[SOUND of kitchen sounds, dish clinking] In Palisades Park, New Jersey, restaurant owner Jin Min-ho is short-staffed again. Three of his workers haven't shown up for their shifts this entire week. This small Bergen County town of about 20,000 people, just seven miles away from Manhattan, has long been known as one of America's largest Korean enclaves. [SOUND of street ambience] But recent immigration enforcement actions have sent ripples of fear through the community. When Americans hear about immigration raids and deportations, many picture impacts on Hispanic communities. But here in Palisades Park, where Korean Americans make up nearly half the population, a different story is unfolding. [SOUND of police siren] Since President Trump's executive orders strengthening border policies, ICE raids have expanded beyond their original scope. In one recent operation, two Korean nationals were arrested in Palisades Park alone, part of a larger sweep that took over a hundred individuals into custody across New Jersey. [SOUNDBITE of Jin Min Ho] Jin Min-ho, a restaurant owner on Broad Avenue, Palisades Park's main street, pauses while wiping down a counter. Of course I’m scared, who wouldn’t be in this situation? I couldn’t have imagined in a million years that this would ever be happening in our community. On TV I saw illegal immigrants who committed felons being detained in Newark where there's high crime rates. It's terrifying that all of this is happening here in Pal Park now. I have a whole family here: my daughter, she’s smart. She’s a high school student with so many aspirations and a bright future ahead of her. All of that is uncertain now. [SOUND of street ambience] The impact ripples throughout the community. Where lunch rush should be in full swing, several tables sit empty. As rumors of surprise raids spread through WeChat and KakaoTalk messages, growing anxiety has reshaped daily life. [SOUND of kitchen sounds, then silence] [SOUND of kitchen sounds, then silence] The kitchen of a popular banchan restaurant in Palisades Park, New Jersey, has been dark for over a week. Eubie Park's grandparents, who have run the business for ten years, haven't unlocked the doors since rumors of ICE raids began circulating through the community. [SOUNDBITE of Eubie Park- “Yeah my grandparents are undocumented - they've been here for a long time working starting a business from nothing. But now, they’re really afraid to even open the restaurant because they know that everything they built for could all just disappear.”] Community leader Lee Hu Jung expresses a similar sentiment [SOUNDBITE of Community Leader Lee Hu Jung] I went to church this Sunday and the service was so empty. Everyone is too scared to even attend church and are living in constant fear every single day. People are even too scared to go to restaurants with their families and go to hospitals to seek medical care. They're too scared to do anything but hide in their homes. The lives people have built for themselves for more than 10 years is all suddenly becoming jeopardized. While national headlines focus on other communities, approximately 150,000 Koreans live in the United States without proper documentation. In Palisades Park, where an estimated 20-30% of Korean residents lack documentation, fear has become a constant companion. [SOUNDBITE of Community Leader Lee Hu Jung] Lee told me that she does believe that criminals who are illegal immigrants do deserve to be punished and deported. And that she is not arguing against that fact at all. But she also believes that legal, hard working immigrants in the U.S. should not be mistreated just because of the way they look or speak. But opinions within Palisades Park's Korean-American community itself are divided. [SOUNDBITE of Anonymous Resident] Another resident of Palisades Park, whose voice is morphed due to his request to main anonymous provides a differing perspective. To be completely upfront I honestly don’t understand why these Koreans continue to live in fear here when they have such a good mother country to go back to. I mean if you are a citizen then sure, but everything is so much cheaper and better in Korea. It's not worth the legal scare. The uncertainty affects not just those without documentation, but the entire community. Families with mixed immigration status, business owners, workers, and customers all find themselves caught in a complex web of fear and survival. As evening falls in Palisades Park, the usually vibrant streets are noticeably quieter. For many in this neighborhood, the question isn't just about documentation status – it's about the future of a culture that has become an integral part of American life. [SOUND fades out]