Kristi Noem Testifies DHS Hasn’t Deported Any Veterans. Seconds Later, a Kicked-Out War Hero Calls into the Hearing

Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem faced sharp scrutiny in a House hearing on Thursday, Dec. 11, over her department’s deportation policies, including cases involving U.S. military veterans and longtime residents.

During the hearing on national security threats, Rep. Seth Magaziner, a Democrat from Rhode Island, pressed Noem on how her agency has treated veterans who served in the U.S. military.

“Madame Secretary, how many United States military veterans have you deported?” Magaziner asked.

Noem, 54, responded, “Sir, we have not deported U.S. citizens or military veterans.”

As she began to elaborate, Magaziner shifted the focus to a veteran appearing via video call on a tablet held by a man seated behind him.

“As Americans, we owe everything to those who have served our country in uniform, particularly those who have served in combat. Do you agree with that?” he asked.

Noem started to reply, “Sir, I believe that people that are in the United States that are citizens have legal status here—” before Magaziner cut in to introduce the video participant.

“Madame Secretary, we are joined on Zoom by a gentleman named Sae Joon Park,” Magaziner said. “He is a United States Army combat veteran who was shot twice while serving our country in Panama in 1989.”

Magaziner explained that Park, a Purple Heart recipient, struggled with PTSD and substance abuse following his service and was arrested in the 1990s for “minor drug offenses.” NPR has previously reported that Park was charged with possession of a controlled substance and bail jumping while addicted to crack cocaine.

According to Magaziner, Park has been sober for 14 years. “Earlier this year, you deported him to Korea, a country he hasn’t lived in since he was 7 years old,” the congressman said.

He then asked Noem to join him in thanking Park for his military service.

Noem replied that she is “grateful for every single person that has served our country and follows our laws, and knows that our laws are important and every one of them needs to be enforced.”

When Magaziner pressed her to review Park’s case, Noem said she “absolutely” would, while emphasizing, “Our programs need to have integrity, as well.”

Magaziner then raised another case, this time involving Navy veteran Jim Brown, whose wife emigrated from Ireland and has lived in the United States for 48 years. She has been incarcerated for the past four months.

“She did not come here illegally, and she has never committed any crime other than writing two bad checks totaling $80 ten years ago,” Magaziner said.

Noem responded that it was not “my prerogative, my latitude or my job to pick and choose which laws in this country get enforced.” Magaziner argued that she has “broad discretion” as Homeland Security secretary. When asked directly, Noem said she would review Brown’s wife’s case as well.

The congressman also described the situation of a veteran whose father, Narciso Barranco, was allegedly targeted by immigration agents over the summer and punched in the head. Magaziner urged Noem to consider granting Barranco parole.

He went on to deliver a pointed critique of Noem’s leadership, saying, “There are many problems with your leadership, but the biggest problem is this: You don’t seem to know how to tell the difference between the good guys and the bad guys. Go after the bad guys, go after the terrorists, do not go after veterans, Marines, children, United States citizens.”

Noem reportedly left the hearing early, saying she needed to attend another meeting that had already been canceled, according to reports from The Hill and The Washington Post. Her office later told The Hill that she learned the meeting was canceled only after leaving the witness table.

Noem’s deportation policies have drawn increasing criticism during her time leading the Department of Homeland Security. Earlier this month, she posted on X that she had been in discussions with President Donald Trump about expanding travel restrictions.

In that post, Noem advocated for a “full travel ban on every damn country that’s been flooding our nation with killers, leeches, and entitlement junkies.”

Her Dec. 1 message came shortly after Trump, 79, said his administration planned to “permanently pause” migration from “Third World Countries,” without naming specific countries or explaining how such a pause would be enforced.