well as information on local lawyers and interpreters.

But the consulate general reportedly does not intervene directly in such cases. 

Although there are no exact statistics on the number of South Koreans residing in the U.S. illegally, the American think tank the Center for Migration Studies estimated that the figure stood around 130-thousand as of 2022.