'Worked, paid taxes, not sure why they deported...': Punjabi grandmother flown to India from US after 30 years

Harjit Kaur

Punjabi grandmother Harjit Kaur, 73, from Hercules at the heart of a growing community campaign after Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) unexpectedly detained her during what was supposed to be a routine check-in, has said he never made any mistake and paid her taxes.

According to a report by NDTV, broke down as she described how US immigration officials handcuffed her, denied her basic needs, and deported her after more than three decades in California.

“I marked my attendance every six months. On September 8, when I went to the centre, they made me wait for two hours. Then they asked me to sign a paper. I refused to sign anything without my lawyer. The officials said they have my fingerprints. They informed that they have arrested me, but did not give any reason,” she told NDTV.

Kaur has been quoted to say she was deprived of medicines, food, and rest during detention. “I was not provided my medicines. I slept for only four hours. I had no peace,” she recalled. “The day I was arrested, I couldn’t sit the entire night. A girl from Punjab asked me to lie down; I agreed, but I was unable to get up the next morning.”

Her lawyer, Deepak Ahluwalia, alleged she was kept in poor conditions: sleeping on the floor, denied a shower, and flown out on a small chartered plane instead of a commercial flight.

Kaur, a vegetarian, said she was served food she couldn’t eat. “I couldn’t eat it, it was turkey. I couldn’t even chew their bread and had to survive on chips and biscuits,” she told NDTV. Relatives alleged that when she refused non-vegetarian food, she was once handed a plate with ice.

According to the report, her daughter-in-law, Manji Kaur, said she “faithfully reported to the ICE” every six months even after her asylum plea was rejected in 2012. Despite that, she continued complying with authorities while living in East Bay, northern California.

Now back in India, she says she does not know why she was suddenly deported. “I have been going there for so many years to mark my attendance. I am not sure why they deported me this time. I worked and paid taxes there and never made a mistake," she told NDTV.

As per the report, struggling with uncertainty, she said, “I don’t have any place to stay in India. I don’t know if my house still exists. I will go to my village where my brother and sister stay.”

Her greatest wish remains unchanged: to be reunited with her family in the US. “My request is that I be sent back to my family,” she said.

Originally from Punjab, Kaur moved to the US in 1992 after her husband’s death, raising her two sons as a single mother. She worked, paid taxes, and reported to immigration authorities every six months as required. Despite living in the US for over 30 years, she was suddenly taken into custody this month and flown back to India.

Kaur is one of more than 2,400 Indians deported under the Trump administration’s crackdown on undocumented immigrants.

Over 2,400 Indians have been deported from the US since January, the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) said on Friday.

The issue of deportations is back in the news after American authorities repatriated Kaur. MEA spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said India stands against illegal migration and it wants to promote pathways for legal mobility of people.

The US has deported a total of 2,417 Indian nationals between January 20 and September 25, he said. Jaiswal also noted the case of Kaur.

Once the Indian nationality of any person, who is in any country without legal status, is proved, they are taken back and this is also the case with the US, he said. "We want to promote legal pathways for migration. At the same time, India stands against illegal migration," he said.

Whenever, there is a person who does not possess a legal status in any country and he or she is referred to us, we do the background check and confirm the nationality, he said.

"Because, then we are in a position to take them back. This is what has been happening with the deportations from the US. As far as visa fraud cases and other such matters are concerned, we want to promote legal migration from India," Jaiswal said.

"At the same time, we want to see how best we can clamp down on illegal migration because that undermines our efforts to promote legal migration," he said.

Jaiswal said the government of India has been working with state governments to crack down on people promoting illegal migration and visa frauds.

With inputs from PTI