Kristi Noem grilled over L.A. Purple Heart Army vet who self-deported

Sae Joon Park, center, seen with his son and daughter, self-deported to South Korea. Park, an Army veteran who grew up in Koreatown and the San Fernando Valley and was awarded a Purple Heart, was threatened with being detained and deported by federal immigration forces.

(Courtesy of Sae Joon Park)

Seema Mehta

Staff Writer

Dec. 12, 2025

10:27 AM PT

4 min

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A Los Angeles Army veteran who was wounded in combat self-deported to South Korea earlier this year after facing detention and removal by the Trump administration.

Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem was questioned by lawmakers Thursday over how many military veterans have been deported during the administration’s immigration crackdown.

Purple Heart recipient Sae Joon Park, who chose to voluntarily leave the country after getting his affairs in order rather than face immediate deportation, is separated from his elderly mother who is suffering dementia.

The saga of a Los Angeles Army veteran who legally immigrated to the United States, was wounded in combat and self-deported to South Korea earlier this year, became a flashpoint during a testy congressional hearing about the Trump administration’s immigration policy.

Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem was grilled Thursday on Capitol Hill about military veterans deported during the immigration crackdown launched earlier this year, including in Los Angeles.

“Sir, we have not deported U.S. citizens or military veterans,” Noem responded when questioned by Rep. Seth Magaziner (D-R.I.).

Seth Magaziner, speaks while joined on a video call by a man who he said was a U.S. military veteran deported to South Korea.

Rep. Seth Magaziner (D-R.I.) speaks while joined on a video call by a man who he said was a U.S. military veteran who self-deported to South Korea, during a hearing of the House Committee on Homeland Security on Thursday.

(Mark Schiefelbein / Associated Press)

An aide then held up a tablet showing a Zoom connection with Purple Heart recipient Sae Joon Park in South Korea. The congressman argued that Park had “sacrificed more for this country than most people ever have” and asked Noem if she would investigate Park’s case given her discretion as a cabinet member. Noem pledged to “absolutely look at his case.”

Sae Joon Park, center, seen with his son and daughter, self-deported to South Korea at the age of 55. Park, an Army veteran who grew up in Van Nuys and was awarded a Purple Heart, was threatened with being detained and deported by federal immigration forces.

Politics

L.A. Army veteran with Purple Heart self-deports to South Korea under threat of deportation

On Monday, veteran Sae Joon Park, who legally immigrated from South Korea when he was seven years old, flew back to his homeland under threat of deportation at the age of 55.

June 27, 2025

Park, reached in Seoul on Thursday night, said he was skeptical that Noem would follow through on her promise, but said that he had “goosebumps” watching the congressional hearing.

“It was amazing. And then I’m getting tons of phone calls from all my friends back home and everywhere else. I’m so very grateful for everything that happened today,” Park, 56, said, noting that friends told him that a clip of his story appeared on ABC’s “Jimmy Kimmel Live!” show Thursday night.

The late-night host featured footage of Park’s moment in the congressional hearing in his opening monologue.

“Is anyone OK with this? Seriously, all kidding aside, we deported a veteran with a Purple Heart?” Kimmel said, adding that Republicans “claim to care so much about veterans, but they don’t at all.”

Park legally immigrated to the United States when he was 7, grew up in Koreatown and the San Fernando Valley, and joined the Army after graduating from Notre Dame High School in Sherman Oaks in 1988.

Photo of Sae Joon Park, an Army veteran with a Purple Heart, who self-deported to South Korea under threat of deportation.

(Courtesy of Sae Joon Park)

The green card holder was deployed to Panama in 1989 as the U.S. tried to depose the nation’s de facto leader, Gen. Manuel Noriega. Park was shot twice and honorably discharged. Suffering PTSD, he self-medicated with illicit drugs, went to prison after jumping bail on drug possession charges, became sober and raised two children in Hawaii.

Earlier this year, when Park checked in for his annual meeting with federal officials to verify his sobriety and employment, he was given the option of being immediately detained and deported, or wearing an ankle monitor for three weeks as he got his affairs in order before leaving the country for a decade.

Elena is a mother of three and grandmother from Chiapas, Mexico. She plans to return to Mexico.

California

More immigrants opt to self-deport rather than risk being marched out like criminals

Even in liberal-leaning California, undocumented immigrants who have worked here for decades are making plans to leave, choosing to depart on their own terms rather than risk being forced out with nothing.

April 18, 2025

At the time, Department of Homeland Security Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin said Park had an “extensive criminal history” and had been given a final removal order, with the option to self-deport.

Park chose to leave the country voluntarily. He initially struggled to acclimate in a nation he hasn’t lived in since he was a child, but said Thursday night that his mental state — and his Korean language skills — have improved.

“It hasn’t been easy. Of course, I miss home like crazy,” he said. “I’m doing the best I can. I’m usually a very positive person, so I feel like everything happens for a reason, and I’m just trying to hang in there until hopefully I make it back home.”

Among Park’s top concerns when he left the United States in June was that his mother, who is 86 and struggling with dementia, would pass away while he couldn’t return to the county. But her lack of awareness about his situation has been somewhat of a strange blessing, Park said.

“She really doesn’t know I’m even here. So every time I talk to her, she’s like, ‘Oh, where are you,’ and I tell her, and she’s like, ‘Oh, when are you coming home? Oh, why are you there?’” Park said. “In a weird way, it’s kind of good because she doesn’t have to worry about me all the time. But at the same time, I would love to be next to her while she’s going through this.”