By Karina Tsui, Yoonjung Seo

(CNN) — A South Korean student at Purdue University and the daughter of a beloved Episcopal priest was released from federal immigration detention late Monday, days after her arrest drew outcry and an outpouring of support from faith leaders.

Yeonsoo Go, known as “Soo” to friends and family, spent five days in custody after agents with US Immigration and Customs Enforcement arrested her as she left what lawyers described as a routine visa hearing in Manhattan on Thursday.

“I always had faith that I would be out soon,” Go told CNN affiliate WCBS after reuniting with her mother moments after her release. “I just wish for everyone to be safe. My family, everyone that supports me to be safe.”

The 20-year-old college student was released on her own recognizance - meaning she did not have to post bail - after being brought back to Manhattan from Louisiana, where she was taken Saturday and held in an ICE detention facility, according to Mary Rothwell Davis, an attorney for the Episcopal Diocese of New York, where Go’s mother serves as a priest.

“We are overjoyed,” Davis told CNN’s Erin Burnett. “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.”

Go was arrested after attending an immigration hearing to get her R-2 visa, a religious worker’s dependent visa, converted to a student visa, according to Davis. Go moved to the US in 2021 with her mother, the Rev. Kyrie Kim.

Lawyers for the Episcopal Diocese in New York said Go’s current visa doesn’t expire until December, disputing claims from the Department of Homeland Security that she overstayed her visa.

Department of Homeland Security Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin told CNN Go’s visa “expired more than two years ago,” and she was placed in “expedited removal proceedings” after her arrest Thursday.

The DHS did not say why Go was being released, Ashley Gonzalez-Grissom, another lawyer for the Episcopal Diocese in New York, told WCBS. Gonzalez-Grissom acknowledged there are questions that still need to be answered but said for now, “We are so grateful that after five long days Soo gets to sleep at home in bed and gets to hug her mother.”

Go’s immigration case is ongoing, and they are cooperating with federal authorities, Gonzalez-Grissom told CNN affiliate WABC.

CNN has reached out to DHS and ICE for details about Go’s release.

Ahead of Thursday’s hearing, Go told a friend she was nervous about her appointment given the stream of headlines about the Trump administration’s aggressive pursuit of immigration enforcement, WABC reported.

Her fears were realized when she and her mother left her hearing to find ICE agents waiting for her.

Go was immediately arrested and placed in federal detention for 48 hours, Davis said, before being moved – like so many recent ICE detainees – to a facility in Louisiana.

Calls for her release

For days, church communities in New York and South Korea took to the streets and social media to condemn her treatment by US immigration authorities.

Supporters from the Episcopal Diocese of New York, the Interfaith Center of New York and the New York Immigration Coalition called for Go’s release during a gathering in Manhattan’s Federal Plaza Saturday. They didn’t know Go was being transported to a detention facility in Louisiana at the same time, Davis told CNN.

The crowd prayed, sang songs and marched with signs bearing the 20-year-old’s picture. Go’s friends spoke about the positive influence she had on those around her.

“Soo has been there for me,” Gabriella Lopez said, referring to Go. Another friend said she and Go used to make meals for the homeless together, according to footage of the Saturday event from WCBS.

Lopez said Go expressed concern before her visa hearing on Thursday.

“She has been a little nervous, given the climate … and now her fears have come true,” Lopez told WABC.

Go’s mother was receiving “regular calls” from her daughter after her arrest, the Rev. Matthew Heyd of the Episcopal Diocese of New York told WABC Saturday, but on Monday, Go’s father told CNN they only learned their daughter had been moved to Louisiana from online records.

Go was held at the Richwood Correctional Center in Monroe, Louisiana, according to ICE records.

“When I first heard the news about Yeonsoo, my mind went completely blank,” Go’s father, Sorg-young, told CNN. After her release he said he was “deeply grateful to everyone who came together in solidarity and support.”

His daughter’s hard work in high school in Scarsdale, New York, helped her get into Purdue University’s College of Pharmacy, he said. He hoped she would have a bright future after successfully completing her freshman year.

“It’s heartbreaking that this happened just as she was preparing for her second year. She’s a bright, outgoing girl with many friends,” Go’s father told CNN.

“(Go) was a valued member of our school community, and both her guidance counselor and I have provided letters attesting to her good character and important contributions,” Drew Patrick, the Superintendent of Scarsdale Schools, said in a statement to CNN.

Reverend Kim, Go’s mother, is the first woman to have been ordained in the Seoul Diocese of the Anglican Church of Korea. Over the weekend, the church joined those calling for Go to be released.

“We urge the prompt release of Ms. Go and call for a fair and transparent review of her immigration status in a manner that upholds human dignity and the values our nations share,” the Rev. Dongshin Park, Primate of the Anglican Church of Korea, said in the statement, noting the US “has long been a symbol of liberty, justice, and opportunity, and a trusted partner of Korea.”

The 20-year-old’s detainment took place amid the Trump administration’s attempts to tighten its reins on “sanctuary cities” like New York City. The Justice Department in July sued the city for policies “designed to impede the Federal Government’s ability to enforce the federal immigration laws.”

The family appealed to the South Korean government to take action over his daughter’s case, Go’s father said.

“I hope the South Korean government does everything in its capacity, as quickly as possible, so Yeonsoo can be released from her detention as soon as possible,” he said.

South Korea’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs said it is in communication with US officials over Go’s detention, telling CNN, “The government has been providing the necessary consular assistance since becoming aware of the case.”

Purdue University spokesperson Trevor Peters told CNN the university is aware of reports of “a visa situation involving one of our students” and said school officials have reached out to the student’s family.

This story has been updated with additional information.

The-CNN-Wire
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