UTRECHT, NETHERLANDS - For long-time Columbia resident Owen Ramsingh, moving back to the Netherlands was less like riding one of the country’s ubiquitous bicycles and more like being strapped to a runaway motorcycle.
It was certainly a ride he was not anticipating.
In September of 2025, Ramsingh was on his way back to the United States after visiting his father in the Netherlands when he was stopped by border patrol and customs agents at Chicago’s O’Hare Airport.
Ramsingh had a valid green card that he had been renewing since he arrived in the U.S. when he was five years old.
The agents detained him, citing a cocaine possession charge from when Ramsingh was a teenager.
“I had to make sure that I was able to put food in the fridge,” Ramsingh said. “For my family, my mom as well, and eventually I got caught.”
After being detained at the airport, Ramsingh was sent to the Broadview ICE facility in Chicago before being transferred to the Camp East Montana Detention Center in El Paso, Texas.
The El Paso detention center is the largest in the United States and gained notoriety recently after the deaths of three detainees.
Ramsingh said the conditions in the center were abysmal: little food, extremely tight quarters, and aggressive security guards.
In November, he was abruptly moved to a detention center in New Mexico and lost contact with his family.
In total, Ramsingh spent four and a half months between the two facilities and was eventually sentenced to a ban from the United States, with the potential option to apply for reentry in 8-10 years.
He signed his deportation order in Albuquerque on Christmas Eve and was shipped back to Camp East Montana that night. He expected to be quickly sent out of the country, but processing took longer than he and his family had anticipated.
He finally touched down in the Netherlands on February 8.
What’s old is new again
After two months outside the U.S., Ramsingh said the shock has yet to loosen its grip.
“I'll never get over it,” he said. “But it's gonna take a long time for me to get it all processed.”
Ramsingh’s deportation has continued to take from him – including his chance to attend his daughter’s high school graduation in May.
For him, this major milestone will be a two-dimensional experience.
“I will be on FaceTime, so I'm able to watch her walk the stage,” Ramsingh said. “But it sucks not being there to be her support.”
Ramsingh spends much of his time preparing for his wife and daughter to eventually join him in the Netherlands. He looks for work, housing, and mental health resources, while they apply for visas.
“I think I’ll feel a lot better [when] I have my family- my wife, daughter here,” he said. “We were ripped apart from each other.”
Reconnecting with his father
He does have his father Ruben, with whom he lives. Ramsingh said Ruben has been a grounding presence throughout this whole process.
“He just is keeping my head above water,” Ramsingh said.
The two of them were separated for many years when Owen was originally taken to the U.S. by his mother. But they reconnected in 2009 and have remained close.
“Once we had the contact with each other we realized that we are the same,” Ramsingh said. “Just the way we are with people, our work ethic, we are father and son, for sure.”
Ruben said the gratitude he has for seeing his son safe does not make up for what Owen had to endure to get there.
“I love to have him beside me but the situation, the whole situation is so horrible,” Ruben said. “The way he have to move to here, detained, lose 40 years, everything he built up. It’s very hard,” Ruben said.
A whole new world
Ruben has been the only familiar part of Ramsingh’s relocation.
Ramsingh says he likes exploring his neighborhood, but, despite being in his birth country, everything feels new to him.
He has to find his way into a new culture, navigate transactions using a new currency, and begin to learn a new language.
“The TV’s in Dutch, so I don't understand no Dutch, which is going to be another learning thing for me,” Ramsingh said.
While most people in the Netherlands can also speak English, the language barrier still complicates many things, including the street signs Ramsingh will need to understand in order to work towards getting his driver’s license.
In the meantime, Ramsingh resorts to what he does have: his bike, the cobblestone sidewalks, and his own two feet.
Ramsingh on the road
He unwinds by listening to music as he walks along the stream behind his house or by taking his bike out to explore his new environment.
“When I get frustrated or something like that I just take a nice little ride and just learn new streets and everything,” Ramsingh said. “I get lost, and then I find my way back.”
Right now, so much of Ramsingh's life is about finding his way back.
He said making these constant adjustments has been challenging both logistically and mentally, but he’s confident in his ability to push through.
“I feel safe,” Ramsingh said. “I feel like I'll succeed regardless. I'm going to have to succeed.”
