The violinist received an impaired driving ticket in 2019, which was flagged by immigration authorities
The reason for the detainment of Utah violinist John Shin by the United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) has been revealed.
Last week, Shin’s wife Danae Snow established a GoFundMe page to raise funds for the expensive legal process required to bring him home. At the time, no details on the reason for Shin’s detention had been released.
The family has since hired the Utah law firm Stowell Crayk to help release Shin from an immigration detention facility in Aurora, UT. Snow provided an update to the fundraiser page, saying:
‘In working with the attorneys, I have learned that ICE made the decision to detain John because of an impaired driving ticket he received in 2019 while he was grieving the passing of his father from brain cancer.
‘While our attorneys feel confident that we can get him out of ICE custody on bond, I wanted to let you know as soon as I found out the reason for his being detained.
‘Of course, if this changes your mind about donating, please reach out to me for a refund.’
According to a report by Fox13 News, the attorney Adam Crayk clarified Shin’s immigration status. Crayk said that Shin originally came to the US under his father’s student visa before eventually marrying a US citizen. A family friend confirmed that Shin came to Utah from South Korea when he was ten years old.
Crayk told Fox13 that for reasons beyond their control, the family ’weren’t able to file for the green card in a timely fashion.’
Snow said that Shin was struggling with the death of his father at the time he received the impaired driving ticket, after which he completed the necessary probation.
‘He was stepping into the role of trying to take care of his family and his father’s absence and was really not knowing how to move forward and really just struggling with life without him,’ Snow said.
Shin’s citizenship paperwork has yet to be submitted, but the family and attorney are hoping to obtain Shin a green card after his bond hearing on Tuesday next week.
Snow had initially aimed to raise $28,000. As of 26 August, over $64,000 has been raised towards the fundraiser’s new goal of $70,000.
Friends and supporters of Shin have been playing their instruments at the Utah State Capitol government office and will aim to continue doing so until Shin returns home.
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