- House Homeland Security Committee meeting on Thursday.
- Secretary Kristi Noem claimed no veteran deportations.
- Department had not deported U.S. military veterans.
When asked how many veterans her department had deported, Noem responded,
"We have not deported U.S. citizens or military veterans,"
by U.S. Representative Seth Magaziner, D-R.I.
An assistant pulled out an iPad while she spoke to the committee. Sae Joon Park, a 55-year-old who self-deported to South Korea in June, was on a Zoom call.
“He is a United States Army combat veteran who was shot twice while serving our country in Panama in 1989,”
Magaziner said.
“He is a Purple Heart recipient. He has sacrificed more for this country than most people ever have.”
“You deported him to Korea, a country he hasn’t lived in since he was seven years old. Will you join me in thanking Mr. Park for his service to our country?”
he concluded.
“I am grateful for every single person who has served our country and follows our laws,”
Noem responded.
Due to previous offenses of drug possession and bail jumping, Immigration and Customs threatened to deport Park back to South Korea earlier this year, according to NBC News.
Park told NBC News that since receiving a removal order ten years ago, he had been going to routine check-ups with ICE. However, he was put on an ankle monitor and threatened with deportation if he did not depart within three weeks.
Park told NBC News that since moving to South Korea, his PTSD has gotten worse. Park was diagnosed with the disorder in his 40s.
“It just comes out of nowhere. I’ll be walking around just thinking about something, I’ll just start bawling, just crying nonstop. And I have no control over that,”
Park told NBC News from Seoul.
“I’ve been dealing with it the best I can everyday.”
Which congressman confronted Noem about deportations of veterans?
Rep. Seth Magaziner( D- R.I.) grilled Secretary Kristi Noem about displacements of U.S. military stages during the December 11, 2025, House Homeland Security Committee hail.
Magaziner challenged Noem's claim of no stager displacements by featuring Army stager Sae Joon Park via Zoom, who tone- deported to South Korea after a junking order tied to old medicine charges, and stressed Jim Brown's woman facing expatriation despite her long U.S. occupancy.
Noem committed to reviewing the cases but defended enforcement as targeting culprits under laws, prompting Congress to amend bills if displeased; Magaziner argued similar conduct betrayed public prospects for prioritizing serious malefactors.