A longtime Columbia resident is being detained by Immigrations and Custom Enforcement in El Paso, Texas, after attempting to re-enter the United States last week.
Owen Ramsingh, who immigrated to the U.S. as a child in the 1980s, was detained by ICE in Chicago last Tuesday after flying home from a three-week visit to the country of his birth — the Netherlands.
His wife, Diana Ramsingh, said he was held by U.S. Customs in Chicago for 80 hours. KBIA has confirmed that he was transferred to a detention center in El Paso, Texas, over the weekend, where he is currently being held.
Ramsingh is detained at Camp East Montana, which opened in early August. According to ICE documents obtained by the Washington Post, the detention center has violated at least 60 federal standards.
“They're letting him have his medication, but they are not letting him use his CPAP machine, which is for severe sleep apnea,” Diana Ramsingh told KBIA.
She added that Ramsingh told her he was held in a 30 x 30 ft. room with dozens of others, fed once a day and not allowed to shower while in Chicago.
The family provided documents to KBIA indicating Ramsingh applied to renew his green card — which grants lawful permanent residence — prior to the March expiration date listed on the card. Documents also show that U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services received his paperwork and extended his green card, including privileges to “work and travel," for 36 months while his new card was processing.
Bill Niffen, an immigration lawyer in Kansas City, said a green card that looks expired should not have been reason alone for detention, even if Ramsingh couldn’t show the receipt from U.S.C.I.S.
“Unless they're trying to stretch the rules and say that, because you've got an obligation to have a current green card, not having a current green card means you're removable,” Niffen said.
Ramsingh’s former convictions
After original publication, Department of Homeland Security Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin wrote in a statement to KBIA, “September 27, CBP arrested Owen Romann Ramsingh, a criminal alien from the Netherlands. His criminal history includes convictions for cocaine possession and marijuana possession. This criminal alien is in ICE custody pending removal proceedings.”
McLaughlin added, “A green card is a privilege, not a right, and under our nation’s laws, our government has the authority to revoke a green card if our laws are broken and abused.”
Documents obtained by KBIA show Ramsingh received a felony conviction in Nebraska in 1999 for attempting to deliver cocaine. Ramsingh was 17 but was tried as an adult.
“It was another devastating example of the system failing him: a child, living on the streets, with no representation, no guidance and no support — pushed through the system and jailed with adults,” wrote Samantha Gage in a Facebook post on Tuesday. Gage organized a GoFundMe for Ramsingh.
Gage also said Ramsingh’s conviction has never affected his green card renewals before.
In the ‘90s, a judge sentenced Ramsingh to 15 to 20 months in prison but credited him for nearly 10 months spent in jail before his hearing. Because he had also accumulated credit toward a shorter sentence under a Nebraska “good time law” that rewards good behavior, Ramsingh was released just eleven days after being sentenced, documents show.
ABC 17 also reported that Ramsingh was fined for possession of marijuana in 1999, and he has an expunged 2011 conviction in Boone County for the same offense.
Because many paper records have been digitized in recent years, Ramsingh's criminal record could be newly online, said Niffen.
“It might be that that just finally got integrated with the federal system, where something came up,” Niffen said. “It might be that just (one) particular border protection agent at the gate happened to look and see it.”
Niffen also cited heightened immigration enforcement under the Trump Administration. In recent months, NPR has reported more instances of green card holders with criminal records being detained — especially while traveling.
But he said the same has happened under other administrations.
“Getting deported over drug convictions has been around for a really long time,” Niffen said. “It could be that they're looking for more of these kinds of things, (or) maybe before, somebody saw and thought, ‘He was 17, who cares.’”
Community support
Since being detained, Ramsingh has been able to call his wife a few times, but she said a 15-minute phone call costs as much as $50.
A GoFundMe organized by a family friend is currently raising money for Ramsingh’s upcoming legal fees. As of Monday evening, it had raised nearly $9,000, and by Wednesday evening the total was nearly $15,000. Friends and family are providing updates about his status in a Facebook group with nearly 400 members.
“You're gonna know somebody that knows somebody that knows Owen, for sure, here,” said Robert Olson, Ramsingh’s best friend, who spent time with him in the Netherlands before Ramsingh was detained. “You can see that through all the Facebook posts and the community support and love that's been shown.”
Administrators of the Facebook group are asking that people close to Ramsingh write character witness letters before his first hearing, which is currently set for Oct. 15. Niffen said such letters could prove helpful for Ramsingh.
Olson said Ramsingh, who runs security at The Blue Note and is a property manager in Columbia, knows plenty of people in town who can attest to his importance in the community.
“I use the analogy from time to time of the fishing company that goes out: they're casting huge nets and catching a thousand fish at a time,” Olson said. “Every now and then they catch a dolphin. Owen’s a dolphin, and he needs to be released.”
What’s next
Niffen said Ramsingh will need to admit or deny the “charges of removability” at a future hearing. If he denies, a trial will be scheduled — most likely before the end of the year, Niffen said, due to new guidelines from the Executive Office for Immigration Review that require 95% of detained removal cases be completed within 60 days.
“They're offering to send him back, giving him the option if he wants to revoke his green card, he can,” Diana Ramsingh said. “And they will send him back to the Netherlands.”
She said ICE offered him $1,000 to self-deport, but if he accepts, Ramsingh will not be permitted to come back to the U.S. The family said it is speaking with lawyers to determine how best to proceed, adding that it will fight to bring Ramsingh home because of his roots in Columbia, including a teenage daughter.
“He excels in every capacity,” Gage said. “He is the best father. He shows up for them no matter what.”
Earlier this year, Ramsingh’s eldest daughter, Destinee, passed away. His trip to the Netherlands was partly motivated by that loss, Diana Ramsingh said.
“He's just a strong person, and he doesn't want anybody else to worry about him. That's just his character,” she said. “So, I know it's not easy, but he's trying to stay strong and he's telling us that, so we'll stay strong.”
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