WASHINGTON -- The Immigration and Naturalization Service soon will take steps to deport the Rev. Sun Myung Moon, leader of the controversial Unification Church, ABC News reports.
An INS spokeswoman confirmed today there has been 'a long, on-going investigation' about Moon, but declined to make any further comment.
Acting INS chief Doris Meissner would only say Thursday, 'There has been some activity on the Moon case.' She would not confirm that a decision has been made to try to deport the Unification Church leader.
ABC News reported Thursday the Justice Department will 'soon' start legal proceedings against Moon, whose church claims 30,000 U.S. followers, sometimes called 'Moonies.'
Unification Church spokesman Jeremiah Schnee said in New York the group had 'no knowledge whatsoever' of any immigration action.
'We think it is grossly unfair that the first time we learned of this matter is through media news,' he said. 'We do not know what the source of this information is, but if it is indeed the Justice Department, we feel it to be an immoral and improper leak.'
The immigration service 'will seek Moon's deportation because of what one source says was 'improperly obtained residency status,'' ABC News reported.
The INS said Moon entered the country Nov. 23, 1972 on a non-immigrant visa and applied to become a legal permanent resident April 30, 1973.
Moon's Unification Church has been widely criticized for its business dealings and influence on young people. Some parents have had their children 'deprogrammed' to overcome the influence of the church.
The church says it has 30,000 adherents in the United States and nearly 3 million worldwide in 137 countries, most of whom are under 30 years of age.
On Oct. 31, 1978, a House subcommittee investigating Korean-American relations said Moon's church 'systematically violated' U.S. tax, immigration, banking, currency and Foreign Agents Registration Act laws, as well as state and local laws governing charity fraud.
Earlier this year, New York City refused to give special tax status to the church because of the business-like nature of many of its holdings.
In 1980, Moon announced he had ended his public ministry and turned the direction of the church over to other trusted leaders. He has spent the past few years working behind the scenes in his heavily guarded home in Irvington, N.Y.
