Violinist John Shin spent 17 days in a detention facility in Colorado
Donggin ‘John’ Shin, the Utah violinist detained by US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) for more than two weeks, has been released on a $25,000 bond, following a court hearing on 2 September.
Shin was held for 17 days at the detention facility in Aurora, Colorado, which is more than 500 miles from his home in Salt Lake City, Utah, following his arrest by ICE agents in a hotel car park in Colorado, where he had travelled to on a work trip last month.
Shin came to the US legally from South Korea at the age of ten on his father’s visa and later secured his right to remain under Deferred Access for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) status. He has a master’s degree in violin performance from the University of Utah and has played as a substitute violinist with the Utah Symphony Orchestra. He has been married to a US citizen, Danae Snow, for more than four years, and is stepfather to her two children.
Shin lost his DACA status due to a now-spent conviction for impaired driving that took place in 2019. At the time he had pleaded guilty and served his probation. The couple attempted to obtain a green card for Shin based on marital status but was unable to attain the required earnings threshold of $50,000, due to both partners experiencing financial hardship after losing their employment during the Covid pandemic.
Shin has been released from detention wearing an ankle tag, which is likely to remain for two months, according to his attorney Adam Crayk. In a press conference broadcast on KSL-TV, an NBC affiliate based in Salt Lake City, Crayk also commented of the $25,000 bond that he had never seen such a high bond amount for a person who entered the country legally and then married a US citizen.
Crayk added, ‘You often hear people say, “well if they just would come here legally”. Let me be clear: it’s a constantly evolving right way. The path to legal immigration is muddy. It’s not easy, or attainable for most. It often takes decades, and ICE agents aren’t going to allow people that time. With the current administration’s mass deportation efforts there are quotas that every single day [a certain] amount of people have to be taken into custody… John was a really, really easy, low-hanging fruit.’
Shin was arrested by Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) ‘a branch of ICE that is usually focused on very serious violations of the US law such as drug or human trafficking,’ according to Crayk. ‘but now we have a whole group of them assigned to look for people like John.’
Shin himself said of his arrest ‘I was absolutely terrified. I cried all day. I never thought I would have to feel what it’s like to be shackled on my ankles and my wrists, feeling like some kind of a serious criminal, as if I have murdered someone.’
Shin’s arrest caused outrage in the local and wider musical community. Colleagues and friends rallied by playing their instruments at the Utah State Capitol government in Salt Lake City, and a GoFundMe created by Shin’s wife Danae has raised more than $80,000 for his bond. Shin said the support he received was ‘overwhelming… I don’t know how to thank my musician friends; they mean everything to me.’
According to Crayk, Shin is still in deportation proceedings but they are appealing the case. However, he says a backlog means Shin’s next court hearing may not happen until 2026 or even 2027.
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