Restraining Foreigner Without Verifying Identity..."Excessive Immigration Enforcement"

Immigrant Restrained While Working at Grocery Store
Immigration Office Recommended to Undergo Training on Enforcement Procedures
"Use of Force Without Prior Warning Constitutes a Human Rights Violation"

A judgment has been made that the immigration enforcement act of presuming a foreign national with lawful residency status to be an undocumented foreigner and exercising force without verifying their identity constitutes a human rights violation.

The National Human Rights Commission of Korea announced on the 27th that it recently recommended an immigration office, whose officers restrained a foreigner by holding both hands without checking the person’s identity, to conduct internal work training. The commission specifically pointed out that staff performing immigration enforcement duties must receive training to comply with the basic principles of conduct, regulations for the use of protective equipment, and onsite documentation guidelines according to the Immigration Act and the human rights protection code of conduct during the enforcement process for immigration offenders.

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The complainant, a diaspora Korean with valid residency status, filed a petition asserting that while working at a grocery store in June of last year, two immigration office employees unjustly exercised force by attempting to handcuff them without checking their identity or presenting any grounds for the enforcement. The immigration officers argued that the area near the incident site is known to have many undocumented foreign workers, and that they only restrained both of the complainant’s hands to prevent a safety accident because the complainant was working with a box cutter. They also explained that no actual handcuffing took place.

The Human Rights Commission reviewed the grocery store’s internal CCTV footage and confirmed that the immigration officers, without verifying the complainant’s residency status, restrained both hands from behind with handcuffs in their possession solely because the complainant was holding a box cutter. However, it was not proven through the CCTV whether the officers actually attempted to handcuff the individual.

The commission concluded that the problem lay in the fact that the immigration officers prematurely exercised force without identity verification or warning, having assumed the complainant to be an undocumented foreigner. The commission also found that immediately restraining the individual simply because they were holding a box cutter, without first following the minimum infringement principle, constituted an excessive response. Furthermore, the commission determined that such actions infringed on bodily freedom as guaranteed by the Constitution.

An official from the Human Rights Commission commented, “The officers should have first identified themselves as immigration officials, requested identification, and then determined whether the use of handcuffs or other force was warranted based on the complainant’s actions. Exercising force preemptively against a lawful resident who showed no intent to resist is inappropriate.”

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.