Via a reader tip comes this story about an Iraq War veteran facing deportation to South Korea:
An Iraq war veteran who grew up in Portland is being held by federal immigration agents in a Tacoma detention center and could be deported to South Korea.
Chong Hwan Kim, 41, has lived in Portland since his family immigrated with documentation when he was 5, his friends said.
But federal immigration authorities say Kim was arrested because of criminal convictions.
Immigration authorities detained Kim on April 5 because of a recent first-degree arson felony conviction, said Rose Riley, an Immigrations and Customs Enforcement spokeswoman. Kim later told friends that agents arrested him after he got a call telling him to come downtown to discuss his probation.
But Kim’s friends argue it’s wrong to deport a man who grew up in and went to war for the United States. Jordan Meyers, who met Kim through a Department of Veterans Affairs support group, worries what will happen to his friend if he is sent to South Korea, where he does not speak the language and has no family.
“He came to our country legally. … He fought for our country. He bled with us,” Meyers said. “Does that not earn for him the right to live here?” [Oregon Live]
You can read more at the link, but serving in the National Guard does not give someone a right to have citizenship. Part of being applying to be a citizen is to not have a criminal history. Kim has an extensive criminal history. On top of that Kim received a general discharge under honorable conditions from the National Guard so he clearly got in trouble during his time serving to not get an honorable discharge.
He could have applied to be a citizen a long time ago if he came to the US with a valid Green Card, but I am willing to bet his criminal history is what has been preventing it from happening. Based on what I have read it seems Kim has earned his deportation and I recommend he begin brushing up on his Korean.
