Columbia man deported to the Netherlands after being in ICE detention since September
COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)
A Columbia man who was detained by ICE for several months is back in the Netherlands.
Owen Ramsignh returned to the Netherlands-- where he lived as a child-- early Sunday morning. Ramsingh's close friend Robert Olson told ABC 17 News that Ramsingh touched down at the Schiphol International Airport in Amsterdam at 8:30 a.m. local time.
Ramsingh was detained for drug charges from his youth while coming back to the U.S. after a trip to see his family in the Netherlands in September. He was transferred at least once during his detainment, and his deportation flight was pushed back multiple times, according to the Bring Owen Home Facebook page updates.
"Having him out and knowing he is safe is a huge weight off of all our shoulders. Seeing him smile and hearing him laugh is the best medicine," Olson said over text. "These past 4.5 months have been really tough, mentally exhausting and full of worry. A roller coaster of emotions."
Olson said Ramsingh's wife, Diana, and his daughter left on a flight out of the Columbia airport at 3 p.m. on Sunday for the Netherlands.
Diana Ramsingh told ABC 17 News that she was feeling mixed emotions about seeing Owen.
"A lot of things. Excited, anxious (just knowing all the things we have to get done in a short time), a little overwhelmed, but most importantly, excited," Ramsingh wrote.
Olson also said he plans to visit during the first week of March.
In December, a New Mexico judge ordered Ramsingh to be deported for life. ABC 17 News spoke with an immigration attorney shortly after that ruling, who said it's typically a 20-year sentence, with the potential to lower the sentence to eight to 10 years.
