In the latest series of Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) detentions of U.S. residents, a 40-year-old researcher from Texas, Tae Heung “Will” Kim, was detained by authorities upon his arrival at the San Francisco International Airport from his brother’s wedding in South Korea last week.
Tae Heung ‘Will’ Kim entered a doctoral program at Texas A&M, and is currently working on developing a vaccine for Lyme disease.(Getty Images via AFP)
Kim first came to the country at the age of 5 and has been a legal permanent resident of the country ever since.
Tae Heung “Will” Kim detained at airport
Eric Lee, Kim’s attorney, told the Los Angeles Times that his client was pulled out of the second screening at the airport, following which neither he nor Kim’s family has had any contact with him, apart from a brief phone call last week. Upon inquiry, the Senate office told Lee that Kim would be sent to an immigration facility in Texas, although a representative from the Korean Consulate suggested that he might be sent elsewhere.
Back in 2011, Kim was charged with misdemeanor marijuana possession charges. In regards to this, a spokesperson for the Customs and Border Protection told the Washington Post that “this alien is in ICE custody pending removal hearings. If a green card holder is convicted of a drug offense, violating their status, that person is issued a Notice to Appear, and CBP coordinates detention space with [Immigration and Customs Enforcement].”
Kim’s attorney, on the other hand, calls it a little absurd for this to happen if his client “had a little weed when he was pulled over 15 years ago in his 20s.”
Family’s response
Kim’s parents first arrived in the country on business visas in the 1980s. By the time they became naturalized US citizens, it was too late for Kim to get automatic citizenship. He has been living in the country ever since on a green card and contributed to his family’s doll-manufacturing business after his father’s passing. Having recently entered a doctoral program at Texas A&M, he is currently working on developing a vaccine for Lyme disease.
“He’s had asthma ever since he was younger,” Kim’s mother, Yehoon “Sharon” Lee, told the Washington Post. “I don’t know if he has enough medication. He carries an inhaler, but I don’t know if it’s enough, because he’s been there a week.”
Experts are now advising green card holders to avoid travelling out of the country at the risk of being denied re-entry amid increasing detainments.
– With inputs from Stuti Gupta