Homeland Security secretary Kristi Noem’s tough-guy act crumbles when confronted by senator and the purple heart veteran she deported

Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem faced a seriously intense grilling on Thursday from Representative Seth Magaziner after she initially claimed that no U.S. military veterans had been deported under the current administration. The Rhode Island Democrat, who sits on the House Committee on Homeland Security, called her out in dramatic fashion

Immediately after Noem had denied deporting veterans, Magaziner held up a tablet that displayed Sae Joon Park via Zoom, a combat veteran who had been deported earlier this year.

Park, an Army veteran, was shot twice while serving in Panama back in 1989, according to Boston Globe. For his sacrifice, he received the Purple Heart. Magaziner explained that Park later suffered from post-traumatic stress disorder and was arrested on minor drug charges in the 1990s.

Crucially, Park has been sober for 14 years now. Despite his long-term recovery and service, the administration deported him to South Korea, a country where he hasn’t lived since he was 7 years old.

He took bullets for the same country that booted him without a second thought

The congressman asked Noem to join him in thanking Park for his incredible service. The secretary’s response sounded pretty non-committal, saying, “I am grateful for every person who has served our country and followed our laws.”

Magaziner wasn’t satisfied with that answer, and honestly, who would be? He immediately asked Noem to explain directly to Park why she deported him. Magaziner hammered home the gravity of the situation, stating, “This man took two bullets for our country.” He then pressed the secretary for a commitment.

The congressman asked if Noem would at least look at the case to find a path for Park to return to the country he had sacrificed so much for. This is a reasonable request, and thankfully, Noem eventually agreed. She told the committee and Park, “I will absolutely look at his case.”

The confrontation with Park was just one part of the representative’s strategy to highlight the aggressive immigration policies currently impacting military families. Magaziner had actually brought two other people to the hearing as his guests to drive home the point that these issues extend beyond deportation.

One guest was James Brown, a veteran from Missouri who was a former supporter of President Trump. Brown’s wife, Donna Hughes-Brown, is currently detained by Immigration and Customs Enforcement, or ICE. She has lived in the United States for 47 years and is a mother and grandmother. She was arrested in July when her family returned from a trip to Ireland. According to the congressman’s office, her entire criminal record consists of writing a bad $25 check ten years ago.

Magaziner’s other guest was Alejandro Barranco, a former U.S. Marine. Barranco’s father, Narcisso Barranco, was captured on video being violently detained by ICE while he was working a landscaping job in Santa Ana, California, in June. It’s clear Magaziner wanted to force the Homeland Security secretary to confront the human cost of these policies, not just the technical details.