Longtime Columbia resident to be deported after sudden court transfer

This story was written with another reporter from KBIA, Bella Zielinski. The first half of the copy was written by Bella; the section following the subhead “Facility safety” is my copy.

A judge has ordered that longtime Columbia resident Owen Ramsingh be deported to the Netherlands with a lifetime ban on returning to the United States.

Ramsingh was held in a Texas detention center for more than a month after he was detained in Chicago upon his arrival back in the U.S. from a yearly trip to his home country of the Netherlands. According to reporting from The Associated Press, other detainees held at these centers have noted unsafe conditions.

He has had a green card since he immigrated to the U.S. at 5 years old. This February, Ramsingh renewed his green card for 10 more years prior to his trip in September.

KBIA previously talked with immigration lawyer Bill Niffen about the likelihood of deportation. At the time, Niffen said the combination of two drug-related incidents on Ramsingh’s record were enough of a basis for the current administration to deport him, even though he had been convicted as a teenager.

“What I would imagine happened is at some point, databases got connected and somebody said, ‘Hey, what’s this about?’ And then he leaves, comes back and, lo and behold, he’s got this conviction,” Niffen said.

The family may file a waiver in eight to 10 years to remove the ban. In the meantime, Ramsingh’s wife, Diana, said in a Facebook post that the family plans to move to the Netherlands next year.

Samantha Gage, a longtime friend of the Ramsingh family, said the decision surprised both the family and the community.

A judge in Ramsingh’s initial trial in El Paso, Texas, indicated he would suspend the deportation if more paperwork was provided. He would then have 10 days to review this paperwork before making his final verdict, Gage said.

Within those 10 days, Ramsingh was transferred to a court in New Mexico, with a new court date to match. The newly assigned judge issued a different final verdict than what the judge in El Paso had indicated to the family.

“Pretty much as soon as the judge walked in, he had his decision made,” Gage said. “And so it was a total gut punch of we were very hopeful and optimistic, then just total shock.”

Even through the sentence, Gage emphasized the immense outpouring of support for everything from comments in the Facebook group to organizing the family’s move.

“It’s been overwhelming support,” Gage said. “And if anything, that is what has kept Owen alive, and that is what kept him fighting. He time and time again wanted to surrender his green card, but he didn’t just because of his dream of being back in this community.”

Ramsingh’s family hopes to know within the next 24 hours when he will be on a flight to the Netherlands.

Facility safety

Ramsingh was held for four days at the Broadview Processing Center in Illinois after being initially detained in Chicago following his September return to the U.S. Ramsingh told his wife he was given food once a day and was not allowed to shower. A federal judge ordered the immigration facility to make improvements in November after a group of detainees sued the facility over “inhumane” conditions.

According to PBS News, the order required officials to provide immigration detainees with a clean bedding mat, soap, towels, toilet paper, toothbrushes, toothpaste, menstrual products, prescribed medicine and sufficient space to sleep. The judge’s order also said the holding rooms at the facility must be cleaned twice a day, and detainees must be allowed to shower at least every other day. According to the judge, detainees should have three full meals daily and bottled water upon request.

Ramsingh was transported in September to Camp East Montana on Fort Bliss. The facility opened a month prior after President Donald Trump’s administration awarded a “mystery” $1.2 billion contract to a small business, Acquisition Logistics LLC, according to the AP. The company was contracted to build and operate what it said would become the nation’s largest immigration detention complex.

The company website only says, “Site maintenance in progress.” It has had no listed experience running a correctional facility and had never won a federal contract worth more than $16 million until this year, according to the AP.

Documents obtained by The Washington Post found the detention center had violated at least 60 federal standards just 50 days after beginning operations.

On Wednesday, a human rights coalition of eight organizations, including the American Civil Liberties Union and Human Rights Watch, signed a 19-page letter calling for the immediate closure of the camp.

The ACLU said the letter is the product of “months of interviews” with more than 45 detained migrants at the facility. The detainees told interviewers that officers have engaged in a widespread and unreasonable practice of excessive force, including the use of abusive sexual contact by officers when utilizing force. Several said they were given foul-tasting drinking water, rotten food and inadequate health care.

The soft-sided tents at the camp house 72 people each, with over 2,700 detainees in total, according to reporting by The Guardian. But Gage said the tents are not sufficient shelter from the weather.

“There are no outlets when it rains,” Gage said Ramsingh told her over the phone. “It just rains on his bed and they sleep on wet cots. ... He originally didn’t have a blanket or a pillow, and it gets really cold there at night in the desert.”

On Nov. 14, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement moved Ramsingh, along with other detainees, to the El Paso Service Processing Center but did not notify his legal team about the move until two days later. Diana Ramsingh said his attorney cited overcrowding as a possible reason for the move.

Four days after Ramsingh arrived at the second facility, he was shuttled five hours to New Mexico along with other detainees.

Cibola County Correctional Facility in New Mexico is privately owned and operated by CoreCivic, one of the largest for-profit prison, jail and detention contractors in the United States.

CoreCivic and other private prison companies make money through contracts to house detainees with government entities, including ICE. CoreCivic and other firms also collect revenue from the government for building, owning and operating correctional and detention facilities.

The company reported in November that its total revenue had increased by over $88 million in the third quarter compared to 2024. The company also saw a 55% increase in revenue from immigration detention contracts, according to a CoreCivic news release.

“Ongoing demand for the solutions we provide, particularly from U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), contributed to a solid third quarter,” said Damon T. Hininger, CoreCivic’s CEO, in a November news release about financial results.

There have been 15 deaths at Cibola County Correctional Facility, where Ramsingh is currently held, in the last seven years. This number is considered to be high for its limited capacity, said Laura Schauer Ives, a civil rights attorney who spoke with The Guardian in August.

Since the start of 2025, more than 100 lawsuits and legal complaints have been filed against CoreCivic and its subsidiaries, wardens, medical staff, correctional officers and others working in the facilities.