Pennsylvania Man Denied Bail in Deportation Fight After 43 Years in Prison
A man from Pennsylvania, Subrahmanyam Vedam, spent 43 years in prison before his murder conviction was overturned. He was taken directly to immigration authorities, where he was denied bail on Tuesday as he fights against deportation.
The 64-year-old Vedam will remain in custody while he appeals a deportation order issued in 1999. This month, the Immigration Appeals Board agreed to consider his case based on what they termed “exceptional circumstances.”
Initially, during the Trump administration, there was a push for expedited deportation, which led to Vedam being moved to a detention center in Louisiana last fall. However, two courts later intervened in his case.
During Tuesday’s hearing, Vedam’s lawyer, Eva Benack, argued that had it not been for the murder conviction, he likely would have avoided deportation and became a U.S. citizen. She mentioned that Vedam would have likely been released from prison on drug charges by 1992.
“This was just a small supply of LSD. It’s not like we’re talking about importing tons of cocaine,” Benack stated. “He’s not a danger to anyone—a crime from over 40 years ago hardly defines him now.”
In August, a judge in Pennsylvania dismissed Vedam’s murder conviction stemming from the 1980 killing of a college friend, citing ballistics evidence that had been hidden by prosecutors during two trials. Supporters, including local prosecutors and the Penn State mayor, joined the bail hearing remotely to show their support.
Immigration judge Tamer Wilson, based in Elizabeth, New Jersey, emphasized that detention was warranted due to Vedam’s felony drug conviction. She echoed Homeland Security’s concerns about a potential security risk.
“Being a ‘model prisoner’ doesn’t mean he is safe to release into society,” Wilson noted.
It’s unclear whether Judge Wilson or another judge will ultimately hear the details of the deportation case, and no date for a hearing has been set yet.
“Subu is nothing if not resilient,” remarked his sister, Saraswati Vedam. “We are determined to follow his example, focusing on the next steps in this fight for freedom. We believe strongly in his immigration case and look forward to reuniting.” She had hoped to take him home after his release from state prison on October 3, but instead, he found himself in federal immigration custody.
Vedam legally came to the U.S. from India at just nine months old when his parents settled in State College.
Benack mentioned last year, “He’s a person who has faced profound injustice. Those 43 years can’t be erased—they leave a mark.” Vedam is currently held at a U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement facility with a capacity of 1,800 beds in central Pennsylvania.
A spokesperson for the Department of Homeland Security commented last year, stating, “Illegal aliens who commit crimes are not welcome in the United States.”
