US Court Stops Deportation of 64 Year Old Indian Origin Man After 40 Year Wrongful Conviction Overturned

Washington, Nov 4: A 64 year old Indian origin man, Subramanyam “Subu” Vedam, who spent almost 40 years behind bars for a wrongful murder conviction, has received temporary relief from deportation after two US courts intervened in his case.
Vedam, who moved legally from India to the United States as an infant, is currently being held at a detention centre in Alexandria, Louisiana. On Thursday, an immigration judge placed his deportation on hold until the Board of Immigration Appeals (BIA) decides whether to review his case  a process that could take several months. On the same day, Vedam’s lawyers secured a stay order from a US District Court in Pennsylvania, though that proceeding remains paused pending the immigration court’s decision.
Vedam grew up in State College, Pennsylvania, where his father worked as a professor at Penn State University. He was sentenced to life imprisonment in 1980 for the death of a friend, but consistently maintained his innocence. His conviction was overturned earlier this year, leading to his release on October 3  only for him to be immediately detained by US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).
ICE has sought his deportation citing a decades-old no-contest plea related to LSD possession when Vedam was in his twenties. His attorneys argue that his wrongful incarceration, during which he earned college degrees and mentored fellow inmates, should outweigh the old drug case.
However, ICE insists that federal deportation laws must still apply. “Having a single conviction vacated will not stop ICE’s enforcement of federal immigration law,” said Tricia McLaughlin, Assistant Secretary for Public Affairs.
Vedam’s sister, Saraswathi Vedam, welcomed the twin court decisions, describing them as a “much needed relief” for the family after decades of injustice.