Noem Vows to Review Case of Deported Hawai‘i Purple Heart Veteran

Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem testified this week that she would review the case of Purple Heart Veteran Sae Joon Park who was forced to self-deport from Hawai‘i to South Korea in June.

Under questioning by Rhode Island Rep. Seth Magaziner, Noem asserted during a committee hearing that no veterans or citizens had been deported as a result of the Trump administration’s crackdown on immigrants illegally in the US. President Donald Trump has said the administration targets violent criminals, including “the worst of the worst.”

But Magaziner, a Democrat, took issue with that, citing cases of veterans and military families who faced removal or prolonged detention. While questioning Noem, Magaziner showed a live Zoom feed of Park from South Korea. Park was not questioned and did not speak during the hearing.

“Madame secretary, we are joined on Zoom by a gentleman named Sae Joon Park,” Magaziner said. “He is a United States army combat veteran who was shot twice while serving our country in Panama in 1989. Like many veterans, he struggled with PTSD and substance abuse after his service. He was arrested in the 1990s for some minor drug offenses, nothing serious. He never hurt anyone but himself.

“He’s been clean and sober for 14 years. He is a combat veteran, a Purple Heart recipient. He has sacrificed more for this country than most people ever have. Earlier this year, you deported him to [South] Korea, a country he hasn’t lived in since he was seven years old.”

“This man took two bullets for this country,” Magaziner continued, adding: “Will you at least commit to looking at Mr. Park’s case to see if you can help find a pathway back to this country that he sacrificed so much for?”

Noem responded: “I will absolutely look at his case….” before questioning was cut off.

Park, who was featured in Hawaii Business Magazine (From Purple Heart To Persona Non Grata – Hawaii Business Magazine), decided to self-deport after being issued a removal order by the Department of Immigration Enforcement (I.C.E.). He said he did so in order to avoid the uncertainty of being forcibly removed by the government to an uncertain location or duration.

More than 12,150 people have signed an online petition to reopen Park’s case.(https://www.change.org/p/savesaejoon-reopen-sae-joon-park-s-case-to-bring-him-home)

Park held a green card during most of the 48 years he lived in the US, until it was taken away with his drug conviction. Each year he checked in with I.C.E. to show that he was sober and holding a job. After Trump took office in January, Park was told at his next check-in that he would be handcuffed and immediately deported. His lawyer, Danicole Ramos, negotiated a grace period to allow Park to self-deport instead.

Under harsh questioning by Democratic lawmakers in a House committee hearing, Noem defiantly defended the Trump administration’s hard-line immigration policies. Some Democrats accused her of lying and called for her resignation. Republicans defended the administration’s policies.

Democrats said more than 70 percent of those arrested in the I.C.E campaign have no criminal record, according to government records.

Park’s attorney said he had no comment.