Priest’s Daughter Told a Friend She Was Nervous Before ‘Routine’ Visa Hearing. Then She Was Detained by ICE for 5 Days

A 20-year-old Purdue University student — and daughter of an Episcopal priest — was detained following what was supposed to be a routine visa hearing in New York City. Days later, she was reunited with her mother after being transferred back to Manhattan from a Louisiana detention center.

“Everything just feels surreal,” Yeonsoo Go said after leaving Federal Plaza Immigration Court with her mother, Rev. Kyrie Kim, on Monday evening, Aug. 4, according to WPIX.

“I always had faith that I would be out soon,” she told WCBS.

Go, who moved from South Korea to the U.S. with her mother in 2021, had told a friend she was uneasy about a surge of detentions under the Trump administration, CNN reported. On Thursday, July 31, those fears became reality.

Mary Davis, an attorney for the Episcopal Diocese of New York, where Go’s mother serves as a priest, told CNN the hearing was meant to convert Go’s R-2 dependent visa to a student visa. In a separate NBC News interview, Go’s attorney Marissa Joseph explained that the renewal was required because her mother had changed employers.

On July 31, Go was informed she needed to return to court in October. But when she and her mother stepped outside the courthouse, ICE agents were waiting, according to WABC, WNYW and CNN.

“They thought they had come for a routine hearing, for due process, and they really fell into a black hole of unknown,” Davis told WCBS, adding that Go was “absolutely terrified.”

In a statement obtained by PEOPLE before her release, U.S. Department of Homeland Security Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin claimed Go had “overstayed her visa that expired more than two years ago.” Attorneys for the Episcopal Diocese dispute that, insisting her visa remains valid until December 2025.

“We have no idea why they are alleging this, because we have a piece of paper that says she has a visa till December 2025,” Davis told NBC News. “This is what lack of due process does. We have evidence on our side. They’re making allegations. We are not being given the opportunity to sort it out.”

DHS and ICE did not immediately respond to PEOPLE’s questions about Go’s release.

Go’s detention is among several immigration cases drawing attention since President Trump returned to the White House and intensified enforcement measures. While the administration has emphasized targeting dangerous individuals and those with criminal backgrounds, some deportation efforts have sparked controversy.

The local religious community was “heartbroken” by Go’s detention, said Rev. Anne Marie Witchger of St. Mark’s Church in-the-Bowery, a colleague of Rev. Kim.

“Soo came to this country legally and is lawfully here,” Witchger said, noting that both Go, who is preparing for her second year at Purdue, and her mother are “important members of the community.”

Supporters quickly mobilized, creating a GoFundMe to help with legal expenses. Rt. Rev. Matthew Heyd, Bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of New York, joined the calls for her release, telling WNYW, “We call for the end of weaponization in our courts. We stand up for a New York and a country that respects the dignity of every person.”

Following Go’s release, New York Assemblymember Amy Paulin issued a statement of support: “The pain, fear, and uncertainty she and her family endured over the past five days should never have happened. But tonight we celebrate her freedom and the strength of a community that refused to stay silent.”

Attorneys told WABC the case remains ongoing and that they are working with government officials.

As Davis told CNN, “We’ve worked very hard for our voices to be heard and to lift her up, and to convey the message that Soo does not deserve to be in detention and…it’s been heard.”