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Journalism of Courage
A 73-year-old Punjabi grandmother who has lived in California’s East Bay for more than three decades is at the centre of a growing outcry after US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) detained her last week during what was supposed to be a routine check-in.
Harjit Kaur, a longtime Hercules resident with no criminal record, was asked to report to the ICE office in San Francisco on September 8 to submit paperwork. Instead, she was unexpectedly held and transferred the next day to the Mesa Verde ICE Processing Center in Bakersfield, her family said.
Kaur, who immigrated from India in 1992 as a single mother of two sons, has been under ICE supervision since her asylum claim was denied in 2012.
“She’s not a criminal. And she’s not only my grandma. She is everyone’s grandma,” her granddaughter Sukhdeep Kaur told Jana Kadah of Richmondside during a rally in El Sobrante on Friday. “Everyone looks up to her as a mother figure… she is independent, selfless, hard-working,” she added.
On Friday, an estimated 200 people gathered at the intersection of Appian Way and San Pablo Dam Road, below the El Sobrante Sikh Gurdwara, to demand her release. Protesters waved signs reading “Bring Grandma Home” and “Hands Off Our Grandma”. Passing cars honked in support during the two-hour demonstration.
Her family organised the rally alongside Indivisible West Contra Costa and the Sikh Center. Local leaders also joined, including staff from Congressman John Garamendi’s office and Hercules City Council member Dilli Bhattarai.
Bhattarai, who has roots in Nepal, told The Indian Express: “Harjit Kaur is a mom, a grandmother, and she is not doing any harm to anyone. She is a law-abiding constituent who has been following the instructions given to her. I fully support her.” He urged the authorities to treat Kaur with compassion and humanity given her age. “We are not a sanctuary city. We welcome everyone regardless of their colour or religion, as long as they follow the law and do not engage in any kind of crime. I stand by Harjit Kaur,” said Bhattarai, who is an elected member of the Hercules city council.
Gurdeep Singh from the El Sobrante gurdwara in San Francisco, told The Indian Express that the community was aware of Kaur’s detention and concerned about it as she used to frequent the gurdwara.
Harjit’s daughter-in-law, Manjit Kaur, addressed the crowd in tears: “Our fears, I hope they don’t come true. I’m praying that she’s okay there. She’s everything to me.”
She also reminded the community that her mother-in-law has never resisted deportation. According to Richmondside, Kaur repeatedly sought travel documents from the Indian Consulate but was denied, and ICE itself assured her for years that she could remain under supervision until those papers were issued.
“ICE has been trying for the past 13 years to get her a travel document. If ICE can’t get it in 13 years, how are we supposed to get it?” Manjit said.
Family members said her health is in danger. Kaur suffers from thyroid disease, migraines, knee pain, and anxiety, and relatives claimed she does not have full access to her medications inside Mesa Verde.
When Manjit spoke to her over phone on Thursday, she said she could hear the fear and pain in her voice. “When we did hear from her, she was crying and begging us for help,” the family told ABC7 News.
Garamendi has criticised her detention as “misplaced priorities,” arguing ICE should focus on dangerous offenders rather than seniors with decades of compliance. His office has submitted an inquiry to ICE and pledged to press for her release.
California State Assembly member Alex Lee has also expressed support, saying Harjit “is doing it the right way” and should not be mistreated.
Meanwhile, her family has launched a campaign website, bringharjithome.com, urging supporters to contact elected officials, including Garamendi, Senator Alex Padilla, Senator Laphonza Butler, and the White House.
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