Kristi Noem Testifies No Veterans Have Been Deported… Then A Deported Veteran Joins The Hearing

Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem testified before the House on Thursday that her department had not deported any military veterans.

Moments later, Democratic Rep. Seth Magaziner, who was questioning Noem, brought up the case of Purple Heart veteran Sae Joon Park, who joined the hearing on Zoom.

Park, 55, was forced to self-deport in June under the Trump administration after taking two bullets for the U.S. while fighting in Panama during the Noriega war in 1989.

He had lived in the country since he was 7 years old, but is now in South Korea after Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) ended his deferred action status.

The decision related to a 15-year-old drug offense, which Park says was connected to severe post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) from his time in the military.

“Madame Secretary, how many United States military veterans have you deported?” Magaziner asked Noem during the hearing about national security threats.

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

“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?” Magaziner asked.

Noem responded, “Sir, I believe that people that are in the United States that are citizens have legal status here...” before she was cut off by Magaziner.

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

As Magaziner went on to describe Park’s case, asserting he had been sober for 14 years, he asked Noem to join him in “thanking Mr. Park for his service to our country.”

She replied, “Sir, I’m 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.”

Magaziner pressed Noem on whether she would commit to looking at Park’s case and potentially helping him find a pathway back to the U.S.

“I will absolutely look at his case, but I want you to remember that our programs need to have integrity as well,” she responded.

Magaziner raised further cases, including that of Navy combat veteran Jim Brown whose wife, from Ireland but legally living in the U.S. for 48 years, had been imprisoned for 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.

After thanking Brown for his service to the U.S., Noem said, “It is not my prerogative, my latitude, or my job to pick and choose which laws in this country get enforced,” adding, “We need to follow the law.”

Noem said she would review the case.

Magaziner did not stop there. He was joined by Marine Alejandro Barranco, whose father Narciso was detained by ICE and punched in the head at his landscaping at an International House of Pancakes (IHOP) in California earlier this year.

“A peaceful, hardworking man who raised three sons to be United States Marines, we need men of that character in this country,” Magaziner said.

He asked Noem to consider offering parole to Barranco.

Following the hearing, which Noem left early to attend another meeting that was cancelled, Congressman Seth Moulton publicly released a letter that contradicted her testimony.

The September 2 letter from Noem to Moulton read, “Regarding your question on the number of veterans that have been removed since January 20, 2025, ICE has removed eight veterans.”

Also during the House committee meeting, Noem ranted at members and told them they should all be fired.

“If you guys don’t like the law, go change it, that’s your job. You don’t complain,” Noem said. “I was raised by a dad who said we don’t complain about things, we fix them.”

“Well, go fix them. If you don’t like the law, quit bellyaching, quit hitting and attacking our ICE officers, quit going out and protesting and screaming vile things at them.

“Quit calling them names: we wouldn’t let our children do that. Go do something that actually matters by having an honest debate and changing the law.

“That’s your jobs and you all should be fired, in my viewpoint.”