A scientist on his way home from vacation has been held at a California airport in “inhumane conditions” for over a week without any explanation or legal counsel.
Tae Heung “Will” Kim, 40, was detained at the San Francisco International Airport by immigration officials last week after a two-week trip to South Korea for his younger brother’s wedding.
According to Customs and Border Protection (CBP) guidelines, individuals in CBP custody “should generally not be held for longer than 72 hours in CBP hold rooms or holding facilities.”
Yet Kim has been held for almost triple the suggested time.
Kim was born in Korea but has lived in the U.S. since he was 5 years old. He is a lawful permanent resident of the U.S. and currently lives in Texas.
Kim’s attorney, Eric Lee, said the government has not yet provided an explanation as to why his client is being detained and has barred him from speaking directly to an attorney or his family members.
In a statement to the Daily Beast on Tuesday, Lee said that a CBP Supervisor Officer “explicitly told me on the phone that he was denying Will the right to speak to his lawyers.”
“When I asked whether the Constitution applied to Will, a green card holder who has lived here for 35 years, the officer said, ‘No,’” Lee said.
If confirmed, this would be a violation of Kim’s constitutional rights under the Fifth and Sixth Amendments, which protect an individual’s right to legal counsel and due process.
Kim’s immigration lawyer, Karl Krooth, said that “it’s appalling to see a lawful permanent resident suffer detention for a week without access to counsel.”
“While detained, CBP kept the lights on 24 hours per day, not allowing Will to see any daylight because the only time he was allowed near a window was at night,” Krooth said in a statement to the Daily Beast.
“He was given no fluids besides water, ate only concession stand food, and slept in a chair rather than [a] bed,” he added.
The National Korean American Service & Education Consortium (NAKASEC) said in a statement shared with the Beast that Kim’s “prolonged detention and lack of access to his lawyer raise profound constitutional concerns.”
The organization also noted that Kim suffers from asthma and they are “unsure” about his access to medication as he is being held in “inhumane conditions.”
Kim is currently a Ph.D. student at Texas A&M University researching a vaccine for Lyme disease, an irony that is not lost on Lee.
“Donald Trump is depriving the American people of Will Kim’s critical biomedical work, prolonging the search for a vaccine for Lyme disease,” Lee said.
“Trump always talks about how much he loves the great farmers of America. Well, Tae is somebody who can save farmers’ lives,” Lee told The Washington Post on Monday.
Kim’s detainment comes as the Trump administration has been making significant moves to crack down on immigration. A Russian scientist who was granted a visa to research at Harvard Medical School was detained earlier this year.
Thus far, Kim has only been allowed to make a quick phone call to his mother, Sharon Lee, on Friday.
“My children only know the U.S. as home. Will should not be trapped or treated poorly just because he made a mistake or is not a citizen,” Kim’s mother said in a statement to the Beast. “He deserves to go back to his normal life.”
The rest of his brief communications with his family have been mediated through what seems to be an immigration official texting through Kim’s phone with him nearby, Lee told The Post.
Kim was previously charged with possessing a small amount of marijuana almost 15 years ago and successfully completed his court-ordered community service.
Yet, Lee told The Post that Kim meets the criteria for a waiver that allows immigration officials to overlook minor crimes that might affect the status of a legal permanent resident.
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