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By Andrew Stanton
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U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) has deported a green-card holder of 40 years, according to his wife.
Owen Ramsingh, a 48-year-old man who immigrated from the Netherlands in 1986, had been held by ICE since September 27, after he returned from a trip to Europe. Officials said he was eligible for deportation because of decades-old drug charges. His wife, Diana Ramsingh, who lived in Columbia, Missouri, has been planning to relocate to the Netherlands after not seeing him for months.
He told Newsweek in an interview on Thursday it was a “very hard situation” with “lots of trauma.”
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“It was one of the worst experiences you could possibly ever go through,” he said.
Newsweek reached out to the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and ICE via email for comment.
Why It Matters
President Donald Trump campaigned on mass deportation of undocumented immigrants, specifically targeting those with violent criminal records, and his administration has ramped up immigration enforcement since his return to office in January 2025. DHS said that more than 3 million undocumented immigrants were deported during his first term in office.
Recent polls suggest Americans are turning on Trump's immigration policy. The administration faces growing scrutiny over the conduct and tactics of immigration officers in places like Minneapolis, where federal immigration officers fatally shot two U.S. citizens, Renee Nicole Good and Alex Pretti, last month.
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What To Know
Owen Ramsingh has been deported back to the Netherlands after five months in ICE custody, according to KCUR in Kansas City, Missouri. His wife, Diana Ramsingh, responded to the deportation in remarks to the station.
“I'm just feeling relieved that he's finally getting his freedom back. Now, we are starting over,” she said.
She also wrote in a Facebook post for the group “Bring Owen Home” that he was released on February 7.
She previously told Newsweek that her family “fought with everything we had because we needed to know we did absolutely everything possible to bring him home.”
“Hi All! I’m back with some good news this time," she wrote. "Owen was officially released this morning and on a flight to Amsterdam.”
Federal agents detained Ramsingh in a Chicago airport in September as he returned from a trip to Europe. While Ramsingh was held in Texas, a judge told the family he needed some extra paperwork and that once that was submitted, deportation proceedings would be suspended. He was later sent to New Mexico and placed under a different judge. That court ordered his deportation in December.
Ramsingh had two drug-related incidents on his record. One was cocaine related from 1997, and another related to marijuana from 2011. The former was when he was 16, and he was tried as an adult at age 17. His family argued that the first offense was nearly 30 years ago and was not an issue previously.
His green card was due to expire at the end of the year, and he had filed for another 10-year extension. In doing so, the current card was extended for 36 months, pending a formal decision by U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS).
DHS Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin previously told Newsweek regarding his case: “This criminal alien is in ICE custody pending removal proceedings. 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.”
A GoFundMe for the family has raised nearly $29,000.
What People Are Saying
Diana Ramsingh previously told Newsweek: “If people could truly look at life through someone else’s eyes, really look, we might have a kinder world. Instead, the systems in place refuse to see our humanity. Anyone who knows Owen knows he is one of the best human beings to walk this Earth."
DHS Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin previously told Newsweek: “On September 27, CBP arrested Owen Romann Ramsingh, a criminal illegal alien from the Netherlands. His criminal history includes convictions for cocaine possession and marijuana possession. On December 8, an immigration judge ordered his removal.”
What Happens Next
Some family members plan to join Owen Ramsingh in the Netherlands. Diana Ramsingh said in a December Facebook post that there may be a possibility of filing a waiver in eight to 10 years to try to lift a lifetime ban on returning to the United States.
Meanwhile, immigration remains at the forefront of American politics amid the Trump administration’s ramped-up operations in places like Minneapolis.
Update 2/12/26, 3:10 p.m. ET: This article was updated with additional information.
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