Christopher Landry, a supporter of President Donald Trump with a green card who has been living in New Hampshire for decades, returned to the United States on July 30 after previously being denied reentry from Canada earlier in the month, his attorney Ronald Abramson told Newsweek.
His return comes after a New Hampshire judge vacated his prior misdemeanor convictions.
Why It Matters
Landry’s blocked reentry and legal limbo come amid the Trump administration’s immigration crackdown. The president has pledged to launch the largest mass deportation operation in U.S. history.
Immigrants residing in the country illegally and legally, with valid documentation such as green cards and visas, have been detained. Newsweek has reported dozens of cases involving green card holders and applicants who were swept up in the immigration raids and various arrests.
A warning from U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) in July said that “possessing a green card is a privilege, not a right” and that legal residents arriving at a port of entry with prior criminal convictions may be detained in advance of a removal proceeding.
Photo by Scott Eisen/Getty Images
What To Know
Landry, a 46-year-old Canadian national, has lived in the U.S. for more than 40 years. He annually visits Canada and says he has never had a problem going back and forth, until last month. He said in legal documents obtained by The Boston Globe that he became a lawful permanent resident in 1983.
The New Hampshire resident, who works in manufacturing and has five children, several of whom he was traveling back to the U.S. with on July 6, was stopped by immigration officials in Houlton, Maine. He told local news outlets he was held by immigration officers and then denied reentry.
“He crossed the border without incident on July 30th,” Abramson told Newsweek in a Friday email. Up until then, he was separated from his family, living in Canada.
Landry has two previous misdemeanors, from 2004 and 2007, regarding marijuana possession charges. He says he received a suspended sentence and paid his fines. He has no further criminal record.
According to the court docket reviewed by Newsweek, Judge Anne Edwards was assigned to the case on July 20. A hearing on Landry’s petition was held July 24, and the court granted the request to vacate his convictions.
Landry had previously pleaded guilty to the misdemeanor charges without understanding the potential impact on his immigration status, he and his attorneys said in the recent case.
Although Landry cannot legally vote due to his Canadian citizenship, he said he was supportive of Trump.
In July, he told NBC 10 Boston: “I was definitely all for ‘Make America Great Again,’ and having a strong, unified country and a bright future for my five American children, but now I feel a little differently. I’ve been torn from my family. My life has been disregarded completely.”
What People Are Saying
Ronald Abramson, Landry’s lawyer, told Newsweek in a Friday email: “He [Landry] is home and settling back into his life after a scary – and objectively unnecessary – interruption.”
Christopher Landry, in an affidavit obtained by The Boston Globe: “I had no idea that a couple of minor marijuana possession convictions would negatively affect my immigration status so many years later, leaving me stuck in Canada unable to return to the United States without fear of being detained and deported.”
Customs and Border Protection on X on July 8: “Having a criminal history does not make you an upstanding lawful permanent resident. Possessing a green card is a privilege, not a right. Under our nation’s laws, our government has the authority to revoke your green card if our laws are broken and abused. In addition to immigration removal proceedings, lawful permanent residents presenting at a U.S. port of entry with previous criminal convictions may be subject to mandatory detention.”
Update 8/1/25, 6:07 p.m. ET: This article has been updated with comment from Abramson.
