Latest news with #TaeHeung'Will'Kim
Yahoo
7 days ago
- Politics
- Yahoo
Korean American researcher held at airport for weeks over decade-old weed conviction
[Source] A 40-year-old scientist and legal permanent resident has been detained by the U.S. Customs and Border Protection at San Francisco International Airport since July 21. Tae Heung 'Will' Kim, who has lived in the U.S. since age 5, was returning from his brother's wedding in South Korea when agents cited a 2011 misdemeanor marijuana conviction as grounds for his detention. Devastated family Kim is a Ph.D. student at Texas A&M University developing a vaccine for Lyme disease. According to his legal team, he has previously traveled internationally for academic work without incident. Relatives describe Kim as a devoted son and brother who has spent 35 years in the U.S. and built a career focused on public health research. Sharon Lee, Kim's mother, described her anguish: 'When my other child called and told me they arrested Will, my heart felt like the sky and earth fell. It feels like the world has ended. I've been so worried. We haven't been able to talk with him. I can't sleep or eat. As a mother, I want my son to be safe and free.' Conditions of detention Attorney Karl Krooth, an immigration lawyer in San Francisco, said Kim's detention has far exceeded CBP's internal 72-hour holding limit for airports. 'I've never seen anyone held that long. A prolonged detention indicates to me that there is a degree of coercion or inducement afoot.' Trending on NextShark: Krooth reported that Kim was 'moved within secondary inspection at least twice per day,' kept in windowless rooms with lights on 24 hours a day, denied exercise or fresh air, forced to sleep in a chair, and given only concession food and water. Kim, who has asthma, reportedly struggled to access medication. Since his detention began, he has had almost no communication with family or counsel, and his legal team believes he may now be held at a facility in Arizona. Alarming trend Kim's detention comes amid a rise in cases where legal permanent residents are held over minor or decades-old offenses under stricter immigration enforcement. Civil rights groups and immigration attorneys report that green card holders are increasingly stopped or removed at airports for low-level convictions, including individuals who have spent most of their lives in the U.S. Becky Belcore, co-director of the National Korean American Service & Education Consortium, called Kim's treatment alarming for 'every person who values their freedom and rights.' Belcore criticized both major political parties for failing to represent all residents and called for swift action to protect the rights and freedoms the U.S. claims to uphold. 'Immigrants have been used as a scapegoat for the Trump administration to test the will of the People, and to build the infrastructure to enact an authoritarian regime,' she added. Trending on NextShark: This story is part of The Rebel Yellow Newsletter — a bold weekly newsletter from the creators of NextShark, reclaiming our stories and celebrating Asian American voices. Subscribe free to join the movement. If you love what we're building, consider becoming a paid member — your support helps us grow our team, investigate impactful stories, and uplift our community. Trending on NextShark: Subscribe here now! Download the NextShark App: Want to keep up to date on Asian American News? Download the NextShark App today!
Gulf Today
04-08-2025
- Politics
- Gulf Today
ICE's culture of secrecy has nothing to do with safety
Tae Heung 'Will' Kim, a scientific researcher who has lived in the US since he was 5 and who holds a valid green card, travelled to his native South Korea recently for his kid brother's wedding. But when Kim attempted to re-enter the country, immigration officials blocked him at San Francisco International Airport, taking him into custody. He got no explanation and no access to his attorney, Eric Lee, who said his client slept in a chair for seven days. The agency recently confirmed in a statement to the Washington Post that 'This alien is in ICE custody pending removal proceedings,' according to the Tribune News Service. An accused shoplifter would have more rights than have been afforded Kim, who is researching a vaccine for Lyme disease as he pursues a PhD at Texas A&M University. A toxic combination of secrecy, arrogance and an unsettling recklessness is pervading a newly emboldened Immigration and Customs Enforcement as it pursues President Donald Trump's goal of mass deportation at any cost. Agents' identities are secret; they appear in public wearing black ski masks and street clothes while conducting raids and roundups. Their cars are unmarked. Courtroom arrests have become commonplace. Once in the system, detainees' locations can be difficult to determine, leaving family and friends frantic. Those who dare to ask for a warrant or identification may find themselves charged with obstructing or even assaulting an officer, as happened to hospital staffers in Oxnard, California. The cruelty — and the fear it creates — has become an essential part of ICE operations. In his first term, Trump laid the groundwork for greater secrecy and