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Yahoo
11 hours ago
- Politics
- Yahoo
L.A. Army veteran with Purple Heart self-deports to South Korea under threat of deportation
An Army veteran who grew up in Van Nuys and was awarded a Purple Heart self-deported to South Korea this week as he was threatened with being detained and deported by federal immigration forces. On Monday, veteran Sae Joon Park, who legally immigrated from South Korea when he was seven years old, grew up in Koreatown and the San Fernando Valley and held a green card, flew back to his homeland under threat of deportation at the age of 55. He said he is being forced to leave because of drug convictions nearly two decades ago that he said were a response to the PTSD he suffered after being shot during military action in Panama. 'It's unbelievable. I'm still in disbelief that this has actually happened,' Park said in a phone interview from Incheon early Wednesday morning. 'I know I made my mistakes … but it's not like I was a violent criminal. It's not like I'm going around robbing people at gunpoint or hurting anyone. It was self-induced because of the problems I had.' Asked to comment on Park, Department of Homeland Security Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin said Park has an "extensive criminal history" and has been given a final removal order, with the option to self-deport. Park said he suffered from PTSD and addiction in the aftermath of being wounded when he was part of the U.S. forces that invaded Panama in 1989 to depose the nation's de facto leader, Gen. Manuel Noriega. But now Park, a legal immigrant, is targeted by federal authorities in President Trump's recent immigration raids that have prompted widespread protests in Los Angeles and across the nation. Federal authorities have arrested more than 1,600 immigrants for deportation in Southern California between June 6 and 22, according to DHS. Read more: More than 1,600 immigrants detained in Southern California this month, DHS says A noncitizen is eligible for naturalization if they served honorably in the U.S. military for at least a year. Park served less than a year before he was wounded and honorably discharged. Since 2002, over 158,000 immigrant service members have become U.S. citizens. As of 2021, the Department of Veteran Affairs and DHS are responsible for tracking deported veterans to make sure they still have access to VA benefits. Park's parents divorced when he was a toddler, and his mother immigrated from South Korea to the United States. He followed her a year later. They first lived in Koreatown, moved to Panorama City and then Van Nuys. He graduated from Notre Dame High School in Sherman Oaks in 1988. Struggling at first to learn English and acclimate with his classmates, he eventually became part of the Southern California skateboarding and surfing scene of the 1980s, which is when television editor Josh Belson met him. They have been close friends ever since. 'He's always got a smile, a very kind of vivacious energy about him,' said Belson, who attended a nearby high school when they met. 'He was the kind of person you wanted to be around.' After graduating, Park said he wasn't ready to attend college, so he joined the military. 'The Army provided not only turning me into a man, but also providing me with the GI Bill, so you can go to college later, and they'll pay for it. And the fact that I did believe in the country, the United States,' he said. 'So I felt like I was doing something honorable. I was very proud when I joined the military.' Park's platoon was deployed to Panama in late 1989, where he said they experienced a firefight the first night there. The following day, he said he was carrying an M-16 when they raided the house of one of the 'witches' Noriega allegedly followed. He said they saw a voodoo worship room with body parts and a cross painted in blood on the floor. While there, he heard gunfire from the backyard and returned fire. He was shot twice, in his spine and lower left back. The bullet to his spine was partially deflected by his dog tag, which Park believes is the reason he wasn't paralyzed. A military ambulance was delayed because of the firefight, but a Vietnam veteran who lived nearby rescued him, Park said. 'I just remember I'm just lying in my own pool of blood and just leaking out badly. So he actually went home, got his pickup truck, put me in the back of his pickup truck with two soldiers, and drove me to the hospital,' Park said. He was then evacuated to an Army hospital in San Antonio. A four-star general awarded him a Purple Heart at his bedside. Then-President George W. Bush visited wounded soldiers there. Read more: More immigrants opt to self-deport rather than risk being marched out like criminals Park spent about two weeks there, and then went home for a month or so, until he could walk. His experience resulted in mental issues he didn't recognize, he said. 'My biggest issue at the time, more than my injuries, was — I didn't know what it was at the time, nobody did, because there was no such thing as PTSD at the time,' he said. Eventually, 'I realized I was suffering from PTSD badly, nightmares every night, severe. I couldn't hear loud noises, and at that time in L.A., you would hear gunshots every night you left the house, so I was paranoid at all times. And being a man and being a tough guy, I couldn't share this with anyone.' Park started self-medicating with marijuana, which he said helped him sleep. But he started doing harder drugs, eventually crack cocaine. He moved to Hawaii after his mother and stepfather's L.A. store burned during the 1992 riots, and married. After Park and his wife separated, he moved to New York City, where his addiction worsened. 