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Yeonsoo G.: South Korean student detained five days by ICE despite valid visa

Yeonsoo Go, 21, a Purdue student and Scarsdale High graduate, was detained for five days after a routine visa hearing, despite her visa remaining valid through December. She was released on August 5.

Aug 5, 2025New York, NYCountry of origin: South Korea

Yeonsoo G.: South Korean student detained five days by ICE despite valid visa
Photo via Korean Quarterly

Yeonsoo Go, a 21-year-old Scarsdale High School graduate and Purdue University student, was arrested by ICE outside a federal courthouse in New York on July 31, 2025, after attending a routine visa hearing that reportedly went well, with a judge granting her a late August hearing date. ICE claimed her R-2 religious worker visa had expired over two years earlier, but her attorney confirmed it remained valid through December 2025 and that she was in the process of converting to a student visa. Go was initially held without access to legal counsel at a Manhattan facility before being transferred to an ICE detention center in Louisiana. Her mother is an Episcopal church pastor in Scarsdale. Go was released on August 5 after five days in detention.

Timeline

Aug 5, 2025—Released after attorney confirmed her visa remained valid through December 2025
Jul 31, 2025—Arrested by ICE outside a federal courthouse in New York following a visa hearing
Jul 31, 2025—Held without access to legal counsel at a Manhattan facility, then transferred to an ICE detention center in Louisiana
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