73-Year-Old Bay Area Grandmother Detained by ICE After 13 Years of Routine Check-ins

Harjit Kaur, a 73-year-old Bay Area grandmother who has resided in the United States for three decades, was unexpectedly detained by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) last week during a routine check-in in San Francisco, according to her attorney. Her detention has ignited widespread community protests and drawn criticism from elected officials, particularly given her reported 13 years of consistent compliance with immigration officials.

Ms. Kaur, who immigrated from India in 1992 and worked as a seamstress for over two decades, was taken into custody on September 8. She was subsequently transferred from San Francisco to an office in Fresno, and then transported in handcuffs to a detention center in Bakersfield, nearly 300 miles from her Hercules home. Her daughter-in-law, Manjit Kaur, expressed the family's distress, stating, "It's been a total nightmare to find out she's been detained. We didn't expect it."

Attorney Deepak Ahluwalia confirmed that Ms. Kaur has no criminal record and had faithfully reported to ICE every six months for 13 years following an asylum denial. Despite ICE reportedly assuring her she could remain under supervision with work permits, her family reports significant health concerns, including thyroid problems and knee pain, and alleges she is not receiving all prescribed medications or appropriate vegetarian meals in detention. Her granddaughter, Sukhmeet Sandhu, recounted, "She was crying and begging us for help" after her detention.

The detention prompted hundreds of community members to protest in El Sobrante and Hercules, carrying signs such as "Hands off our grandma" and "She's no criminal." Congressman John Garamendi criticized the incident as "misplaced priorities," stating, "this administration's decision to detain a 73-year-old woman... is one more example of the misplaced priorities of Trump's immigration enforcement." State Senator Jesse Arreguin also demanded her release, noting that "over 70% of people arrested by ICE have no criminal conviction."

An ICE spokesperson, whose statement to NBC News misspelled Kaur's last name, asserted that "Harjit Kauer has exhausted decades of due process" and was ordered removed in 2005. The spokesperson added, "she will not waste any more U.S. tax dollars." However, Ahluwalia disputes ICE's timeline, claiming the dates for her litigation and removal order are "not accurate" and that Ms. Kaur is willing to return to India but ICE has not provided necessary travel documents.

Mr. Ahluwalia is now pursuing efforts to secure travel documents for Ms. Kaur from the Indian Consulate, offering a potential path for her release to voluntarily return to India. The case continues to highlight ongoing tensions surrounding immigration enforcement policies and their impact on long-term residents with no criminal history.