The department has labelled violinist Donggin ‘John’ Shin ‘a CRIMINAL illegal alien’
Following the arrest and detainment of Utah-based violinist Donggin ‘John’ Shin on 18 August, musicians have rallied by playing their instruments at the Utah State Capitol government in Salt Lake City, alongside a GoFundMe created by Shin’s wife Danae Snow which has – at time of writing – raised $74,516 of its $80,000 goal.
’He’s a great father and a great husband and a great friend and a great musician, and this just shouldn’t be happening to him,’ violinist Gabriel Gordon told Tim Vandenack of KSL.com, when interviewed at the Utah Capitol.
In response to coverage of the rallies, the US Department of Homeland Security published the following message on X on 30 August:
‘This “Utah violinist” is Donggin Shin, a CRIMINAL illegal alien from South Korea. His criminal history includes a DUI conviction. Shin entered the U.S. on a tourist visa on September 3, 1998. This visa required him to depart the U.S. by March 3, 1999. Over 25 years later, he was STILL illegally in the U.S. Our message is clear: criminal illegal aliens are not welcome in the United States.’
The post also includes a screenshot of an NBC news headline on the subject, in which article Shin’s attorney Adam Crayk clarified details of the violinist’s immigration history.
Crayk notes that although Shin originally entered on a tourist visa at the age of ten, his father then switched to a student visa with Shin as a dependent, and Shin himself later became a Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals recipient.
This was revoked when Shin was convicted of impaired driving in 2020 – a charge to which he pleaded guilty and served his probation – leaving him without lawful status. At this time, Shin’s father died of brain cancer and his wife, who he had recently wed, had lost her job, resulting in a financial crisis for the family.
Crayk states that it was for this reason that Shin was unable to apply for the marriage-based green card in a timely manner, the fees for which are estimated at $2,375.
The charging documents reveal that Shin was identified by the Fugitive Operations Team of the Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) on account of the impaired driving offence.
‘We are literally having fugitive ops and Homeland Security Investigations, which are two law enforcement agencies that focus on really terrible, terrible things, relegated now to looking for people like John,’ Crayk told NBC News.
Shin’s case is scheduled for a hearing on 2 September.
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