‘My children will do something…’: Deported 73 year-old Sikh woman shares ordeal after ICE arrest

MOHALI (Punjab): Harjit Kaur, a 73-year-old Sikh woman who had spent three decades in the United States, shared her ordeal after she was arrested by the US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and deported to India.

She described her ordeal with the ICE saying, “Their behaviour was very bad. I was arrested on September 8… I was arrested and taken to Bakersfield, where I stayed for 8-10 days. I was then taken to Arizona, from where I was sent to Delhi…” She said that she was given chips and cookies in food. “My children over there will do something. I cannot do anything”, Kaur further added.

Harjit Kaur, 73, was deported by the US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) to India after spending three decades in US. Kaur, who had unsuccessfully applied for asylum in the US, was arrested by US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officials on September 8. She moved to California in 1991 with her two young sons and lived and worked there while making several unsuccessful asylum attempts in the US.

#WATCH | Mohali: Harjit Kaur, the elderly woman from Punjab who was deported from the US, says, “Their behaviour was very bad. I was arrested on 8 September… I was arrested and taken to Bakersfield, where I stayed for 8-10 days. I was then taken to Arizona, from where I was… pic.twitter.com/Ggt6IkpQQM

— ANI (@ANI) September 27, 2025

She was moved to a holding facility in Georgia on September 19 and deported to India on September 22, never getting to visit her US home or bid a proper farewell to family and friends.

She spent 60-70 hours in detention without a bed, forced to sleep on the floor despite double knee replacements. 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. Harjit Kaur has filed multiple appeals all the way up to the Ninth Circuit Court of appeals and lost each time.

During the weekly media briefing, the Ministry of External Affairs on Friday highlighted that 2,417 Indian nationals have been deported or repatriated from the United States since January 2025. MEA spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal reiterated India’s firm stance against illegal migration, emphasising commitment to promoting legal pathways for migration.

“The number of deportations that have happened from the United States since January — 2,417 Indian nationals are deported or repatriated from the United States… We want to promote legal pathways of migration. India stands against illegal migration”, Jaiswal said.

He stated that India aims to encourage legal migration, discouraging illegal activities that undermine these efforts. He added that the government verifies nationality and takes back individuals without legal status upon receiving proper documentation.

“Whenever there is a person who does not possess a legal status in any country and he or she is referred to us with documents, and if there are claims that he or she is an Indian national, we do the background check, confirm the nationality and then we are in a position to take them back… This has been happening with deportations from the United States”, said Jaiswal. (ANI)