'This is so sad the way she was humiliated.'
Harjit Kaur's deportation has drawn condemnation from civil rights organisations and the Sikh American community.
A 73-year-old Sikh woman who had lived in the United States since 1992 was deported to India on September 22, two weeks after being arrested by US Immigration and Customs Enforcement during a routine check-in.
Her removal has drawn condemnation from civil rights organisations, her attorney and members of the Sikh American community, who say she was treated inhumanely.
Sarabjit Kaur, also known as Harjit Kaur, was taken into custody on September 8 by ICE officers in San Francisco.
Despite a request from the Indian consulate to delay her removal for two days so she could gather her belongings and medication, Kaur was deported without the opportunity to do so, according to her attorney and family.
"She has reached home, but her home is here," said Gurdev Mand, a close family friend and fellow native of Tarn Taran district in Punjab.
"Her family, children, grandchildren -- all are here. Back there, I doubt anyone is still alive."
Mand told indica that ICE officials did not allow Kaur to wear traditional Indian clothing or cover her head during transport, though she was not shackled like other detainees.
"This is so sad the way she was humiliated," Mand said.
Kaur's deportation followed years of legal efforts to remain in the United States.
After her asylum case was denied in 2007, she appealed up to the 9th US circuit court of appeals, which denied her final appeal around 2012 or 2013, according to her attorney Deepak Ahluwalia.
For more than a decade after that, she continued to check in with ICE every six months while under a final order of removal.
'Ms Harjit Kaur waited over 13 years for ICE to procure her travel documents,' Ahluwalia told NBC News.
'A 73-year-old grandmother with zero criminal history, who was neither a flight risk nor a danger to the community, should never have been detained -- let alone treated the way she was while in ICE custody.'
Ahluwalia credited the Indian consulate with helping to expedite her emergency certificate and facilitating her release.
Kaur was detained at the Mesa Verde ICE processing center in Bakersfield, California, where she was reportedly denied vegetarian meals, a bed, and timely access to her medication.
According to civil rights groups, she endured loud and overcrowded conditions and was later transferred overnight to a facility in Georgia without notice to her family or legal counsel.
'While Ms Kaur has now safely returned to India, the egregious mistreatment she suffered and the complete disregard for her human dignity throughout this process demand accountability and systemic reform,' the Sikh American Legal Defense and Education Fund (SALDEF) said in a statement.
"She was a woman who always donated 10 percent of her earnings and has been here since 1992," Mand said.
"Her children got asylum, but not her."
Family members protested her detention on September 20 in El Sobrante, California, along with her granddaughter, daughter-in-law, son and extended family.
While they were advised not to speak to the media, one relative told indica: "She was bold, and we warned her of ICE activities, but she was too faithful to the law. She worships a lot. I am sure God will listen to her."
Harpreet Singh Sandhu, senior district representative for Representative John Garamendi, Democrat-California, said their office had worked with ICE and the Indian consulate to secure the necessary documents.
"She doesn't want to go back," Sandhu said earlier. "I know we are doing our best."
A consular official, speaking anonymously, said Kaur had never previously applied for an emergency certificate.
SALDEF, which provided advocacy support alongside the Sikh Coalition, Jakara Movement, and elected officials, said Kaur's case reflects a broader pattern of mistreatment in immigration detention facilities.
"When this hit us, we didn't even know where to start," said Heeral Mehta, a family friend.
"At every phase, we were kept in the dark and had no idea what was next. The inhumane treatment she faced by ICE was deeply troubling, but her strength -- and the incredible support from SALDEF, Deepak Ahluwalia, the Sikh Coalition, Jakara, Congressman Garamendi, and Harpreet Sandhu -- helped her through."
"This case demonstrates the urgent need for accountability and humane treatment in our immigration system," said Kiran Kaur Gill, SALDEF's executive director.
"No individual should endure such degrading treatment, especially someone who has faithfully complied with ICE requirements for over a decade."
Feature Presentation: Aslam Hunani/Rediff
© 2025