Columbia man detained by ICE after trip to Europe, family seeks help

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ) 

Owen Ramsingh flew to Europe with his friend Robert Olson as a free man.

His wife, Diana, said it was a trip he had made every year for the past five years. Ramsingh, who came to the United States from the Netherlands as a child, traveled annually to visit his family.

Olson returned a week earlier, while Ramsingh stayed behind to spend more time with relatives. But when he was scheduled to return last week, his family received a call saying he had been detained by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement at O’Hare airport in Chicago. 

“We figured, maybe he'll miss his flight and he'll be on the next flight coming home,” Olson, a friend of Ramsingh’s for over 20 years, said. “I'm still a little bit shocked and bewildered by the whole situation.” 

Ramsighn had reentered the U.S late Tuesday night before getting detained by ICE. Initially, friends and family thought it had been a mistake.

“His mother met a U.S. military member in Europe when he was young. They were married and then they came to the States together in '86,” Diana Ramsingh said. ”He's had his green card since 1986.” 

Because both of Ramsingh’s parents were born outside the United States, his green card was issued under the category for "children of U.S. citizens."

“We also have found out through an attorney that step-children of a U.S. citizen actually have the same rights as a biological child of a U.S. citizen when it comes to immigration,” Diana Ramsingh said. “So if that is the case, he is a U.S. citizen like his stepfather is a U.S. citizen.” 

Diana spoke to Ramsingh on the phone throughout the day on Tuesday as he was being detained, until ICE took away his phone around midnight. She was also able to call him for ten minutes on Wednesday and Thursday, during which he described the conditions in the Broadview, IL, detention facility as a “30-by 30 foot room packed with 75 other people, with only 20 chairs and no beds.” 

However, on Friday, Ramsingh was unable to get in contact with his family until Diana Ramsingh received a call Saturday from the Broadview detention center at 5 a.m., saying he would call back later in the day. That phone call cost her $52. 

“When he called me Saturday at 5 a.m. from Broadview, Illinois, Detention Center,  the recording just said, ‘You get a free 20 seconds.’  He said, ‘Hey, it's me, this is where I'm at.’ And then it went to a recording, asking to put in like my credit card number,” Diana Ramsingh said. “(The recording) didn't say anything about fees or anything. But, I talked to him for as long as they let us, and then when I got off the phone, I just went to check my card just out of curiosity. And we talked for 15 minutes, and it was $52.” 

Days went by without another word from Ramsingh until Monday, when the family was told he was being transferred to a detention center in El Paso, Texas. 

“He did tell me that El Paso is more of a camp, and it's more of tents,” Diana Ramsingh said. “So far, they have let him take his medication that he needs every day, but they will not allow him to use his CPAP machine.” 

Ramsingh has a court date in Illinois on Oct. 15. However, his family and friends say that finding an attorney has been difficult. 

Diana Ramsingh was told by ICE that she could not contact an attorney until Owen Ramsingh was moved from the 48-hour holding center to a detention center. ABC 17 News reached out to ICE on Monday but has not heard back.

“I think the hardest part is, there is no one giving us any kind of information. So, the only reason we even found that he was transferred to Texas was I just happened to stumble upon a search that you could do online,” Diana Ramsingh said. “No one reaches out. No one tells you what to do if you've never been in this situation.  I mean, you just have to figure it out.” 

Samantha Gage has been friends with Owen Ramsingh for 20 years. after he became neighbors with her grandparents. She said this is uncharted territory for his loved ones, and finding the right people to talk to has been a challenge. 

“Over the weekend, we just had email after email trying to find a good attorney, and the automated responses that we got all said ‘due to our high influx of calls and emails because of the changing immigration policy, please be patient with us,’” Gage said.  “So, even obtaining an attorney is not easy.” 

Gage added that authorities had asked Owen to give up his green card in exchange for $1,000. 

It’s a strategy that the Department of Homeland Security has utilized as part of its “self-deporting policy.” Through the Customers and Border Protection mobile app, immigrants can self-deport and receive a complimentary plane ticket home and receive a $1,000 exit bonus in return. 

“They’ve been asking if he wants to give up his green card. ‘Will you please give up your green card?’ They've asked him that numerous times. They offered him $1,000 in exchange for giving up his green card,” Gage said.  “Thank God we were able to speak to an attorney who said if he chooses to do that, he will never be able to step foot on U.S. soil again.” 

Since moving to Columbia, Owen Ramsingh has ingrained himself in the community. He is the Head of Security at The Blue Note and Rose Music Hall and is a property manager at Property Professional Management. 

“He's friends with everybody. He's friends with the law enforcement. He tries to help clean up the community. He has scheduled events to go into some of the harder areas that have higher crime rates and play basketball and host events, and barbecue,” Gage said. “He goes to extreme lengths to improve this community.” 

“He’s just a big teddy bear,” Ramsing’s youngest daughter, Ki’mya Ramsingh, added. “He’s a loving person.” 

The family is asking for letters of support about Owen’s character and ties to the community to help with immigration court. They are also asking people to send letters to elected officials to try and expedite the review process. 

“Just a stand-up guy that does not deserve to be where he's at right now,” Olson said. 

“I don't think he's ever met someone that didn't become his friend,” Diana Ramsingh said. “That's just who he is.”

ABC 17 News reached out to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement for comment but have not yet heard back