HONOLULU (HawaiiNewsNow) - A Purple Heart Army veteran made a surprise appearance on Capitol Hill Thursday, months after he was forced to self-deport from Hawaii to South Korea.

U.S. Department of Homeland Security secretary Kristi Noem testified before the House Homeland Security Committee about the department’s national security and immigration practices.

Rep. Seth Magaziner, D-Rhode Island, asked Noem how many veterans DHS deported.

“We have not deported U.S. citizens or military veterans,” Noem said.

Magaziner then challenged the secretary and said, “We are joined on Zoom by a gentleman named Sae Jun Park. He is a United States Army combat veteran who was shot twice while serving our country in Panama in 1989.”

Hawaii News Now was there when Park, a Purple Heart recipient, self-

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