COLUMBIA — What began as a routine trip home turned into a nightmare for Owen Ramsingh, a longtime Columbia resident, husband and father who was detained by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement on Tuesday.
Ramsingh was returning home from visiting family in the Netherlands and was detained at a Chicago airport. He is now currently being held at an ICE facility in El Paso, Texas, awaiting a hearing before an immigration judge.
Owen Ramsingh
Ramsingh holds a green card and obtained it when he was 5 years old, arriving in the United States with his mother from the Netherlands. His green card was set to expire in March, so he renewed it in February before he went to visit his family in the Netherlands in September. His green card was renewed for 10 years, according to documentation obtained by KOMU 8.
Now, his family says he is being held unlawfully.
“He was 100% legal when he entered," said Diana Ramsingh, Owen Ramsingh's wife. "At first, they were questioning his 'child of a U.S. citizen' green card, but come to find out that stepchildren of a U.S. citizen have the same rights as a biological child, so that is why he has that green card and has since 1986.”
Owen Ramsingh and his children.
However, an administrator from the ICE facility in El Paso said it can take time to process a renewal.
Tricia McLaughlin, the assistant secretary for public affairs at the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, pointed to Owen Ramsingh's criminal record in response to a question from KOMU 8 about his detainment in Chicago.
Owen Ramsingh has two prior drug-related incidents on his record. He had a 2011 marijuana possession conviction in Boone County, which has since been expunged. In 1997, he was charged with cocaine possession at age 16 and tried as an adult at 17.
"That happened in 1997 when he was a teenager," Diana Ramsingh said.
The last time Diana Ramsingh heard from her husband was Wednesday night, about 7 p.m. and the only way she has been able to contact him is through other detainees, she said.
"It costs $50 for every 15-minute call into the El Paso detention center." shared Robert Olson, Owens brother.
“There are about 72 people in a room or a pod. There is a handful of tablets that get moved around within. And they are issued a pin and thats when they can make phone calls and he does not have a pin yet so he's having his friends using their pin to be able to call” shared Diana.
Ramsingh's family is asking the community for help. They are encouraging people to reach out to U.S. Senators Josh Hawley & Eric Schmidt and U.S. Representative Mark Alford to help get him released from ice.
There is a Facebook group "Bring Owen home" that includes ways people can help.