Sikh Grandmother deported to India after ‘Unacceptable’ US Detention

A 73-year-old grandmother who spent more than three decades living in the US has been deported to India, after “unacceptable” treatment by US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officials.

Harjit Kaur, who had unsuccessfully applied for asylum, was arrested by officials on September 8, 2025.

She moved to California in 1991 with her two young sons to escape political turmoil in Punjab. She lived and worked in the US while making several unsuccessful asylum attempts.

Her lawyer, Deepak Ahluwalia, said Ms Kaur, who has no criminal record, was treated in an “unacceptable” manner by ICE officials during her detention.

Ms Kaur was moved to a holding facility in Georgia on September 19 and deported to India three days later.

Mr Ahluwalia said she never got to visit her US home or bid a proper farewell to family and friends.”

Mr Ahluwalia described her treatment as “unacceptable”, saying she spent 60-70 hours in detention without a bed and was forced to sleep on the floor despite double knee replacements.

He claimed she was given ice to take medication and denied food she could eat, with guards blaming her for her inability to eat the provided sandwich.

After landing in Delhi, Ms Kaur said: “After living for so long (in the US), you are suddenly detained and deported this way; it is better to die than to face this.”

Ms Kaur, who lived in Hercules in the San Francisco Bay Area, worked for two decades as a sari-store seamstress and paid her taxes. Asylum applicants are allowed to live and work legally while their claims are in process.

After her appeals were rejected, she continued to stay and work in the US, as she lacked proper documents to return to India.

She was required to report to immigration authorities every six months and was arrested in San Francisco during one such check-in.

Her arrest prompted protests in California and sparked shock in the Sikh community.

Ms Kaur’s deportation comes amid a wider crackdown by the Donald Trump administration on immigration, particularly targeting alleged illegal immigrants.

Hundreds of thousands of asylum seekers arrive at US borders every year, and more than 3.7 million asylum cases are currently pending in immigration courts.

Trump has said he wants to deport the “worst of the worst”, but critics argue that immigrants without criminal records who follow due process are also being targeted.