Purdue University student freed from ICE detention after outcry from faith leaders
A student at the Purdue University of South Korea was freed from federal detention, bringing together in tears with her family and her religious community in Manhattan after the days of an uproar of religious leaders in New York and abroad.
According to his lawyers and his family. She was then transferred to a federal detention center in Monroe, Louisiana, where she was detained for three nights before being released without deposit on Monday.
Mary Rothwell Davis, lawyer for the episcopal diocese of New York, where Go’s mother works as a priest, said that the family had not received an explanation for arrest or steep reversal.
“We do not know why it happened, but we are very happy that it did it,” said Davis. “We were moving paradise and earth to let us know that we thought it was a mistake.”
A spokesperson for the Ministry of Internal Security said that Go had been placed in an accelerated procedure for having exceeded an expired visa. The agency did not answer questions about what aroused the release of Go.
“The fact is that those who are in our country illegally have the choice – they can leave the country voluntarily or be arrested and expelled,” said spokesman for the Tricia McLaughlin agency in a statement.
But Davis challenged the assertion that Go was illegally here. She said GO has maintained a valid visa since his arrival in the United States in 2021, with her mother, Reverend Kyrie Kim, who heads a Korean congregation in the New York region.
A graduate of High School Scarsdale in the suburbs of New York, Go Studies at Purdue’s College of Pharmacy and remains active in the episcopalian church, according to Davis.
In recent days, members of the clergy, including Bishop Matthew Heyd, as well as Church leaders in Korea, called the Trump administration to release Go, insisting that his arrest was a mistake.
“Whether it was our outcry or another factor that has persuaded the DHS to send it home, we do not know, but we are very grateful,” said Davis, adding that Go’s experience in detention was “incredibly traumatic”.
The member of the New York State assembly, Amy Paulin, a democrat, said that she had spoken by phone with Go, whom she described as “relieved” to be at home.
“She is at home, she is safe and she is so grateful for the outpouring of love and support for this incredible community,” said Paulin.