'It got really bad. It just got out of control — every day, every night, all day — just smoking, everything,' Park said. One night, in the late 2000s, he was meeting his drug dealer at a Taco Bell in Queens when police surrounded his car, and the dealer fled while leaving a large quantity of crack in his glove compartment, Park said. A judge sent Park to rehab twice, but he said he was not ready to get sober. 'I just couldn't. I was an addict. It was so hard for me to stay clean. I'd be good for 30 days and relapse,' he said. 'I'd be good for 20 days and relapse. It was such a struggle. Finally, the judge told me, 'Mr. Park, the next time you come into my courtroom with the dirty urine, you're gonna go to prison.' So I got scared.' So Park didn't return to court, drove to Los Angeles and then returned to Hawaii, skipping bail, which is an aggravated felony. 'I did not know at the time jumping bail was an aggravated felony charge, and combined with my drug use, that's deportable for someone like me with my green card,' he said. U.S. Marshals were sent looking for Park, and he said once he heard about this, he turned himself in in August 2009, because he didn't want to be arrested in front of his two children. Read more: Abcarian: Wasn't the president supposed to be deporting criminals? He served two years in prison and said immigration officials detained him for six months after he was released as he fought deportation orders. He was eventually released under 'deferred action,' an act of prosecutorial discretion by DHS to put off deportation. Every year since, Park was required to check in with federal officials and show that he was employed and sober. Meanwhile, he had sole custody of his two children, who are now 28 and 25. He was also caring for his 85-year-old mother, who is in the early stages of dementia. During his most recent check-in, Park was about to be handcuffed and detained, but immigration agents placed an ankle monitor on him and gave him three weeks to get his affairs in order and self-deport. He is not allowed to return to the United States for 10 years. He worries he will miss his mother's passing and his daughter's wedding. 'That's the biggest part. But … it could be a lot worse too. I look at it that way also,' Park said. 'So I'm grateful I made it out of the United States, I guess, without getting detained.' 'I always just assumed a green card, legal residency, is just like having citizenship,' he added. 'I just never felt like I had to go get citizenship. And that's just being honest. As a kid growing up in the United States, I've always just thought, hey, I'm a green card holder, a legal resident, I'm just like a citizen.' His condition has spiraled since then. "Alright. I'm losing it. Can't stop crying. I think PTSD kicking in strong," Park texted Belson on Thursday. "Just want to get back to my family and take care of my mother ... I'm a mess." Times staff writer Nathan Solis contributed to this report. Get the L.A. Times Politics newsletter. Deeply reported insights into legislation, politics and policy from Sacramento, Washington and beyond, in your inbox twice per week. This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.
Los Angeles Times
17 hours ago
- Politics
- Los Angeles Times
L.A. Army veteran with Purple Heart self-deports to South Korea under threat of deportation
An Army veteran who grew up in Van Nuys and was awarded a Purple Heart self-deported to South Korea this week as he was threatened with being detained and deported by federal immigration forces. On Monday, veteran Sae Joon Park, who legally immigrated from South Korea when he was seven years old, grew up in Koreatown and the San Fernando Valley and held a green card, flew back to his homeland under threat of deportation at the age of 55. He said he is being forced to leave because of drug convictions nearly two decades ago that he said were a response to the PTSD he suffered after being shot during military action in Panama. 'It's unbelievable. I'm still in disbelief that this has actually happened,' Park said in a phone interview from Incheon early Wednesday morning. 'I know I made my mistakes … but it's not like I was a violent criminal. It's not like I'm going around robbing people at gunpoint or hurting anyone. It was self-induced because of the problems I had.' Asked to comment on Park, Department of Homeland Security Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin said Park has an 'extensive criminal history' and has been given a final removal order, with the option to self-deport. Park said he suffered from PTSD and addiction in the aftermath of being wounded when he was part of the U.S. forces that invaded Panama in 1989 to depose the nation's de facto leader, Gen. Manuel Noriega. But now Park, a legal immigrant, is targeted by federal authorities in President Trump's recent immigration raids that have prompted widespread protests in Los Angeles and across the nation. Federal authorities have arrested more than 1,600 immigrants for deportation in Southern California between June 6 and 22, according to DHS. A noncitizen is eligible for naturalization if they served honorably in the U.S. military for at least a year. Park served less than a year before he was wounded and honorably discharged. Since 2002, over 158,000 immigrant service members have become U.S. citizens. As of 2021, the Department of Veteran Affairs and DHS are responsible for tracking deported veterans to make sure they still have access to VA benefits. Park's parents divorced when he was a toddler, and his mother immigrated from South Korea to the United States. He followed her a year later. They first lived in Koreatown, moved to Panorama City and then Van Nuys. He graduated from Notre Dame High School in Sherman Oaks in 1988. Struggling at first to learn English and acclimate with his classmates, he eventually became part of the Southern California skateboarding and surfing scene of the 1980s, which is when television editor Josh Belson met him. They have been close friends ever since. 