After months of fear and uncertainty, Owen Ramsingh (44) is back in the Netherlands — but not by choice. On Monday, he embraced his wife Diana and teenage daughter Kimya after being deported from the United States, the country he had long championed and politically supported. The self-described proud conservative arrived at Schiphol Airport on Sunday carrying only his clothes, phone and watch. His family followed a day later.
Ramsingh, who built his life in Columbia, Missouri, was removed under the Trump administration’s aggressive immigration enforcement policies — the very approach he and his family had broadly backed. Now, the consequences are personal. Exhausted and shaken, he sits beside his father Ruben, reflecting on how quickly the American life he defended disappeared. He will never return to his home, his friends or the community that once rallied behind him with fundraising efforts and letters of support.
The deportation stems from a conviction dating back more than 25 years, when Ramsingh served 25 months in prison as a teenager. Since then, he says he rebuilt everything. ,,I have always worked hard. In construction, in security, as property manager. I have built an existence for my family. I’ve always been ready for the community.”
He believed his immigration paperwork was secure. He carried a green card renewed every decade, had a Social Security number and valid ID. His family assumed there was no risk. Diana says: “We never thought for one second that he could be deported.”
But when immigration enforcement intensified, old records resurfaced. Ramsingh was detained in September and transferred across facilities for months. He describes sleeping on concrete floors with emergency blankets and rationed food. At one point, he says, he received only a quarter of a Subway sandwich. In one overcrowded shelter shared with more than 70 detainees, communication with loved ones cost 35 cents per message. “We have spent thousands of dollars on communication alone.”
The uncertainty took a psychological toll. “You don’t know if you’ll ever see your family, your house and your friends again.”
I have thought of that too. They don’t tell you anything, you don’t know anything, you just sit there. You don’t know if you’ll ever see your family again, if you’ll ever see your house and your friends and all the people around you again. Then you start to think that it better be over.”
Despite the ordeal, Ramsingh insists he tried to remain composed. “But he’s strong, I’ve always controlled myself. Keeping my head cool and hoping. Never got angry or kicked in noise.”
Now back in the Netherlands, he says he is focused on starting over. ,,I’m here with my family. I’m safe. I don’t have to be afraid of getting arrested. We’re gonna start over. Find a house, find a job, learn Dutch. Living the Dutch life.”
The irony is not lost on those close to him. As a convicted felon, Ramsingh could not vote, but he openly supported conservative politics. Diana did cast a ballot for Donald Trump. She now questions that choice.
“Everyone I know and believed in Trump is now done. In America, you always have to choose between two evils. Now I don’t know anymore.”
For Ramsingh, the policies he once defended ended his American chapter. The house in Missouri is gone. The community he called home is out of reach. The country he backed enforced the rules exactly as written — and this time, he was on the receiving end.
