Yeonsoo Go, a South Korean student at Purdue University and the daughter of a beloved Episcopal priest in New York, told a friend she was nervous about a visa hearing last week, given the stream of headlines about the Trump administration’s aggressive pursuit of immigration enforcement.
Her fears were realized when she and her mother left her hearing in Manhattan on Thursday to find US Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents waiting for her.
Go, 20, was arrested and placed in federal detention nearby, before eventually being moved – like so many recent ICE detainees – to a facility in Louisiana.
Now, church communities in New York and South Korea are condemning her treatment by US immigration authorities and rallying for her release.
Go was arrested and placed in expedited removal proceedings after overstaying a visa “that expired more than two years ago,” Department of Homeland Security Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin told CNN in a statement.
“The fact of the matter is those who are in our country illegally have a choice –they can leave the country voluntarily or be arrested and deported,” the statement said.
But an attorney for the Episcopal Diocese in New York, where Go’s mother serves as a priest, said Go’s current visa doesn’t expire until December, and Thursday’s hearing was part of her application to extend it.
“They thought they had come for a routine hearing, for due process, and they really fell into a black hole of unknown,” attorney Mary Davis told CNN affiliate WCBS. Davis did not specify what type of visa Go has or was seeking – but described the young woman as “absolutely terrified.”
“There have been media reports of a visa situation involving one of our students. The dean of students’ office has reached out to the student’s family,” Purdue University spokesperson Trevor Peters told CNN in a statement.
Go’s mother, the Rev. 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, the church told CNN.
Go moved to the US with her mother in 2021 on a religious worker’s dependent visa, otherwise known as the R-2, according to a statement to CNN from Anglican Church of Korea. “Her mother is heartbroken. Her mother is very frightened for her daughter,” Davis told WCBS.
CNN has reached out to ICE for further details.
Calls for release
On Saturday, supporters from the Episcopal Diocese of New York, the Interfaith Center of New York and the New York Immigration Coalition called for Go’s release during a gathering in Manhattan’s Federal Plaza, where Go was held immediately after her arrest, according to Davis and the diocese.
The crowd prayed, sang songs and marched with signs bearing the 20-year-old’s picture. Go’s friends spoke about the positive influence she had on those around her.
“Soo has been there for me,” Gabriella Lopez said, referring to Go. Another friend said she and Go used to make meals for the homeless together, according to footage of the Saturday event from WCBS.
Lopez said Go expressed concern before her visa hearing on Thursday.
“She has been a little nervous, given the climate … and now her fears have come true,” Lopez told WABC.
Go’s mother was receiving “regular calls” from her daughter after her arrest, the Rev. Matthew Heyd of the Episcopal Diocese of New York told WABC Saturday, but on Monday, Go’s father told CNN they only learned their daughter had been moved to Louisiana from online records.
Go is currently in detention at the Richwood Correctional Center in Monroe, Louisiana, according to ICE records.
“When I first heard the news about Yeonsoo, my mind went completely blank,” Go’s father, Sorg-young, told CNN.
His daughter’s hard work in high school in Scarsdale, New York, helped her get into Purdue University’s College of Pharmacy, he said. He hoped she would have a bright future after successfully completing her freshman year.
“It’s heartbreaking that this happened just as she was preparing for her second year. She’s a bright, outgoing girl with many friends,” Go’s father told CNN.
“We urge the prompt release of Ms. Go and call for a fair and transparent review of her immigration status in a manner that upholds human dignity and the values our nations share,” the Rev. Dongshin Park, Primate of the Anglican Church of Korea, said in the statement, noting the US “has long been a symbol of liberty, justice, and opportunity, and a trusted partner of Korea.”
The 20-year-old’s detainment comes amid the Trump administration attempts to tighten its reigns on “sanctuary cities” like New York City. The Justice Department in July sued the city for policies “designed to impede the Federal Government’s ability to enforce the federal immigration laws.”
The family is appealing to the South Korean government to take action over his daughter’s case, Go’s father said.
“I hope the South Korean government does everything in its capacity, as quickly as possible, so Yeonsoo can be released from her detention as soon as possible,” he said.
South Korea’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs said it is in communication with US officials over Go’s detention, telling CNN, “The government has been providing the necessary consular assistance since becoming aware of the case.”
CNN has reached out to the South Korean consulate in Washington, DC, for further comment.