Two separate US courts have temporarily blocked the deportation of Subramanyam “Subu” Vedam, a 64-year-old Indian-origin man who spent more than four decades behind bars for a murder he did not commit.
Vedam, who was convicted in 1983 for killing his former roommate, was exonerated in October after new evidence emerged. But moments after he walked free, US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) detained him, relying on an old deportation order and a decades-old drug case.
Although Vedam was born in India, he has lived in the United States since he was nine months old. He was a legal permanent resident, and his citizenship application had already been accepted before his wrongful arrest.
ICE transferred him to a short-term holding facility in Alexandria, Louisiana — a location with its own airstrip used for deportations.
Last Thursday brought a shift:
An immigration judge halted removal proceedings until the Board of Immigration Appeals decides whether to reopen his drug conviction.
On the same day, a federal court in Pennsylvania issued a separate stay on his deportation.
Vedam’s drug case dates back to 1984, when he pleaded no contest to several LSD-related charges and a theft count. Those sentences were set to run at the same time as his life sentence for murder. ICE now points to that drug conviction — and a 1988 deportation order — as justification for detaining him.
His attorneys argue that the 43 years he wrongly spent in prison, along with his clean behavior, educational achievements, and extensive community service behind bars, should far outweigh the decades-old drug charge.
They also stress that Vedam has virtually no ties to India. Sending him there now, they say, would deepen the injustice he has already endured.
The Board of Immigration Appeals could take months to decide whether to reconsider the drug case. Until then, Vedam remains in ICE custody as his legal team pushes to prevent his removal from the only country he has really ever known.
