Yeonsoo Go – whose mother, the Rev. Kyrie Kim, is the Diocese of New York’s Asian Ministries missioner – was arrested and detained by U.S. Customs and Enforcement agents on July 31 outside Federal Plaza in Manhattan after going to a routine visa hearing as part of the process to renew her visa, which is set to expire in December. Go and Kim moved to the United States from South Korea in 2021. Photo: Diocese of New York
[Episcopal News Service] The Diocese of New York is calling for prayers and sharing news stories, statements and advocacy efforts on social media in response to the arrest and detainment of the 20-year-old daughter of an Episcopal priest, who is from South Korea.
Yeonsoo Go – whose mother, the Rev. Kyrie Kim, is a priest in the diocese – went to a routine visa hearing on July 31 at Federal Plaza in Manhattan as part of the process to renew her visa, which is set to expire in December. An immigration judge scheduled Go’s next hearing for October. After Go left the hearing, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents arrested her outside the building and placed her in federal detention nearby before relocating her to a facility in Louisiana. Go, who’s being accused of “overstaying her visa,” has been placed in expedited deportation proceedings, according to Tricia McLaughlin, assistant secretary at the Department of Homeland Security.
“[Go’s] detention represents a disturbing ans unacceptable escalation of enforcement against individuals in good standing with pending immigration cases,” the Diocese of New York said in a Facebook post promoting an Aug. 2 interfaith vigil “calling for Yeonsoo’s immediate release and for broader accountability in how ICE is targeting immigrants, students, and family members.” The diocese hosted the public vigil in collaboration with the Interfaith Center of New York and the New York Immigration Coalition.
Go moved to the United States in 2021 from South Korea on a religious worker’s dependent visa, known as the R-2. She graduated from Scarsdale High School in Westchester County, New York, in 2024 and is now majoring in pre-pharmacy at Purdue University in West Lafayette, Indiana. Throughout her freshman year at Purdue, Go was “very active” in campus ministry,” according to the Rev. Hilary Cooke, chaplain of the Chapel of the Good Shepherd, Purdue’s Episcopal campus ministry.
“Yeonsoo was involved in all sorts of outreach activities. She raised money for Riley Children’s Hospital during Purdue’s dance marathon, and when I last saw her in May, she was helping with Girls on the Run,” Cooke told Episcopal News Service. “Yeonsoo is always willing to help people in need – always kind and caring.”
Indianapolis Bishop Jennifer Baskerville-Burrows told ENS in an Aug. 4 written statement that Go’s “illegal detention” has “shaken us deeply.”
“[Go] is a cherished member of our diocesan family, the Chapel of the Good Shepherd, the West Lafayette community, and the wider Church – and we are gravely concerned for her well-being,” Baskerville-Burrows said. “The Diocese of Indianapolis has long stood with immigrant families, and we will continue to do so now, as we pray, act, and advocate for her release. We will not look away; we will stand with Yeon-Soo until she is safely home.”
As of Aug. 1, 56,579 immigrants are in ICE custody, according to the latest available data compiled by NBC News.
President Donald Trump campaigned on a promise to deport undocumented immigrants and immigrants with criminal histories. However, many immigrants who’ve been arrested and deported since he took office in January were in the United States legally and have no criminal background. Go has no criminal record, according to news reports.
Since January, ICE and the U.S. Customs and Border Protection agents have been arresting immigrants at courthouses, workplaces and other public and private places nationwide. In the New York City area, more than half of the detained immigrants, like Go, have been arrested after going to federal immigration offices or immigration courts for routine and mandated appearances, according to federal data shared by the New York Times. Between January and late June, at least 2,365 immigrants in metro New York have been arrested.
Interfaith leaders and state and local officials plan to host another community rally and vigil event for Go on Aug. 7 at 5 p.m. Eastern in Scarsdale at Chase Park. The Diocese of New York’s Episcopal Asian Supper Table, or EAST, and other leaders and Episcopal organizations are promoting the event on social media.
To help Episcopalians track updates on U.S. immigration policy and available resources, The Episcopal Church’s Office of Government Relations and Episcopal Migration Ministries host 30-minute virtual updates Tuesdays from 1-1:30 p.m. Eastern. Episcopal Migration Ministries also hosts an Episcopal Migration Response Network that typically meets every fourth Wednesday of the month via Zoom to discuss and share Christian formation and worship resources, advocacy actions and more.
The Episcopal Church also maintains an immigration action toolkit and other resources available online.
-Shireen Korkzan is a reporter and assistant editor for Episcopal News Service. She can be reached at skorkzan@episcopalchurch.org.