CLEVELAND, Ohio - The U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agency Thursday denied a stay of removal and will deport Youngstown businessman Amer Othman Adi.

In a press release, ICE spokesman Khaalid Walls said Adi, 57, currently incarcerated at the Northeast Ohio Correctional Center in Youngstown, will remain in ICE custody until deportation at an undisclosed time.

Adi had the support of U.S. Rep. Tim Ryan, Niles-area Democrat, who had won House Judiciary Committee approval of a "private bill" asking ICE to grant a six-month stay of deportation so Adi's case could be re-examined.

However, Walls said in the release that a number of courts have previously held that Adi does not have a legal basis to remain in the U.S.

While acknowledging that Congress has the authority to pass legislation providing benefits to non-citizens, Walls noted that "beneficiaries need not be present in the United States" for these bills to be considered and/or enacted, and can lawfully return if granted relief through passage of a private immigration bill.

Walls also said in the release that a hunger strike that Adi started last week has apparently ended.

On Jan. 7, Adi and Fidaa, his American wife of 30 years, were preparing to leave the country for Jordan at the direction of ICE.

But days before they were going to leave, Adi was told by ICE that the deportation was on hold.

Last Tuesday, Adi -- joined by his attorney and Ryan -- reported to ICE, where they expected a perfunctory meeting. Instead, Adi was jailed and told he would soon be deported.

Adi's immigration problems started with a determination that a prior, brief marriage in 1979 to an American woman may have been a ruse to get a green card to stay in this country.

He was allowed to stay in the U.S. until late last year, when ICE ordered him to leave.

Adi's attorney, David Leopold, had not been notified by ICE of the decision, which he described as disappointing.

Leopold said he has been in contact with Adi, who shares that disappointment. But he noted that "this is a man of strong spirit, and has the tremendous support of his community.

"Of course he's mostly perplexed at why he's sitting in jail," Leopold added.

Pointing out that the chairman of the House Judiciary Committee had personally asked ICE to grant a stay of deportation, Leopold said, "The whole thing is ludicrous. That tells you something right there, when the agency just thumbs their nose at the chairman of the Judiciary Committee.

"People have to sit back and ask the question, what has this country become? What are we doing?" he added. "We're locking up people with no explanation, just so they can have the pleasure of deporting him. What sense does that make?"

Leopold said that during the past 30-plus years Adi has gotten employment authorization, paid his taxes, built a business and raised four children while "reporting to immigration religiously and jumping through every hoop put in front of him. He has been in the U.S. with the knowledge and consent of the Department of Homeland Security throughout his proceedings, all the way up until now.

"Can anyone make sense of that one?"

Leopold said some recourse may still be available. "There are always options," he said. "Nothing's forever."

Similarly, Ryan's office issued a statement regarding the latest development in the case, stating: "Congressman Ryan is very disappointed, but he remains in touch with Amer through his lawyer. He intends to exhaust every avenue available."