Sikh grandmother's arrest by US immigration sparks community anger
73-year-old Harjit Kaur, a long-time California resident and asylum applicant, was detained by ICE after years of reporting obligations, prompting protests and calls for her release.
A 73-year-old Sikh grandmother, Harjit Kaur, was arrested by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement on Sept. 8 during a routine check-in in San Francisco, prompting protests and renewed scrutiny of immigration enforcement policies. ICE said she had exhausted decades of due process and that an immigration judge had ordered her removal in 2005, with appeals that reached the Ninth Circuit and were denied. The agency said she would now be removed under U.S. law.
Kaur came to the United States in 1991 with her two minor sons after the death of her husband. She has lived in California for more than three decades, most recently in the Hercules area near the San Francisco Bay Area, where she worked as a seamstress at a sari store and paid taxes. Her asylum claims were filed over the years, with the last denial in 2012. Since then, she had been required to report to immigration authorities every six months. Her family says she has deep ties here: one son is a U.S. citizen and five grandchildren are U.S. citizens. Travel to India would require an emergency travel document issued by Indian authorities, a process that has proved difficult for her over the years. Indian missions in the United States have said they facilitate consular assistance, but the family reported no success in obtaining travel documents during past attempts, including a visit to the San Francisco consulate in 2013. The family said she would be prepared to depart if such documents were provided.
Her arrest comes amid a broader crackdown on immigration in the United States. The government has emphasized enforcing existing removal orders against people who do not have lawful status, while supporters note that a large share of those detained by ICE have no criminal convictions. The administration has sought to boost immigration enforcement budgets, and ICE has become one of the most-funded federal law enforcement agencies as the asylum backlog grows. The case arrives as the broader policy debate over asylum seekers and due process remains politically charged and emotionally resonant in immigrant communities across California and beyond.
In a public statement, ICE noted that Harjit Kaur had exhausted decades of due process and that an immigration judge had ordered her removal in 2005. The agency said she had filed multiple appeals up to the Ninth Circuit and lost each time, and that she would not waste further U.S. tax dollars pursuing what it called an inexorable enforcement of the law. Supporters and lawmakers in California have disputed the portrayal of her case as a simple compliance issue and have argued that she poses little risk to the public given her age and longstanding community ties.
A regional protest outside the Sikh Centre in the San Francisco Bay Area drew hundreds of demonstrators last month. U.S. Rep. John Garamendi, who represents the district, submitted a request to ICE for Harjit Kaur’s release, calling detention of a 73-year-old who had faithfully reported for more than 13 years a misalignment of priorities in immigration enforcement. California State Senator Jesse Arreguin echoed concerns, noting that more than 70% of people arrested by ICE have no criminal convictions and describing the arrest of a peaceful grandmother as a stain on the nation’s immigration policy. The case has also prompted renewed calls for broader humanitarian considerations within the system as protests continue in several cities.
Family members say Harjit Kaur did not question her deportation and should not have been detained. “Provide us the travel documents and she is ready to go,” said Manjit Kaur, Harjit Kaur’s daughter-in-law. “She had even packed her suitcases back in 2012.” Her lawyers have alleged harsh treatment in detention, including being moved harshly by guards, denied a chair or bed for hours in a holding area, and denied water and vegetarian meals during the first six days of detention. ICE has not publicly responded to these specific allegations, but the agency previously said detainees receive medical care and have access to health services around the clock.
Harjit Kaur’s case intersects with a long-standing policy debate about asylum, due process, and enforcement priorities. Asylum applicants across the United States are legally allowed to live and work while their claims are processed, provided they are in the system. The backlog of cases has grown to millions, and federal funding for immigration enforcement has increased in recent years as officials pursue removal of individuals with or without criminal records. Advocates say the human impact is often underrepresented in policy debates, while supporters of tougher enforcement argue that the law must be applied to all who are ordered removed.
As this story continues to unfold, advocates vow to press for the release of Harjit Kaur and for a broader examination of how older, noncriminal migrants fit into a system that many say is overburdened and inconsistent in its application. Supporters say they will continue to organize and advocate for families who have built lives in the United States and who face uncertain futures when removal orders collide with decades of community integration.