A green-card holder has been detained at SFO for a week. Now he could be deported
Tae Heung 'Will' Kim, who has lived in the U.S. since the age of 5 and is currently a doctorate student at Texas A&M University researching a vaccine for Lyme disease, was detained July 21 at a security checkpoint after arriving at the airport from South Korea, said Chris Godshall-Bennett, one of Kim's attorneys. Kim has a misdemeanor marijuana possession charge from more than a decade ago, the attorney said.
It was unclear Tuesday morning whether Kim was still being held at the airport or had been transferred to a detention center, his attorney said. A spokesperson for U.S. Customs and Border Protection said in a statement Tuesday that Kim 'is in ICE custody pending removal proceedings.'
Godshall-Bennett said immigration officials had not told Kim's attorneys why they detained the 40-year-old man, and had not allowed them contact with him.
The CBP spokesperson said if a green-card holder is convicted of a drug offense, they are issued a notice to appear and the agency then works with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement on detention.
Immigration officials appear to be ramping up detainments at airports nationwide, raising concerns, Godshall-Bennett said. In May, an Irish woman who had lived in the U.S. legally for decades was detained at SFO due to a criminal record from 20 years prior. She was transferred to an ICE facility in Washington but released 17 days later amid public outcry.
'More recently we've been seeing the phenomenon of people being detained by Customs and Border Protection at airports for a significant amount of time,' Godshall-Bennett said, adding that these facilities are not equipped to handle long-term detentions and people don't have access to basic hygiene.
'You can't change your underwear. This is not an acceptable situation to put human beings in,' Godshall-Bennett said.
While Kim's attorneys have been unable to speak with him, Kim's younger brother, whose wedding he attended in South Korea, has been able to talk to him briefly, Godshall-Bennett said.
Eric Lee, another of Kim's attorneys, posted on X that Kim has been held in an airport detention with 'no daylight, sleeping in chair, no access to lawyer. Another brutal attack on immigrants & science. Free Will!'
The case was first reported by the Washington Post.
Kim's detention comes as the Trump administration ramps up efforts to boost deportation numbers, promising to arrest 3,000 people per day. Advocates say the effort has been expansive and goes beyond Trump's promise to deport 'the worst of the worst,' tearing families apart and leaving state officials scrambling for answers.
In the Bay Area, most ICE arrests have occurred when people show up to immigration court or a regular ICE check-in, leaving many immigrants in fear that they will be detained when going through their proceedings. In some cases, government attorneys have sought to dismiss cases only to have ICE detain people if the judge grants the dismissal, according to immigration attorneys.
Recent ICE data shows that arrests in Northern California have increased roughly 70% this year, compared with the final six months of the Biden administration. While arrests of convicted criminals grew, arrests of people suspected only of immigration-related violations, or who had pending charges, went up much faster. At least 30 people have been arrested in the Bay Area so far, according to advocates.
'They found an excuse to remove somebody who is not a citizen, and they are taking every opportunity to remove as many people as they can regardless of their connection, regardless of the amount of time they've been here and regardless of the work they do,' Godshall-Bennett said.
'God forbid we all start getting in trouble for minor marijuana possession,' he added.
In 2011, Kim was arrested for a minor marijuana possession in Texas for which he served community service, Godshall-Bennett said, adding that he believes Kim can get a waiver so the conviction isn't used against him. Typically, people with past marijuana convictions can receive a waiver if the amount they had in their possession was less than 30 grams. Marijuana possession is charged as a misdemeanor if the amount is less than 28.5 grams.
Convictions for possession of marijuana, which has been decriminalized in some states, can result in deportation, said Catherine Seitz, legal director of the Immigration Institute of the Bay Area.
Seitz said what makes Kim's situation surprising is that immigration authorities had held him for a long period of time. Typically, authorities will give people an appointment and tell them to return for another inspection before placing them in removal proceedings.
'They are definitely being stricter,' Seitz said. 'They're using detention a lot more in this administration.'
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