{"id":634570,"date":"2026-05-10T10:45:14","date_gmt":"2026-05-10T10:45:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/634570\/"},"modified":"2026-05-10T10:45:14","modified_gmt":"2026-05-10T10:45:14","slug":"he-earned-a-purple-heart-fighting-for-the-us-swept-up-in-trumps-immigration-crackdown-he-now-fights-to-come-home","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/634570\/","title":{"rendered":"He earned a Purple Heart fighting for the US. Swept up in Trump\u2019s immigration crackdown, he now fights to come home"},"content":{"rendered":"

\n When Sae Joon Park orders pancakes and walks past soldiers in uniform, hearing a language he hasn\u2019t spoken regularly since self\u2011deporting from the United States last summer, it feels \u2013 for a few hours \u2013 like he\u2019s home.\n <\/p>\n

\n Instead, he\u2019s thousands of miles away, behind the guarded gates of Camp Humphreys<\/a>, a US Army garrison south of South Korea\u2019s capital Seoul with a sprawling campus of chain restaurants, housing blocks and training grounds.\n <\/p>\n

\n \u201cWhen I\u2019m on base, it actually feels like I\u2019m in America,\u201d says the 56\u2011year\u2011old Army veteran, who returned to his country of birth last June, a place he had not lived since he was a child.\n <\/p>\n

\n A Purple Heart recipient, Park is among a number of noncitizen US military veterans who have self-deported or been expelled from the country they fought for under President Donald Trump\u2019s sweeping immigration crackdown \u2013 which immigration attorneys say has revived old removal orders and sharply curtailed prosecutorial discretion. Park, a former green-card holder, self-deported last summer after immigration officials unexpectedly threatened to handcuff and arrest him at a scheduled immigration check-in due to a prior criminal conviction.\n <\/p>\n

\"Park<\/p>\n

\n His case drew national attention in December when lawmakers pressed then-Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem<\/a> during a testy congressional hearing about veterans swept up in the crackdown. DHS has continued to point to Park\u2019s criminal record on drug possession, bail jumping and related charges when asked about his immigration case.\n <\/p>\n

\n Park is pursuing multiple legal pathways he hopes will bring him home, including requesting a pardon from the governor of New York for the convictions that prompted his removal order. But those processes could take years, his attorney says, and none guarantee success.\n <\/p>\n

\n In the meantime, his case has catalyzed a debate over the hard-line approach to Trump\u2019s immigration crackdown and whether a group of people ready to give their lives for the US should be expelled from the country they swore to defend and protect, regardless of legal status or criminal convictions.\n <\/p>\n

\n At just 7 years old, Park traveled alone from South Korea after his parents\u2019 divorce to join his mother in Miami, where he learned early to fend for himself.\n <\/p>\n

\n \u201cMiami was tough,\u201d Park told CNN. \u201cI would always get in fights \u2026 I was the only Asian kid in the entire school, so I would get picked on a lot.\u201d\n <\/p>\n

\n Within a year, he and his mom moved to Los Angeles, where Park said he spent the rest of his childhood, surrounded by extended family in Koreatown and the San Fernando Valley. His mother worked multiple waitressing jobs before eventually running small businesses selling clothing and records.\n <\/p>\n

\n Needing \u201cdirection\u201d after graduating high school, Park enlisted in the military with his best friend, at the advice of his uncle, the oldest of his mother\u2019s 11 siblings and a South Korean Marine colonel.\n <\/p>\n

\n After basic training, in October 1989, he was stationed at Fort Clayton in Panama, where within months he was plunged into what the Army called at the time \u201cthe largest and most complex combat operation\u201d since the Vietnam War, when the US launched \u201cOperation Just Cause\u201d to depose Panama\u2019s drug-trafficking strongman leader Manuel Noriega.\n <\/p>\n

\"Park<\/p>\n

\"Park<\/p>\n

\n \u201cI got there just in time for the training and to go into war,\u201d he told CNN.\n <\/p>\n

\n In a matter of days, Park was involved in a mission that would alter his life \u2013 and earn him one of the most esteemed decorations in the US military \u2013 when Park\u2019s platoon raided the house of a Brazilian woman described as Noriega\u2019s \u201cwitch,\u201d who reportedly performed occult rituals for the dictator.\n <\/p>\n

\n After the operation in the house \u2013 where closets were filled, he said, with \u201ccrates of cocaine\u201d and rooms with jars of human body parts \u2013 a firefight erupted outside. He was shot twice \u2013 in the spine and the lower back \u2013 before being dragged to safety, badly bleeding and \u201cstruggling for every breath of air.\u201d\n <\/p>\n

\n Miraculously, he survived.\n <\/p>\n

\n Park was awarded a Purple Heart, a distinction for those injured or killed in combat, in a bedside ceremony at the San Antonio Army hospital he was airlifted to.\n <\/p>\n