'He's always got a smile, a very kind of vivacious energy about him,' said Belson, who attended a nearby high school when they met. 'He was the kind of person you wanted to be around.' After graduating, Park said he wasn't ready to attend college, so he joined the military. 'The Army provided not only turning me into a man, but also providing me with the GI Bill, so you can go to college later, and they'll pay for it. And the fact that I did believe in the country, the United States,' he said. 'So I felt like I was doing something honorable. I was very proud when I joined the military.' Park's platoon was deployed to Panama in late 1989, where he said they experienced a firefight the first night there. The following day, he said he was carrying an M-16 when they raided the house of one of the 'witches' Noriega allegedly followed. He said they saw a voodoo worship room with body parts and a cross painted in blood on the floor. While there, he heard gunfire from the backyard and returned fire. He was shot twice, in his spine and lower left back. The bullet to his spine was partially deflected by his dog tag, which Park believes is the reason he wasn't paralyzed. A military ambulance was delayed because of the firefight, but a Vietnam veteran who lived nearby rescued him, Park said. 'I just remember I'm just lying in my own pool of blood and just leaking out badly. So he actually went home, got his pickup truck, put me in the back of his pickup truck with two soldiers, and drove me to the hospital,' Park said. He was then evacuated to an Army hospital in San Antonio. A four-star general awarded him a Purple Heart at his bedside. Then-President George W. Bush visited wounded soldiers there. Park spent about two weeks there, and then went home for a month or so, until he could walk. His experience resulted in mental issues he didn't recognize, he said. 'My biggest issue at the time, more than my injuries, was — I didn't know what it was at the time, nobody did, because there was no such thing as PTSD at the time,' he said. Eventually, 'I realized I was suffering from PTSD badly, nightmares every night, severe. I couldn't hear loud noises, and at that time in L.A., you would hear gunshots every night you left the house, so I was paranoid at all times. And being a man and being a tough guy, I couldn't share this with anyone.' Park started self-medicating with marijuana, which he said helped him sleep. But he started doing harder drugs, eventually crack cocaine. He moved to Hawaii after his mother and stepfather's L.A. store burned during the 1992 riots, and married. After Park and his wife separated, he moved to New York City, where his addiction worsened. 'It got really bad. It just got out of control — every day, every night, all day — just smoking, everything,' Park said. One night, in the late 2000s, he was meeting his drug dealer at a Taco Bell in Queens when police surrounded his car, and the dealer fled while leaving a large quantity of crack in his glove compartment, Park said. A judge sent Park to rehab twice, but he said he was not ready to get sober. 'I just couldn't. I was an addict. It was so hard for me to stay clean. I'd be good for 30 days and relapse,' he said. 'I'd be good for 20 days and relapse. It was such a struggle. Finally, the judge told me, 'Mr. Park, the next time you come into my courtroom with the dirty urine, you're gonna go to prison.' So I got scared.' So Park didn't return to court, drove to Los Angeles and then returned to Hawaii, skipping bail, which is an aggravated felony. 'I did not know at the time jumping bail was an aggravated felony charge, and combined with my drug use, that's deportable for someone like me with my green card,' he said. U.S. Marshals were sent looking for Park, and he said once he heard about this, he turned himself in in August 2009, because he didn't want to be arrested in front of his two children. He served two years in prison and said immigration officials detained him for six months after he was released as he fought deportation orders. He was eventually released under 'deferred action,' an act of prosecutorial discretion by DHS to put off deportation. Every year since, Park was required to check in with federal officials and show that he was employed and sober. Meanwhile, he had sole custody of his two children, who are now 28 and 25. He was also caring for his 85-year-old mother, who is in the early stages of dementia. During his most recent check-in, Park was about to be handcuffed and detained, but immigration agents placed an ankle monitor on him and gave him three weeks to get his affairs in order and self-deport. He is not allowed to return to the United States for 10 years. He worries he will miss his mother's passing and his daughter's wedding. 'That's the biggest part. But … it could be a lot worse too. I look at it that way also,' Park said. 'So I'm grateful I made it out of the United States, I guess, without getting detained.' 'I always just assumed a green card, legal residency, is just like having citizenship,' he added. 'I just never felt like I had to go get citizenship. And that's just being honest. As a kid growing up in the United States, I've always just thought, hey, I'm a green card holder, a legal resident, I'm just like a citizen.' His condition has spiraled since then. 'Alright. I'm losing it. Can't stop crying. I think PTSD kicking in strong,' Park texted Belson on Thursday. 'Just want to get back to my family and take care of my mother ... I'm a mess.' Times staff writer Nathan Solis contributed to this report.
