Columbia man to be deported with lifetime ban after immigration hearing

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

A Columbia green card holder has been ordered deported from the United States, with a lifetime ban to keep him from reentering the country.

Owen Ramsingh's family posted a social media update about his case, saying that Ramsingh went in front of an immigration judge in New Mexico on Monday. The judge ordered Ramsingh deported with a lifetime ban from the United States, the post states.

Ramsingh could try for a waiver to lift the ban in eight to 10 years, the post states.

Ramsingh has lived in the U.S. since moving here as a child from the Netherlands and was initially issued a green card as a child of a U.S. citizen in 1986, which has since been renewed. According to a Department of Homeland Security spokesperson, he was detained because of past convictions for possession of marijuana and cocaine.

Court records obtained by ABC 17 News show Ramsingh was charged with drug possession in Omaha, Nebraska, in 1998 when he was 17. He pleaded guilty the next year to attempting to commit a felony. The following year, records show he was cited for having less than an ounce of marijuana in Nebraska and fined $100. 

Ramsingh's family wrote that they expect him to be back in the Netherlands.