Editor's note: This article has been updated to include a statement from the Department of Homeland Security, information about Ramsingh’s prior convictions and current detainment, and the community response.

A longtime Columbia resident is being detained by Immigrations and Custom Enforcement in El Paso, Texas, after attempting to re-enter the United States last week.

Owen Ramsingh, who immigrated to the U.S. as a child in the 1980s, was detained by ICE in Chicago last Tuesday after flying home from a three-week visit to the country of his birth — the Netherlands.

His wife, Diana Ramsingh, said he was held by U.S. Customs in Chicago for 80 hours. KBIA has confirmed that he was transferred to a detention center in El Paso, Texas, over the weekend, where he is currently being held.

Rams

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