73-year-old Indian-origin Harjit Kaur deported from US after living there for over 30 years
PTC News Desk: A 73-year-old Indian-origin Punjabi woman Harjit Kaur, had been living in the United States for over 30 years has been deported to India. She had moved to the US in 1982 along with her two sons.
Earlier on September, she was detained by US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) on charges of living illegally in the country. Following her detention, both Indian and Indian-American communities staged protests against the government’s decision.
Harjit Kaur was taken into custody during a routine check-in at East Bay. Her family and community members said she had lived in the US for three decades and had no criminal record. Her application was rejected in 2013, but she continued reporting to ICE every six months as required. Despite appeals for her release citing her advanced age and fragile health, she was forcibly deported.
Handcuffed and shackled
Her attorney, Deepak Ahluwalia, stated that Harjit Kaur, along with 132 other Indian nationals, was first flown from Georgia on an ICE-chartered plane to Armenia, and from there, transported to Delhi Airport. Her family and acquaintances were present at the airport to receive her. The community expressed deep disappointment over the decision.
Protests were also held in the US to stop her deportation. During one such demonstration, her granddaughter Sukhmeet Kaur said, “We were only told that she was being taken into custody. We weren’t even allowed to meet her. We kept searching for her. When we finally saw her, she was crying and asking for help.”
A family friend added that Harjit Kaur had worked as a tailor during her three decades in the US. When they saw her in detention, her condition was extremely poor. Reports also claimed she wasn’t provided with a chair to sit on or a bed to sleep in, forcing her to sleep on the floor.
- PTC NEWS
