HONOLULU (Island News) — A decorated Purple Heart veteran is at the center of growing outrage in Washington after being forced to leave the only country he’s called home.
Sae Joon Park came to the U.S. at age seven, served in the Army and was wounded in combat during Operation Just Cause in Panama. However, after struggling with PTSD and receiving a criminal conviction, his green card was revoked.
For years, the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) allowed him to stay under supervision until this June, when officials told him he’d be detained unless he self-deported. He left behind his two children and ailing mother in Hawaii when he deported to South Korea on June 23, 2025.
Senators Mazie Hirono and Richard Blumenthal are demanding answers from Homeland Security, writing, “While DHS press releases frequently claim that this administration is going after ‘the worst of the worst,’ your department’s actions towards this veteran say otherwise. As members of the Senate Veterans Affairs Committee, we ask why your department chose to treat someone who has fought for our country in this way.”…