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First Post
a day ago
- Politics
- First Post
Why US war hero was forced to self-deport after 50 years in the US
Sae Joon Park, a US army veteran, had lived in the United States for 48 years. But he has now self-deported to South Korea after immigration officials warned he could be detained due to a past drug-related conviction. During a recent meeting with local Ice (Immigration and Customs Enforcement) officers, Park was told he would face detention and deportation unless he chose to leave voluntarily. He was fitted with an ankle monitor and given three weeks to get ready for his departure read more Sae Joon Park is a US Army veteran who had been living in the United States for 48 years. Image: X US Army veteran Sae Joon Park had been living in the United States for nearly fifty years. But he has now self-deported to South Korea after US immigration officials warned him he could be detained over a past drug-related conviction. The green card holder had received the Purple Heart for being wounded in combat. ALSO READ | What is 'CBP Home', America's 'self-deportation' app for illegal immigrants? Recently, he was told he could not continue living in the US due to President Donald Trump's strict immigration policies. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD So, who is Sae Joon Park? Why did he self-deport from the US? And what do we know about the drug conviction? Find out below: Who is the US Army veteran? What happened? Sae Joon Park is a US Army veteran who had been living in the United States for 48 years. He recently had to leave the country after immigration authorities gave him three weeks to depart. 'This really kills me that I just have to drop everything and leave like this,' Park told Hawaii News Now before his departure. Originally from Seoul in South Korea, Park moved to the US at the age of seven. He received legal permanent residency through a green card. Growing up, Park said he lacked strong role models but looked up to his uncle, a colonel in the South Korean military. After high school, he decided to join the US Army. At 19, Park enlisted and served in the 1989 conflict in Panama during the Noriega war. Soon after completing basic training, he was sent to Panama, not knowing he would be involved in Operation Just Cause, the US invasion to remove Manuel Noriega from power. One afternoon, while having lunch with his platoon, Park said Panamanian soldiers opened fire. He began shooting back, but suddenly felt a sharp pain in his back. For U.S. Army veteran Sae Joon Park, the hardest moment wasn't combat — it was being asked to leave the only country he's called home for nearly 50 years. I called on my colleagues to do the right thing and vote YES on my amendment to give non-citizen veterans a fair shot at due… — Rep. Norma Torres (@NormaJTorres) June 26, 2025 STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD 'I realised I was shot,' he told NPR. 'So I'm thinking, 'Oh my God, I'm paralysed.' And then thinking, 'Oh my God, I'm not just paralysed. I'm dying right now.'' Park was later honourably discharged and returned to Los Angeles. There, he struggled with severe post-traumatic stress disorder. To cope with nightmares and sensitivity to noise, he used marijuana. In 1995, Park moved to Hawaii, hoping for a fresh start. But over time, he developed an addiction to crack cocaine. 'Drugs had a big control throughout my life, and that's what eventually got me into trouble with the law and everything,' he said to Hawaii News Now. Conviction to deportation In 2009, Sae Joon Park was convicted of drug-related and bail offences. He spent two and a half years in prison. After completing his sentence, immigration authorities detained him and took away his green card. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD Park challenged his deportation in court. As a Purple Heart recipient, he was granted deferred action. This allowed him to stay in the US, provided he regularly reported to immigration officers and stayed sober. Park has two children in their twenties and helps look after his elderly parents and aunts. But things changed under Donald Trump's administration. At a recent meeting with local Ice officers in Hawaii, Park was told he would be detained and deported unless he chose to leave the country on his own. He was fitted with an ankle monitor and given three weeks to prepare for his departure. 'People were saying, 'You took two bullets for this country. Like you're more American than most of the Americans living in America,'' he told Hawaii News Now. Park spent his last days with friends and family, including his 85-year-old mother, whom he fears he may never see again. He then booked a flight to South Korea. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD Under the supervision of Ice officers at Honolulu airport, he said goodbye to his loved ones in tears. Despite everything, Park remains strong in his belief that his military service was worthwhile. 'Even after everything I went through, I don't regret joining the military or getting shot,' he told NPR. 'It's part of my life, my journey. It's made me who I am today.'
