Justin Chung: ICE arrests South Korean-born man en route to self deportation, leaving pregnant wife behind; his criminal past

Justin Chung, 35, was arrested as he and his wife were preparing to self-deport, an incident that has now gone viral. The couple had planned his voluntary departure after he was granted clemency for a murder he committed at age 16.

His wife, Neftali Carrera Chung has launched a GoFundMe campaign, explaining: “My husband Justin Chung was suddenly taken by ICE agents despite following instructions to self-deport. We were told he would be allowed to buy his own ticket to South Korea and leave voluntarily - but moments before we were leaving our home to head to his appointment, ICE surrounded us and detained him.”

The couple are expecting their first child in February, and Neftali says Justin had already purchased a ticket for voluntary departure on June 13, “but ICE denied him the opportunity to follow through on it.” She added that they are raising funds for legal fees, emergency baby support, and deportation costs under potential humanitarian or spousal petitions. The fundraiser has so far raised over $14,000.

According to his interview with the Los Angeles Times from 2023, after serving nearly 14 years for a 2007 gang-related murder, Chung turned his life around, earning a General Educational Development and college qualifications, working as a hairstylist, and mentoring at-risk youth.

He openly discussed his past on TikTok and podcasts, acknowledging the gravity of his crime: “You took a life and the 14 years does not give the victim’s family any justice,” one TikTok user commented, to which Chung replied that it “took him years to feel remorse.”

Following his release, Chung faced deportation due to the severity of his conviction. He complied with reporting requirements to immigration authorities and actively sought support for legal relief. He said then: “Especially being Korean, I do want to be private, for my family. But I have to fight. I have to do something before I get deported.”

In a recent TikTok post after his detention, Neftali shared a phone call with Chung where he described his experience in custody: “I haven't showered and brushed my teeth. And the first three days were hard because the plane broke down, and we were stuck in the plane for 24 hours handcuffed. So that was pretty hard.”

Chung’s arrest comes amid Trump administration’s crackdown on undocumented immigrants - even those with no criminal history - tasking ICE with a quota of up to 3,000 arrests per day to bolster mass deportations.

Insiders say this “is taking focus off criminals” and “killing morale” within the agency. Under this surge, arrests of migrants without criminal convictions have increased by over 800% since January, while only about one-third of arrestees had prior conviction. A CNN analysis confirms fewer than 10% of ICE detainees have violent-crime convictions, the majority are held for minor violations.