less public accountability with a 2020 memo that designated ICE a security/sensitive agency, on par with the Federal Bureau of Investigation or Secret Service. Months earlier he had done the same for Customs and Border Protection. The change ensured that names and personal information of not just agents, but all employees, would be kept secret and not subject to public information requests. In his second term, ICE has become resistant to congressional oversight. Democrats who question agency officials get flippant or downright curt answers. Lawmakers who attempt oversight by visiting detention centres have found themselves turned away. Newark, New Jersey, Mayor Ras Baraka was arrested for attempting to enter such a facility in his own city. At a Los Angeles news conference, US Senator Alex Padilla of California was forcibly removed and later taken to the ground and handcuffed because he approached Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem with a question. She claimed not to have known him, even though he is the ranking member on the Senate's judiciary subcommittee on immigration and border safety. None of this is normal, nor should it be. I spoke to Steven Thal, a respected Minnesota immigration lawyer with 42 years of experience, for perspective on how much ICE's practices have changed. 'We're in uncharted waters,' he told me. 'I haven't seen anything like this — to this extent — in all the time I've practised.' 'I get calls every day from people — even citizens — who are afraid to travel. Calls about denaturalization,' he said. 'Agents with masks or uniforms? No proper identification? That never used to happen. How would you even know you're not being kidnapped? There is a roughness now that comes straight from the top and has infiltrated through the agency.' Meanwhile, a backlog in hearings has gone from bad to epic. Thal has one asylum case that's been pending for seven years, another for 10. He says the backlog now stands at 3.4 million cases, according to the Transitional Regional Access Clearinghouse, a national database for immigration. And little wonder: between Trump administration firings, retirements and transfers, a reported 106 immigration judges have left since January; there are about 600 left in the US today. The backup has contributed to massive overcrowding in detention centres. In June, a record 59,000 immigrants were being held in centres across the country. According to a CBS report, that put the system at over 140% capacity. Nearly half of those being detained had no criminal record. Fewer than 30% had criminal convictions.
Hindustan Times
02-08-2025
- Politics
- Hindustan Times
Korean green-card holder detained; was arrested with weed 14 years back
In the latest series of Immigration and Customs Enforcement's (ICE) detentions of U.S. residents, a 40-year-old researcher from Texas, Tae Heung 'Will' Kim, was detained by authorities upon his arrival at the San Francisco International Airport from his brother's wedding in South Korea last week. Tae Heung 'Will' Kim entered a doctoral program at Texas A&M, and is currently working on developing a vaccine for Lyme disease.(Getty Images via AFP) Kim first came to the country at the age of 5 and has been a legal permanent resident of the country ever since. Tae Heung 'Will' Kim detained at airport Eric Lee, Kim's attorney, told the Los Angeles Times that his client was pulled out of the second screening at the airport, following which neither he nor Kim's family has had any contact with him, apart from a brief phone call last week. Upon inquiry, the Senate office told Lee that Kim would be sent to an immigration facility in Texas, although a representative from the Korean Consulate suggested that he might be sent elsewhere. Back in 2011, Kim was charged with misdemeanor marijuana possession charges. In regards to this, a spokesperson for the Customs and Border Protection told the Washington Post that 'this alien is in ICE custody pending removal hearings. If a green card holder is convicted of a drug offense, violating their status, that person is issued a Notice to Appear, and CBP coordinates detention space with [Immigration and Customs Enforcement].' Kim's attorney, on the other hand, calls it a little absurd for this to happen if his client 'had a little weed when he was pulled over 15 years ago in his 20s.' Family's response Kim's parents first arrived in the country on business visas in the 1980s. By the time they became naturalized US citizens, it was too late for Kim to get automatic citizenship. He has been living in the country ever since on a green card and contributed to his family's doll-manufacturing business after his father's passing. Having recently entered a doctoral program at Texas A&M, he is currently working on developing a vaccine for Lyme disease. 'He's had asthma ever since he was younger,' Kim's mother, Yehoon 'Sharon' Lee, told the Washington Post. 'I don't know if he has enough medication. He carries an inhaler, but I don't know if it's enough, because he's been there a week.' Experts are now advising green card holders to avoid travelling out of the country at the risk of being denied re-entry amid increasing detainments. - With inputs from Stuti Gupta
