Reading from APA Justice from Jimmy Yang.

Department of Homeland Security Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin, Go had overstayed a visa that “expired more than two years ago” . However, Go’s current visa is reported to be valid until December, and her hearing on July 31 was part of an effort to extend her status.

There should be one truth: expired or not expired. There should be only one truth.

Author: Madeleine Gable, APA Justice Communications Associate

According to CNN, AsAmNews, and multiple media reports, Yeonsoo Go, a 20-year-old South Korean at Purdue University’s College of Pharmacy, was detained by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) on July 31. Five days later, August 4, she was released and reunited with her mother in Federal Plaza in New York.

In 2021, Go moved to the U.S. with her mother on a religious worker’s dependent visa. Three years later, she graduated from Scarsdale High School, located in Westchester County, New York. Go’s mother, the Rev. Kyrie Kim, serves as a priest in the Asian ministry of the Episcopal Diocese in New York and is recognized as the first woman ordained in the Seoul Diocese of the Anglican Church of Korea.

On July 31, 2025, Go attended a visa hearing in Manhattan with her mother, during which a judge scheduled a hearing for October. However, ICE agents arrested her outside the courthouse immediately after the hearing. She was first held at a nearby federal detention site, then transferred to a facility in Monroe, Louisiana. ICE has not provided an explanation for why she was placed in immigration detention.

According to Department of Homeland Security Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin, Go had overstayed a visa that “expired more than two years ago” and was placed in expedited removal proceedings. McLaughlin added, “The fact of the matter is those who are in our country illegally have a choice — they can leave the country voluntarily or be arrested and deported.”

However, Go’s current visa is reported to be valid until December, and her hearing on July 31 was part of an effort to extend her status, raising serious questions about the legality and appropriateness of her detention.

On August 2, supporters called for Go’s release during a gathering in Manhattan’s Federal Plaza. Friends spoke of her positive attitude and kind heart, noting that Go had been increasingly nervous leading up to her hearing given the current political climate.

A Purdue University spokesperson Trevor Peters confirmed the university was aware of the situation and that the dean of students had reached out to Go’s family.

Following her release, Republican Representative Mike Lawler wrote on X “Yeonsoo’s case is yet another example of why we must fix our broken immigration system and make it easier for folks to come here and stay, the right way.”

Go’s detainment comes just over a week after Tae Heung “Will” Kim, PhD student at Texas A&M University, was first detained at San Francisco International Airport. Kim spent a week sleeping in a chair with the lights on 24/7, before being moved to immigration detention centers in Arizona and then Raymondville, Texas. Kim was denied access to counsel while he was held in San Francisco.

Karl Krooth, Kim’s attorney, stated that his client’s detention underscores serious flaws in the immigration system. He noted that Kim was deprived of due process protections typically available through immigration court proceedings, and held in an airport under questionable authority. “CBP [Customs and Border Protection] officers are not neutral arbiters — they are interrogators,” Krooth said.

Becky Belcore, co-director of National Korean American Service & Education Consortium (NAKASEC), says Kim’s prolonged detention is indicative of a larger crackdown on immigrants’ rights. Earlier in July, Muhanad J. M. Alshrouf was detained by immigration officials for nine days at George Bush Intercontinental Airport in Houston, TX.  Alshrouf had a valid visa and had no criminal history. CBP officials have not provided reasoning why he was detained.

Similarly, CBP officials held naturalized citizen Wilmer Chavarria, a Vermont school district superintendent, at George Bush Intercontinental Airport for hours on July 21, searching his electronic devices. Chavarria was returning from a trip to Nicaragua where he visited family.

On August 8, the Congressional Asian Pacific American Caucus (CAPAC) addressed a letter to Kristi Noem, Todd Lyons, and Rodney Scott expressing deep concern over the treatment of lawful permanent resident AAPI individuals by CBP and ICE. They pointed to several reports in which individuals — Will Kim, Yeonsoo Go, Lewelyn Dixon, Maximo Londonio, and Yunseo Chung — were detained without due process, suggesting potential violations of constitutional protections.

CAPAC also alleges that CBP has violated its own National Standards on Transport, Escort, Detention, and Search, which requires CBP officials to “hold detainees for the least amount of time required” and, generally, for no more than 72 hours. The cases cited by CAPAC exemplify how CPB has purportedly failed to uphold this code.

The CAPAC letter underscores growing concerns about the protection of constitutional rights, serving as a reminder of the importance of transparency, accountability, and adherence to due process. Upholding these principles helps ensure that enforcement practices remain fair and that the rights and dignity of immigrant communities are respected. 

Breaking News:  According to the Intercept, a 32-year-old Chinese immigrant named Chaofeng Ge died by suicide in the Moshannon Valley Processing Center, a privately run ICE detention facility in Pennsylvania. Ge had been detained there for five days after being handed over to ICE following a guilty plea for a credit card fraud-related arrest. The Moshannon facility, operated by the GEO Group and the largest ICE detention center in the Northeast, has faced numerous complaints about abusive conditions, including poor language services that leave detainees, especially Chinese speakers, isolated.

Ge was found hanging in a shower room early on August 6, 2025, and despite emergency medical efforts, he was pronounced dead around 6 a.m. His death marks the first ICE detainee death in the Northeast this fiscal year and the third suicide in ICE facilities nationwide this year.

The Moshannon center has come under scrutiny for overcrowding, lack of adequate medical and mental health care, and harsh conditions that resemble a prison rather than a temporary holding center. A 2024 Department of Homeland Security investigation found “egregious and unconstitutional conditions,” but its findings were largely ignored after oversight offices were closed.

Nationwide, deaths in ICE detention have increased sharply this fiscal year, with 12 detainee deaths reported as of June 2025—more than the previous year and the highest since the COVID-19 pandemic began. The rise in deaths highlights ongoing concerns over ICE detention conditions and treatment of immigrants.