"they are literally going after peaceful grandmothers."
A 73-year-old Sikh grandmother detained by US immigration officials in California has sparked outrage, protests, and calls for her release.
Harjit Kaur, who has lived in the US for more than three decades, was arrested by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) on September 8. Her family say her first words from detention were devastating.
Her daughter-in-law, Manjit Kaur, recalled: “She said, ‘I would rather die than be in this facility. May God just take me now’.”
Harjit had unsuccessfully applied for asylum multiple times, with the last rejection in 2012. Since then, she had attended immigration check-ins every six months until her sudden arrest in San Francisco.
Her detention comes as Donald Trump’s administration expands immigration enforcement. More than 3.7 million asylum cases are pending, and ICE is now the most heavily funded federal law enforcement agency.
Trump has pledged to deport the “worst of the worst”, but critics argue peaceful immigrants without criminal records are also being targeted.
California State Senator Jesse Arreguin said: “Over 70% of people arrested by ICE have no criminal conviction.
“Now, they are literally going after peaceful grandmothers. This shameful act is harming our communities.”
US Congressman John Garamendi has also intervened, submitting a request to ICE for her release.
A spokesperson said: “This administration’s decision to detain a 73-year-old woman – a respected member of the community with no criminal record who has faithfully reported to ICE every six months for more than 13 years – is one more example of the misplaced priorities of Trump’s immigration enforcement.”
ICE defended the detention, stating Harjit Kaur had “exhausted decades of due process” and was ordered for removal in 2005.
It added: “Harjit Kaur has filed multiple appeals all the way up to the Ninth Circuit Court of appeals and LOST each time.
“Now that she has exhausted all legal remedies, ICE is enforcing US law and the orders by the judge; she will not waste any more US tax dollars.”
Harjit Kaur entered the US in 1991 with her two young sons after her husband’s death. Her lawyer, Deepak Ahluwalia, said she wanted to shield her family from political turmoil in Punjab.
For over 30 years, she worked modest jobs, including as a seamstress in a sari store, paying taxes and supporting her sons. One is now a US citizen, and her five grandchildren were born in America.
Despite her asylum rejection in 2012, deportation never proceeded because travel documents were not secured. India’s Consul General in San Francisco said there is no record of her applying for such documents.
Her family insists she has always been willing to leave if documents were provided.
Manjit said: “Provide us the travel documents and she is ready to go. She had even packed her suitcases back in 2012.
“You can put an ankle monitor on her. We can check in with immigration when you want.
“Just get her out of the facility and when you provide us the travel documents, she will self-deport to India.”
Her lawyer alleged she has faced mistreatment inside the detention centre. He said she was “dragged by guards”, “denied a chair or a bed”, and “explicitly refused water”.
She reportedly went six days without vegetarian meals.
ICE said detainees receive full health care and access to emergency services but did not address the detailed allegations.
Community leaders have rallied in her defence. Kulvinder Singh Pannu, president of the gurdwara committee at The Sikh Centre in the Bay Area, said she is deeply respected.
He told BBC: “She always helped people in our community with whatever she had financially.
“A couple of hundred people turned up by themselves to protest against her arrest,” referring to a September 12 demonstration outside the Sikh temple.
Supporters plan further protests in US cities, highlighting her three decades of ties to California.
A single mother, Harjit Kaur has no remaining family in India.
Her lawyer stressed: “She has no one, no home, no land to return to.”
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