The Hill
2 days ago
- The Hill
Army vet and Purple Heart recipient self-deports after 48 years in US
(KTLA) – A 55-year-old veteran of the U.S. Army who was wounded in action, awarded the Purple Heart and honorably discharged self-deported this week after being ordered to by federal immigration officials, according to multiple media reports. Sae Joon Park, a green-card holder and father of two grown children, came to the United States from South Korea when he was 7 years old. After joining his mother in Miami, the two of them moved to Los Angeles where he spent the rest of his childhood, NPR reported. After graduating high school, Park joined the Army. He was deployed to Panama in 1989, where the U.S. was involved in Operation Just Cause, an effort to topple Manuel Noriega's regime. One afternoon, Park's platoon came under attack. While returning fire, he was struck in the back by gunfire from Panamanian soldiers. It wasn't until after his discharge, he told NPR, that he began experiencing problems with post-traumatic stress disorder, though at the time, he was unaware the mental health condition was what was causing painful symptoms that he self-medicated with drugs. Law enforcement caught up with him one night in New York when he was attempting to buy crack cocaine. Months later, he skipped a scheduled court hearing. 'I just couldn't stay clean,' the veteran told NPR. 'So, finally when the judge told me, 'Don't come back into my court with dirty urine,' which I knew I would, I got scared and jumped bail.' Charges of possession and bail jumping meant that Park would be unable to become a naturalized citizen or seek relief from a deportation order. After serving three years in prison, a time where he told NPR he'd lost all desire to do drugs, he moved to Hawaii where his family was living. The 55-year-old spent 10 years working at a car dealership while raising his son and daughter. U.S. immigration officials issued Park a removal order after his release from prison, but allowed him to stay in the country as long as he attended regular check-ins with federal agents, a once-typical allowance given to immigrants not considered a deportation priority. That, however, changed earlier this month when he was told by Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials that he would be detained and deported if he did not leave on his own. The 55-year-old spent his last remaining days enjoying time with his children and his 85-year-old mother, telling NPR that he's working to accept that it is probably the last time he'll see her. While he doesn't regret joining the Army and getting wounded, telling the outlet that it's a part of his journey, he said, 'I can't believe this is happening in America. That blows my mind, like a country that I fought for.' On June 23, the 55-year-old boarded a flight to a place he barely remembered and left behind the country he called home.
Int'l Business Times
2 days ago
- Int'l Business Times
Army Veteran Received a Purple Heart After Being Shot During Deployment. He Just Self-Deported After an ICE Warning
Sae Joon Park, a decorated U.S. Army veteran wounded in combat and awarded the Purple Heart, boarded a plane to South Korea after choosing to self-deport in response to an ICE warning, ending nearly 50 years in a country he once risked his life to defend. Park arrived in the U.S. from South Korea at age 7 and grew up in Los Angeles, according to NPR. He enlisted in the Army after high school and was later deployed to Panama. During Operation Just Cause in 1989, Park was shot in the back by enemy fire, an injury that earned him an honorable discharge and a Purple Heart. But once he got home, he struggled with untreated PTSD, which would eventually push him toward substance abuse and, years later, a criminal record. Throughout the 1990s and 2000s, Park battled crack cocaine addiction and legal troubles, including a possession charge and a skipped court date. These offenses led to a removal order and ultimately barred him from becoming a U.S. citizen — despite his service. Park served three years in prison and later rebuilt his life in Hawaii, working at a car dealership and raising two children. For years, he was allowed to remain in the U.S. with annual ICE check-ins. But during a recent meeting, officials informed him that he now faced imminent deportation unless he left voluntarily. Rather than face detention, Park chose to leave. In the days before his departure, he said goodbye to his mother, his children, and the only country he's truly known. Despite this, Park expressed no regrets about serving in the U.S. military. Originally published on Latin Times
