Subramanyam "Subu" Vedam, the State College man who was released from prison after his conviction for first-degree murder was overturned last year, only to be taken into ICE custody, is facing another legal setback as a federal judge ruled the government can keep Vedam detained.
On Tuesday, U.S. District Judge William Stickman denied Vedam’s request for release, citing his drug trafficking charges from the early 1980s, including pleading no contest to selling LSD.
“The Laken Riley Act mandated that immigration authorities detain aliens, like (Vedam), who are inadmissible or removable from the United States and who have engaged in certain criminal activity,” Stickman wrote in his ruling.
The Laken Riley Act, passed into law last year, says the Department of Homeland Security must detain certain non-U.S. nationals who have been arrested for or convicted of “burglary, theft, larceny, shoplifting, or assault of a law enforcement officer offense, or any crime that results in death or serious bodily injury to another person.”
In a virtual hearing on April 2, Vedam answered questions from DHS about his drug charges and repeatedly said he was “young and stupid.”
Stickman, a Trump nominee, wrote in his ruling on Tuesday that the Laken Riley Act does not limit how long a person can be detained during removal proceedings.
Stickman also said his court doesn’t have the jurisdiction to overturn another immigration judge’s decision to keep Vedam in custody.
“The government shouldn’t have a reason to keep him in captivity any longer,” said Saraswathi Vedam, Vedam’s sister, in a press release. “He could instead be reunited with his family.”
Now, Vedam is waiting for a decision from the Board of Immigration Appeals about whether he can stay in the United States. A spokesperson for Vedam's family and legal team previously said there is no deadline for the BIA to rule on DHS's appeal, and that it could take several months.
