He waited 43 years for freedom — only to lose it again within hours.

Subramanyam “Subu” Vedam, 64, finally walked free this month after being wrongly imprisoned for murder since 1980. His family had fought for decades to clear his name, and when the court overturned his conviction, they thought the nightmare was over. But just one day after his release, ICE agents detained him — and now plan to deport him to India, a country he hasn’t seen since he was nine months old.

“I’m no longer a prisoner,” Vedam told his family from detention. “I’m a detainee.” His sister said through tears, “We didn’t even get a moment to hold him in our arms.”

Born in India but raised in Pennsylvania, Subu has lived his entire life in America — yet faces exile because of a decades-old deportation order. After losing 43 years to injustice, his loved ones say this new fight feels unbearably cruel.

For a man who spent half a lifetime behind bars, freedom should have meant peace — not another cell.