Judge temporarily blocks deportation of Subramanyam ‘Subu’ Vedam. What to know
AI-generated summary reviewed by our newsroom.
- Judge Stephanie L. Haines temporarily blocked Vedam’s deportation after ICE transfer.
- Vedam, exonerated after 43 years, faces deportation over a 1980s drug plea.
- Immigration court will rule on deportation; decision may take months.
A federal judge on Thursday temporarily prevented President Donald Trump’s administration from deporting Subramanyam “Subu” Vedam, a State College man who was exonerated and then detained after he wrongfully served 43 years in prison.
The ruling from U.S. District Judge Stephanie L. Haines came hours after U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement confirmed Vedam was transported in the pre-dawn hours Thursday from the Moshannon Valley Processing Center.
He was taken to the Alexandria Staging Facility in rural Louisiana, a family spokesperson told the Centre Daily Times on Thursday evening.
Vedam had been at the Clearfield County facility since Oct. 3, one day after Centre County prosecutors dropped the first-degree murder against him in the fatal 1980 shooting of Thomas Kinser.
Centre County President Judge Jonathan Grine found previous prosecutors violated his due process rights and deprived him of a fair trial by concealing an FBI ballistics analysis that could have severed his ties to the crime. After serving 43 years of a life sentence, he became the longest-serving exoneree in Pennsylvania history.
Even with the murder conviction overturned, the Trump administration has sought to deport him because of an order issued in 1999. Vedam pleaded no contest in 1984 to drug charges after being accused of selling LSD in State College.
Vedam, 64, was born in India but has lived in Pennsylvania since he was 9 months old. His attorneys have said he was a legal permanent resident of the U.S. when he was arrested for Kinser’s killing.
As Trump’s administration emphasizes mass deportations, Vedam’s attorneys are attempting to persuade the country’s highest immigration court that the drug conviction should be outweighed by more than four decades of wrongful imprisonment.
It could be months until the Board of Immigration Appeals decides whether to reopen the case and, until that decision is reached, the judge’s Thursday decision will prevent Vedam’s deportation. The government has opposed Vedam’s request thus far, arguing the deadline was more than 25 years ago.
“He has provided no evidence nor argument to show he has been diligent in pursuing his rights as it pertains to his immigration status,” wrote Katherine B. Frisch, an assistant chief counsel at the Department of Homeland Security.
The government has until Wednesday to respond to Vedam’s legal challenge. Haines specifically asked the attorneys to address the status of Vedam’s immigration case and whether the overturning of his murder conviction affects his deportation, if at all.
Vedam’s legal team would then have until Nov. 7 to respond.
This story was originally published October 30, 2025 at 5:23 PM.