\n Park doesn\u2019t remember much of this time, except being heavily drugged and unable to move. Returning to civilian life, he struggled with what he would later understand to be post\u2011traumatic stress disorder.\n <\/p>\n

\n \u201cAfter I came out of the military \u2026 I\u2019m trying to live my life as a twenty, twenty-one-year-old, and I was really messed up,\u201d he told CNN.\n <\/p>\n

\n Loud noises triggered panic. Nightmares kept him awake.\n <\/p>\n

\n Marijuana blunted the pain, at first, he said. But he soon turned to harder drugs, a pathway many veterans struggle with. Several studies<\/a> show PTSD and substance abuse frequently co-occur<\/a>, with one study shared by the US Department of Veteran Affairs<\/a> finding that veterans with lifelong PTSD were three times more likely to meet the criteria for a drug use disorder.\n <\/p>\n

\n Park said there wasn\u2019t the same level of awareness around PTSD in the early \u201890s, and he didn\u2019t feel like he could seek help \u2013 or even voice his struggles: \u201cI couldn\u2019t share this with anyone \u2026 I couldn\u2019t go get help the right way.\u201d\n <\/p>\n

\"<p>Sae<\/p>\n

Purple Heart veteran describes why he self-deported\n <\/p>\n

\"<p>Sae<\/p>\n

Purple Heart veteran describes why he self-deported<\/p>\n

1:32<\/p>\n

\n As the years passed, he bounced between locations and jobs: helping at his aunt\u2019s supermarket, working as a Korean tour guide, selling cars. After the supermarket burned down and his mom\u2019s store was looted during the 1992 Los Angeles riots, his family relocated to Hawaii.\n <\/p>\n

\n He married, moved to New York City and eventually separated, a period during which his drug addiction deepened, leading to the legal trouble his immigration attorney says came back to haunt him decades later.\n <\/p>\n

\n \u201cThe drugs just took over everything \u2026 It ruined my marriage \u2026 it kind of destroyed my life all the way through 40 years old,\u201d Park told CNN.\n <\/p>\n

\n He was arrested buying drugs in 2007 and later convicted of possession of a controlled substance. Afraid he would fail his court-ordered drug testing while on probation, he fled New York, missing a court appearance, and returned to his family in Hawaii.\n <\/p>\n

\n His family later convinced him to turn himself in after US marshals knocked on their door while he was out. He was convicted of second-degree bail jumping – an aggravated felony under immigration law – and sentenced to prison in New York before being released in 2011.\n <\/p>\n

\"Park<\/p>\n

\n When he was released, Park said Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents were waiting for him due to a removal order issued by an immigration judge the year prior as a result of his criminal convictions, court records provided by his attorney showed.\n <\/p>\n

\n After six months in ICE detention, Park was released and granted deferred action on his removal order based on his \u201cequities of being a Purple Heart veteran,\u201d his attorney, Danicole Ramos said, referring to a form of prosecutorial discretion that defers deportation without granting lawful status. The green card he came to the US on as a child was revoked and he was barred from traveling abroad, but he was allowed to remain in the country and work legally.\n <\/p>\n

\n For 15 years, he did just that \u2013 until a routine immigration check\u2011in last June, when an ICE officer cited Park\u2019s prior removal older and threatened to detain him on the spot, according to Ramos, who attended the check-in.\n <\/p>\n

\n Immigration attorneys say that under the Trump administration\u2019s intensified focus on deportations, long-dormant removal cases like Park\u2019s, which had been allowed to remain on hold for years, have become an enforcement priority. Deportation cases often hinge on technical distinctions in federal law, and outcomes can vary widely based on past convictions and timing.\n <\/p>\n

\n \u201cThat\u2019s the authority of prosecutorial discretion \u2013 to say \u2018I can revoke your deferred action whenever I want.\u2019 Today\u2019s the day,\u201d said Michelle Perez, a Virginia-based immigration attorney not involved in Park\u2019s case.\n <\/p>\n

\n \u201cProsecutorial discretion is basically dead,\u201d Perez told CNN. For people with prior deportation orders, immigration officials can now \u201csnatch you up, put you on a plane and throw you out quickly,\u201d she said.\n <\/p>\n

\n Ramos said they reached a deal in which Park wouldn\u2019t be detained if he wore an ankle monitor \u2013 and self-deported within three weeks.\n <\/p>\n

\n After 49 years in America, Park packed his life into two suitcases and a golf bag and boarded a one-way flight to South Korea, a country he hadn\u2019t visited in decades, and left behind his two children, a son, 29, and a daughter, 25.\n <\/p>\n

\n When asked about Park\u2019s case, a DHS spokesperson pointed to Park\u2019s criminal record and the standing removal order.\n <\/p>\n

