Purple Heart Veteran Self-Deports After ICE Threatens Arrest at Check-In

Sae Joon Park, a Purple Heart recipient who served in the U.S. Park, who had been living in the country since age 7 on a green card that was later revoked, had been granted deferred action on a removal order in 2011 based on his military service.

He now lives on Camp Humphreys, a U.S. Army garrison south of Seoul. Park told CNN that spending time on the base, with its American chain restaurants and soldiers in uniform, provides a temporary sense of home.

He returned to South Korea, the country of his birth, for the first time since childhood after the June 2025 encounter with immigration officials. Park is among veterans affected by the current administration's immigration enforcement policies. At age 7, Park traveled alone from South Korea to Miami to join his mother following his parents' divorce.

The family later moved to Los Angeles, where he grew up in Koreatown and the San Fernando Valley. After high school, he enlisted in the Army at the suggestion of his uncle, a South Korean Marine colonel. In October 1989, Park was stationed at Fort Clayton in Panama.

He participated in Operation Just Cause, which the Army described at the time as its largest combat operation since the Vietnam War. During a raid on a house linked to Manuel Noriega, a firefight erupted and Park was shot twice in the spine and lower back. He was airlifted to a hospital in San Antonio, where he received a Purple Heart in a bedside ceremony.

Park said he survived the injuries but struggled with what he later recognized as post-traumatic stress disorder upon returning to civilian life. He said loud noises triggered panic attacks and nightmares, leading him to use marijuana and then harder drugs. Park's drug use contributed to legal problems.

In 2007, he was arrested and convicted of possession of a controlled substance. While on probation, he fled New York to avoid a failed drug test, resulting in a conviction for second-degree bail jumping, classified as an aggravated felony under immigration law. He served time in prison and was released in 2011.

Upon release, ICE agents were waiting due to a removal order issued the previous year. After six months in detention, he was released and granted deferred action citing his status as a Purple Heart veteran. His green card was revoked and he could not travel abroad, but he was permitted to remain and work in the United States for the next 15 years.

Park's attorney, Danicole Ramos, who attended the check-in, said the encounter prompted him to self-deport. Immigration attorneys have reported that long-dormant removal cases have become enforcement priorities under current policies.

Park is seeking a pardon from the governor of New York for his convictions and is pursuing other legal pathways to return. His attorney said those processes could take years with no guarantee of success. The Department of Homeland Security has cited Park's criminal record on drug possession, bail jumping and related charges when addressing questions about his case.

Park received national attention in December 2025 when lawmakers questioned then-Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem during a congressional hearing about veterans affected by the immigration enforcement actions.