After more than two weeks, Donggin “John” Shin is on his way back to Utah.
U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement detained the Utah classical violinist and teacher on the afternoon of Aug. 18 and placed him in a contract detention facility in Aurora, Colorado. A judge ordered Shin released on a $25,000 bond after a hearing Tuesday.
Shin’s wife, DaNae Snow, expressed relief and happiness with the decision.
“We did it!!!” the North Salt Lake resident wrote Wednesday evening on her Facebook page, which lists her name as DaNae Shin. “John is coming home!!!”
The high-profile arrest, related in part to an impaired driving conviction from 2020, led to an outcry from the Beehive State’s classical music community, in which Shin has been deeply involved since he studied at the University of Utah.
Shin has performed with the Utah Symphony and Ballet West. He also has taught violin at Rowland Hall and The McGillis School. At the time of his arrest, his LinkedIn profile said he was working at AT&T as a radio engineer and playing for two music studios.
Shin appeared for the first hearing in his case on Tuesday in Colorado. His lawyer, Adam Crayk, asked that Shin be released on bond, and moved to dismiss the case against him entirely. The federal government has said that Shin overstayed the visa he came into the country on when he was 10 years old.
Despite the judge’s ruling Tuesday, Crayk feared the government would appeal the decision, possibly keeping Shin in detention. Ultimately, it decided not to appeal and Shin’s team posted the bond.
Next, Crayk will look to transfer Shin’s case back to Utah and try to get it dismissed. Shin’s team has also started working on an application to get him a permanent resident designation, also known as a green card.
“I think that, eventually,” Crayk said, “he’ll be a citizen of the United States.”