\n \u201cSae Joon Park\u2019s extensive criminal history includes convictions for possessing, manufacturing, or selling a dangerous weapon, carrying a loaded firearm in a public place, assault, and criminal possession of a controlled substance,\u201d DHS said in a statement to CNN. \u201cUS military service alone does not automatically grant lawful immigration status, or exempt aliens from the consequences of violating US immigration laws.\u201d\n <\/p>\n

\n Park acknowledged his other convictions but told CNN his lawyer advised him not to discuss them in detail. He disputes DHS\u2019 characterization of his record, saying he \u201cwas never a violent criminal.\u201d\n <\/p>\n

\n It\u2019s unclear how many noncitizen military veterans have been forced to leave the country or self-deport under Trump\u2019s immigration crackdown. Last April, Trump rescinded Biden\u2011era guidance that instructed ICE officers to treat military service as a \u201csignificant mitigating factor\u201d in deportation decisions, stating instead that service \u201calone does not automatically exempt\u201d someone from removal.\n <\/p>\n

\n Democrats in Congress have pressed the administration on the issue, citing in a letter<\/a> to Trump administration officials that estimates suggest the number of deported veterans is more than 10,000 individuals. A DHS response to lawmakers said, as of early August, 107 veterans were on ICE\u2019s non\u2011detained docket, 14 were in detention and 8 had been deported since Trump took office again, in cases the department described as involving serious criminal conduct.\n <\/p>\n

\n Ramos said immigration law doesn\u2019t allow a judge to consider military service as a mitigating factor if a person has been convicted of certain crimes. He said if bail-jumping weren\u2019t included in that list of otherwise serious violent crimes, an immigration judge might never have issued a removal order for the Purple Heart recipient.\n <\/p>\n

\"Park's<\/p>\n

\n Under federal immigration law, second\u2011degree bail jumping is classified as an aggravated felony, a designation that generally bars lawful permanent residents from seeking cancellation of removal and most other forms of relief. Once removability is established, Perez said, judges have \u201cno leeway\u201d to weigh mitigating factors such as military service.\n <\/p>\n

\n \u201cIt pretty much makes you ineligible for the majority of relief, regardless if you\u2019re a resident or not, or in the military or not,\u201d Perez said.\n <\/p>\n

\n Park\u2019s path back to the US now hinges on two pending requests in New York: a pardon from Gov. Kathy Hochul, and asking the Queens County district attorney to reduce his felony bail\u2011jumping conviction to a misdemeanor. Either could get his deportation case reopened and potentially lead to his removal order being vacated.\n <\/p>\n

\n \u201cHe has to prove there was some procedural defect,\u201d Perez said, which most commonly would be that he was not properly advised of the immigration consequences.\n <\/p>\n

\n Even if a state court vacates his conviction, that would simply allow an immigration judge to reconsider his case. \u201cIt\u2019s not a slam dunk,\u201d Perez said. A judge could decline to reopen the case or ultimately uphold the removal order, leaving Park to continue fighting the decision.\n <\/p>\n

\n And even a favorable ruling would not return Park home immediately. Because he is now outside the US, he would still need to navigate the slow, bureaucratic process of obtaining a visa through federal immigration authorities and a US consulate abroad, which can stretch for years.\n <\/p>\n

\"Park<\/p>\n

\n \u201cHe has three major hurdles,\u201d Perez said: securing post\u2011conviction relief, persuading an immigration judge to reopen his case, and then obtaining permission to reenter from abroad. The \u201cdifficulty level of each one of them is very high.\u201d\n <\/p>\n

\n Perez said such relief is highly discretionary and varies by state, and even if granted, additional immigration proceedings would be required before any lawful return.\n <\/p>\n

\n Meanwhile, in South Korea, Park is trying to rebuild a life in the country he left as a child. He speaks limited Korean and cannot read or write it, relying on relatives to navigate paperwork and daily logistics. He recently relocated to the southern city of Busan, where he fills his days with long walks as he tries to quiet the returning nightmares.\n <\/p>\n

\n He speaks often with his son and daughter, but he recently missed his son\u2019s birthday. His 86\u2011year\u2011old mother, who has dementia, frequently asks why he is in Korea. He can\u2019t bring himself to tell her.\n <\/p>\n

\n Not knowing, he believes, hurts less.\n <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"When Sae Joon Park orders pancakes and walks past soldiers in uniform, hearing a language he hasn\u2019t spoken…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":634571,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[18],"tags":[23,3,21,19,22,20,25,24],"class_list":["post-634570","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-united-states","tag-america","tag-news","tag-united-states","tag-united-states-of-america","tag-unitedstates","tag-unitedstatesofamerica","tag-us","tag-usa"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/634570","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=634570"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/634570\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/634571"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=634570"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=634570"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=634570"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}