UPDATE - Feb. 17, 2026 @ 6:30 p.m.- This story was updated to include comment from Subramanyam "Subu" Vedam's sister, response from his lawyers about the decision to appeal and reactions from State College Mayor Ezra Nanes.
A federal immigration judge is denying a bond that would have released Subramanyam "Subu" Vedam, a State College man whose conviction for first-degree murder was overturned last year, until his immigration hearing.
Vedam was born in India and was in the process of obtaining U.S. citizenship before his initial arrest in the 1980s.
Immediately after his release from state prison, Vedam was detained by ICE because of a deportation order issued in 1988, based on felony homicide and drug trafficking convictions.
Two weeks ago, a federal immigration judge vacated that deportation order and restored Vedam’s permanent residency while the Board of Immigration Appeals reviews his case.
Tuesday's hearing comes after a different federal judge vacated Vedam's deportation order and restored his permanent residency.
Tamar Wilson, a judge at the Newark Immigration Court in New Jersey, said she doesn't have the jurisdiction to release Vedam on bond because of his still existing felony conviction for drug trafficking.
Pennsylvania court records show in the 1980s, before Vedam's incarceration, that he sold drugs and was involved with LSD and marijuana use. Vedam's paperwork in Pennsylvania's judicial system website previously listed those charges with offense dates in 2005, but the Centre County Prothonotary's Office said this is a mistake from an electronic records transfer in 2003 and has since fixed the issue.
Wilson said even if Vedam was eligible for bond, she isn't confident he isn't a danger to the community. His lawyer, Ava Benach, pointed to Vedam's good conduct in prison, and that he would have been released on the drug convictions in the 90s if not for the now overturned murder charge. Wilson said good conduct in prison doesn't necessarily equate to good conduct in society.
Centre County First Assistant District Attorney Joshua Andrews was at Tuesday's virtual court hearing to give more background on his office's review of Vedam's case. Speaking to WPSU after the court's decision to deny bond, Andrews said he knew Vedam would be facing a "significant legal barrier."
"It's been the position of our office that we didn't have any concerns for public safety," Andrews said. "He had been a model inmate, he had gone under many rehabilitative efforts that were presented to him."
Ezra Nanes, the mayor of State College, also attended the virtual hearing and spoke to WPSU about his support of Vedam.
“It was a very small amount of drugs that he sold to a friend of his in the 1980s, and he's been an exemplary inmate, earning degrees and helping others," Nanes said. "And to say that he's a danger to society is just seems wrong to me."
Nanes, Andrews and Benach all pointed out that Vedam's convictions for drug trafficking are only for small amounts of LSD.
Nanes said he talked with Vedam in the Moshannon Valley Processing Center a month ago in a visitation room. Nanes did not tour the rest of the facility, but said he has concerns about Vedam staying there long term.
"He sleeps in a room with, you know, 60 plus other people," Nanes said. "And some people are, you know, stay up all night. So it can't be the easiest conditions for him to be in."
Vedam’s attorneys say they’re going to appeal the judge’s decision to deny bond. The deadline to do that is March 19. Until then, he is being held at the Moshannon Valley Processing Center near Philipsburg.
"We had hoped the court would agree that Subu did not need to remain in ICE detention while waiting for an immigration hearing," said Vedam's sister, Saraswathi Vedam. “Subu is nothing if not resilient, and we're resolved to emulate the example he sets for us by focusing on the next step in his fight for freedom. We continue to believe his immigration case is strong and look forward to the day we can be together again.”
