Scarsdale student detained by ICE was released, lawmaker says

A Scarsdale college student was freed from federal immigration custody Monday night after five days in detention, according to a Westchester lawmaker who was among those fighting for her release.

Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents took Yeonsoo Go, 20, into custody last week after a routine appointment to extend her visa, which was set to expire in December, her lawyers said.

Go, who goes by "Soo," has been in the United States on a religious visa for the last five years because her mother is the Rev. Kyrie Kim, an Episcopal priest.

New York State Assemblymember Amy Paulin and the Episcopal Diocese of New York demanded Go’s release, saying her visa was valid.

Faith leaders, immigrant justice advocates and community members gathered outside the immigration courthouse over the weekend to rally and pray for Go's release, with the Episcopal Diocese calling her detention “a disturbing and unacceptable” act against lawful immigrants.

“I am overjoyed, moved to tears, and filled with pride in everyone who stood up for Yeonsoo,” Paulin said in a statement late Monday night. “She is home, she is safe, and she is so grateful for the outpouring of love and support from this incredible community.”

Masked ICE agents have been waiting in the hallways at 26 Federal Plaza to arrest and detain people leaving their immigration hearings — a practice elected officials and advocates have decried as unconstitutional.

Department of Homeland Security spokesperson Tricia McLaughlin said over the weekend that Go was detained because she had overstayed her visa, and had been placed in “expedited removal proceedings.”

It was unclear Tuesday if DHS was aware of Go’s release. Asked for comment, McLaughlin repeated her earlier statement.

“Go, an illegal alien from South Korea, overstayed her visa that expired more than two years ago,” Mclaughlin said Tuesday morning. “ICE arrested her on July 31 and placed her in expedited removal proceedings.”

Go was released and was back in New York Monday evening.

Mary Rothwell Davis, an attorney who works as the vice chancellor for immigration and refugees at the Episcopal Diocese, said she and her team are still puzzled over the rationale behind Go's detention.

“ What we have is her visa that was issued in 2023 and does not expire until [December] 2025. There's nothing in our record that indicates that was ever altered, rescinded, revoked,” Rothwell Davis said Tuesday.

She said Go came to New York City in 2021 with her mother, who was tapped to lead a new Asian-facing ministry at Trinity Church Wall Street. Kim was admitted under the R-1 visa program, which allows foreign religious workers to come to the United States temporarily to work for a faith-based organization. That meant Go could also come to the United States as her dependent on an R-2 visa.

Rothwell Davis said Go’s detention, along with that of a 59-year-old parishioner from Peru who was also taken into custody after her hearing on Thursday, “sent seismic tremors” through the Diocese.

“We responded as forcefully as we could,” she said, adding that both women were able to see their own vigil unfolding from the windows of a Louisiana-bound bus early Saturday morning. A federal immigration database showed that Go was transferred from New York to the Richwood Correctional Center.

“ I think everything helped honestly — She had great lawyers on her team. She had great clergy on her team. She had the bishop of New York in her corner,” Rothwell Davis said.

“ At the same time, it just breaks your heart for the thousands upon thousands of people in detention who didn't have a chance to establish that kind of foothold and aren't known to us,” she said. “They are truly suffering alone and forgotten."

Go emerged Monday evening, smiling and walking down a New York City sidewalk with her mother. A Scarsdale media outlet reported that she’s scheduled to start her sophomore year at Purdue University in a few weeks, where she’s enrolled in the School of Pharmacy.

Rothwell Davis said she and her colleagues are trying to provide lawyers for any parishioners who have upcoming immigration hearings. They are also encouraging people to share essential information like bank account access with family members, and make plans for child care in the event they are detained.

“ Unfortunately there seems to be a pretty good chance these days that you may not return home after your court date,” she added.