Immigration authorities, ICE, have apprehended a university student in Korea, who is also the daughter of a religious leader. Members of the faith community are now offering their support to her.
Yeonsoo Go, a 20-year-old engineering student at Purdue University, found herself in the midst of an immigration controversy when she was detained by the United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) following a routine visa hearing in New York. However, Go was released after five days in federal immigration detention in Louisiana, without ICE providing a clear explanation for the initial detention.
Go, a graduate of Scarsdale High School in New York, moved to the US with her mother in 2021 on a religious worker's dependent visa, otherwise known as the R-2. Both Go and her mother, an Episcopal church pastor, were using the same visa, which was valid until December 2025.
The detainment of Go comes amid the Trump administration's attempts to tighten its reigns on "sanctuary cities" like New York City. In July, the Justice Department sued New York City for policies "designed to impede the Federal Government's ability to enforce the federal immigration laws."
Community and church leaders, including New York's Episcopal bishop and local Assembly member Amy Paulin, advocated for Go's release. Church communities in New York and South Korea have also been condemning her treatment by US immigration authorities and rallying for her release.
Notably, Rev. Dongshin Park, Primate of the Anglican Church of Korea, called for a fair and transparent review of Go's immigration status and urged her prompt release. Go's mother, Reverend Kyrie Kim, serves in the Asian ministry of the Episcopal Diocese in New York and is the first woman ordained in the Seoul Diocese of the Anglican Church of Korea.
Despite the controversy, there is no public record or report indicating that Go was charged or officially deemed to have overstayed her visa during this incident. The Department of Homeland Security has since accused Go of overstaying her visa that expired more than two years ago.
Go is currently in detention at the Richwood Correctional Center in Monroe, Louisiana. The reason for her detention by ICE remains unclear publicly, and CNN has reached out to the South Korean consulate in Washington, DC, for further comment. Go's father, Sorg-young, is appealing to the South Korean government to take action over his daughter's case.
In light of the Trump administration's efforts to strengthen control over "sanctuary cities" and enforce tighter immigration policies, community and church leaders, including those in New York and South Korea, are speaking out in support of engineering student Yeonsoo Go, who was detained by ICE following a routine visa hearing. Despite the controversy surrounding Go's case, there is no public record of her being charged or officially deemed to have overstayed her visa.
