SALT LAKE CITY — The sound of violins could be heard loud and clear inside the Utah State Capitol on Monday.
Friends of John Shin, a Utah violinist who was detained by ICE one week ago, are planning on playing their instruments in the rotunda until he’s home.
“It was a shock to hear that it was John,” said Shin’s friend Nicole Marriott Fullner, who was playing the oboe Monday at the Capitol. "He is probably the last person that I would have expected that to happen to.”
“I want all of the state representatives and the council members and anybody who happens to be walking by to know about what's happening in their own state,” said Shin’s friend Gabriel Gordon, who was playing the violin.
While the pleasant sounds echoed through the Capitol, Shin's wife, Danae Snow, was going through a nightmare of her own.
“I can't sleep. I can't eat. It's been really hard to know that he's going to be struggling in the facility in Aurora and hoping that there is a life for him to come back to,” she said through tears.
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Shin’s attorney, Adam Crayk, was able to clarify Shin’s immigration status.
“He came in under his father's student visa originally, has married a United States citizen, and for some reasons that were kind of beyond the control of theirs, weren't able to file for the green card in a timely fashion,” he said.
Crayk was able to reveal the reason why Shin was detained.
“There is an impaired driver conviction from 2020, which, for all of our purposes, he successfully completed probation. He did everything he was asked to do. He has the certificates to prove it,” he said. "But that does make, currently, anybody that has that type of a conviction, they become a priority for immigration.”
Snow said at that time, Shin was struggling with the death of his father.
“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.
Crayk said no citizenship paperwork has been submitted yet, but they are hoping to get Shin a green card after his bond hearing next week.
“Do I wish that they would have filed a long time ago? Yes. Did circumstances allow for that? No. Do they now? Yes. Does that change the facts of the case? Nope,” Crayk said.
Snow has since been able to talk to Shin and said he’s coping the best he can.
“He still hasn't got a pillow, and he just wishes he could be home, and so do we,” Snow said.
“I wanted the world to see what an incredible husband and father and person he is, and he's not perfect,” Snow added. "I wish he wouldn't have made this mistake. I know that we've been doing everything that we can to make it right, and I hope that as I've been able to forgive him, I hope that our community can too."
In the meantime, violins will continue to play in the Capitol as his loved ones await his return home.
"John, if you're listening to this, I'm sorry. I should have warmed up before,” Gordon joked while playing the violin. "We're all here for you, and hopefully we'll see you when you get back, very, very soon."
Shin’s bond hearing is set for next Tuesday.
While there is currently a GoFundMe for Shin’s family to help cover legal fees, Crayk wants those who donated to know something.
“There's a lot of people that did donations on GoFundMe, and I want to make sure that if those people feel uncomfortable, if they feel like, 'Hey, if I had known that there was this impaired driver conviction back in 2020, I probably would not have donated,' I'm happy through Danae to work at making sure those people get a full refund,” he said.
