A SIKH GRANDMOTHER who had lived in the U.S. for more than 30 years has been deported to New Delhi, India, after spending a week in what her attorney called “barbaric” conditions at a private ICE detention center in Georgia.
“There was no rationale to detain Bibi Harjit Kaur,” Deepak Ahluwalia, Kaur’s attorney, told American Community Media in a Sept. 24 interview. “It’s all part of their effort to fill beds.”
“Her detention was nothing short of barbaric,” said Ahluwalia. “That type of treatment would affect most people. They chose to do this to a 73-year-old woman with disabilities and health issues.”
The elderly woman was initially taken to a U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement detention center in Bakersfield and then transferred to the Stewart Detention Center in Lumpkin, Georgia. Neither her family nor Ahluwalia was informed of the transfer.
No water, harsh conditions
Kaur was not given water to take her medications, according to Ahluwalia. When she asked for water, she was given a plate of ice instead, which she could not chew because of her dentures. In Lumpkin, Kaur was forced to sleep on the floor in a crowded detention facility; she could not easily get up from the floor, as she had surgery on both knees. The strict vegetarian got only meat-based meals for her first six days in detention. She was handcuffed numerous times during transfers.
The Stewart Detention Center is a private ICE detention center operated by CoreCivic.
Kaur — a seamstress who worked at the Berkeley Sari Palace for more than 20 years — had applied for asylum when she first arrived in the U.S. in 1991 with her two young sons, after the death of her husband. Her asylum claim was based on a credible fear of persecution in India. In the 1990s, thousands of Sikhs arrived in the U.S. on asylum claims, stating that they were under threat from the Indian government and the Punjab police after the late Prime Minister Indira Gandhi was killed by her Sikh bodyguard.
After Gandhi’s assassination, nearly 3,000 Sikhs were killed within days. Many international civil rights organizations have claimed the “anti-Sikh riots” amounted to a genocide. In 2023, California State Assemblywoman Jasmeet Bains introduced AJR2 to recognize the 1984 anti-Sikh riots as genocide. The resolution passed the state Assembly and Senate. It did not need Gov. Gavin Newsom’s signature; resolutions do not require the governor’s signature. Rep David Valadao, R-California, last October introduced a similar measure in Congress.
Arrested during ICE check-in
Kaur’s asylum case was denied twice: in the last, by the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals, in 2013. She needed travel documents to return to India after her asylum claim was denied, but had not received the necessary paperwork when she was arrested by ICE on Sept. 8 during a routine check-in at the ICE office in San Francisco. Kaur had made the necessary check-ins every 6 months for the past 12 years. Ahluwalia said she had fully cooperated with immigration authorities throughout the lengthy process after her asylum claim was denied.
Kaur’s family was unable to sponsor her for permanent residency, said Ahluwalia. An undocumented resident’s family cannot apply for sponsorship if the person is in the U.S. Kaur would have had to return to India until she was granted a family-based visa, which she could not do because of a lack of travel documents. Kaur’s family could not sponsor her “from within” — while she was still in the U.S., explained Ahluwalia.
“Harjit’s case represents a failure of our immigration system. She has been a contributing member of her community for decades, paying taxes, working legally, and building relationships with neighbors and friends. Her detention is not only cruel but unnecessary.”
Family statement
Her family released a statement last week, which read: “Harjit’s case represents a failure of our immigration system. She has been a contributing member of her community for decades, paying taxes, working legally, and building relationships with neighbors and friends. Her detention is not only cruel but unnecessary.”
“She has never refused to return to India but cannot without documents,” noted the family.
India’s consul general responds
Dr. K. Srikar Reddy, the Consul General of India at San Francisco, told ACoM it is the responsibility of ICE to request travel documents for people they are deporting. No such request had been made in the 12 years since Kaur’s asylum claim had been rejected by the 9th Circuit.
“Once ICE requests travel documents, it usually takes just a couple of days for us to issue them. But Mrs. Kaur had migrated more than 30 years ago, so we had no information about her. We had to connect with Indian authorities, which took some time,” said Reddy.
Asked if Kaur faces persecution when she returns to India, Reddy stated: “She was denied by the highest appeals court. That clearly shows that her fears of persecution were unfounded.”
In a statement released to NBC News, ICE defended its deportation of Kaur, noting that she had lost all of her legal remedies several years ago. “ICE is enforcing U.S. law and the orders by the judge; she will not waste any more U.S. tax dollars,” read the statement.
As of 2022-23, India was the fifth largest source of unauthorized immigrants in the U.S., following Mexico, Guatemala, El Salvador, and Honduras, according to the Pew Research Center. Reddy said he has seen a slight increase in requests for travel documents over the past seven months.
An estimated 1.5 million undocumented people over the age of 55 reside in the U.S. ICE does not release age-specific data on deportations.
This story originally appeared in India Currents.
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