Eclipsed Moon?

He could face deportation

Sun Myung Moon, 61, the crypto-messiah of the Unification Church, has been keeping a low profile lately at his 25-acre estate overlooking the Hudson River north of New York City. But even in seclusion he is one of the most publicized and pilloried religious figures in the U.S. His church was slapped with a $1.6 million judgment last March after losing a libel case filed against the Daily Mail in Britain. New York's highest court just upheld a decision to deny academic accreditation to the Unification Church's theological seminary in Barrytown, N.Y. There are also assorted tax disputes. Last week ABC News reported that Moon may be facing another formidable problem. According to ABC, the U.S. Immigration and Naturalization Service was about to sue to have Moon deported.

The Unification Church promptly threatened ABC with a $50 million libel suit, and cited an immigration official who denied that any proceedings against Moon were in the works. Then it indeed developed that an investigation is being conducted that could ultimately result in Moon's deportation, not for his sect's manipulation of thousands of young devotees, but on a technicality involving the resident status of his wife, Hak Ja Han Moon. Allegedly, Mrs. Moon was granted permanent resident alien status in the U.S. on the basis of falsified credentials on her application. If the charge is proved, she could be deported. And if Hak Ja Han is deported, Moon would eventually lose the permanent resident status that was granted him in 1973 because he was married to her. Both remain citizens of South Korea. The actual deportation process, if it occurs at all, could take years. But the proceedings may begin in a few weeks.

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