Purple Heart Vet Forced to Self-Deport

America the Great.

U.S. Army Purple Heart veteran forced to self-deport from Hawaii
After nearly losing his life in combat, Sae Joon Park was told by ICE he had three weeks to return to South Korea.

After 48 years in the United States, decorated Army veteran Sae Joon Park deported himself to South Korea.
By Annalisa Burgos and Sydney Brammer
Published: Jun. 23, 2025 at 4:31 PM HST|Updated: 17 hours ago


HONOLULU (HawaiiNewsNow) - After 48 years in the United States, decorated Army veteran Sae Joon Park left his life and family in Hawaii on Monday, not knowing when he’ll see them again.

He self deported to South Korea, under the watchful eyes of ICE agents. Park tearfully hugged his son, daughter, parents, aunts, and friends at Honolulu airport.

“This really kills me that I just have to drop everything and leave like this,” Park said in an interview with Hawaii News Now before his last day in the U.S.

“They’re all worried about me. They’re like, letting me know, ‘Oh, you’ll be OK in Korea.’ I know I’ll be OK. That’s not what I’m worried about. I’m worried about them.”

Park moved to the U.S. from Seoul when he was 7 years old and had legal permanent residency under a green card.

At 19, he joined the army and fought in Panama during the Noriega war in 1989. He was shot twice during combat and was awarded a Purple Heart for his bravery.

“I got shot in the spine with an AK-47, M16 my left lower back,“ he recalled. ”In my mind, I’m going, ‘Oh my god, I’m shot in the back. I can’t feel my legs. I must be paralyzed.’”

Miraculously, his dog tag deflected the bullet aimed for his spine, saving his life.

Park was honorably discharged and returned to his then-home in Los Angeles, where he suffered from severe PTSD. He turned to mar1juana to cope with nightmares and sensitivity to loud noises and moved to Hawaii in 1995 for a better lifestyle. But he became addicted to crack cocaine and struggled for years to get clean.

“Drugs had a big control throughout my life and that’s what eventually got me into trouble with the law and everything,” he said.

In 2009, he was convicted for drug and bail offenses and served two and a half years in prison. When he was released, ICE agents detained him and revoked his green card.

He fought deportation in court and as a Purple Heart veteran was allowed to stay in the U.S. under deferred action, as long as he checked in each year and stayed clean and sober.

Park turned his life around -- he became a loving father to his two children, now in their 20s, and cares for his aging parents and aunts, who are in their 80s.

“These last 14 years have been great, like really proud of myself, proud of my kids, how I’ve been acting and how I’ve been living my life,” he said.

But this month, officials ended his deferred action status and told him he had to leave the country or be detained and forcibly deported. He was given an ankle monitor and three weeks to handle his affairs. He and his family were in shock.

“People were saying ‘You took two bullets for this country. Like you’re more American than most of the Americans living in America,’” he said.

“Let’s say [my daughter] gets married, I won’t be there,” Park said. “Let’s say my parents pass away, I won’t be there. You know, so many things that I’ll be missing. And for sure things are going to happen, I just can’t be there, which is heartbreaking.”

“In every sense of him, he is an American but by paper,” said Danicole Ramos, Park’s attorney, who believes current immigration policy enforcement sparks a deeper conversation about what it means to be an American and a patriot.

“We have a veteran, like Mr. Park, who took a bullet for this country, who fought and swore an oath to preserve, protect and defend the constitution of the United States even though he wasn’t a citizen of it,” Ramos said.

“And now while we’re celebrating this month and the army, and their birthday, we’re also at the same time, turning our back on some of them that have served in the army.”

Ramos says 38% of the U.S. military are non-citizens, and believes thousands are being deported for non-violent crimes.

“Mr Park is a victim of this poor system of where we’re not supporting our veterans,” Ramos said. " What can our Congress do to make sure that we helped Mr. Park get a pathway to citizenship, that we are able to forgive him for his past mistakes and remember his service.“

Park said he takes responsibility for his mistakes, but believes his military service should count for something.

“I get it. I broke the law and everything, but I think this is a little severe what they’re doing to me after I paid my dues after I did my time for the offense that I did,” he said. “I thought I was doing my part to do whatever I have to do to be a good citizen and do everything right to stay in this country.”

Now he’s leaving the only real home he’s known to start over in a place he hasn’t visited in 30 years.

“I’ll have to relearn everything,” Park said.

HNN reached out to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement and U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services for comment and are waiting to hear back