After spending 30 years in the United States, Harjit Kaur, a 73-year-old grandmother from Punjab, returned to India in distress, recounting a harrowing deportation ordeal that left her physically and emotionally shattered. Speaking to TOI on Thursday evening, Kaur described the experience as “better to die than face this,” revealing the extreme hardship she endured during her detention and journey back to India.
Originally from Pangota village in Tarn Taran district, Kaur moved to the US with her two sons more than three decades ago following the death of her husband, Sukhwinder Singh. Settling in the San Francisco Bay area, she worked at a clothing store in Berkeley until January this year, when complications from her knee surgeries forced her to stop working.
“I did everything right,” Kaur said, her voice choked with emotion. “I worked, paid my taxes, and never missed any immigration check dates. Yet, after living there for so long, I was suddenly detained and deported in a cruel manner. In such a situation, one should not live.” She revealed her feet were swollen, preventing her from walking, as she had not received her medicines during detention or on the flight.
Kaur’s troubles began on 8 September, during a routine check-in with immigration officials. Her asylum applications had been repeatedly rejected, the last in 2012. She was taken to the Mesa Verde IC Processing Centre in Bakersfield, California, where she remained for several days under harsh conditions. “Despite sympathy from others, the authorities remained unmoved,” she said.
Her US lawyer, Deepak Ahluwalia, shared a video detailing the 60-70 hours leading up to her deportation. Kaur had no bed and had to sleep on the concrete floor with a thin blanket. With double knee replacement surgery, she struggled to move, and her requests for food to take her medicines were ignored. When she asked again, she was handed a plate of ice, which she could not eat due to her dentures. “The guard told her, ‘that’s your fault’,” Ahluwalia said. She was also denied a shower during her detention, with only wet wipes offered before boarding the flight.
Kaur was flown from Georgia to Armenia and finally to New Delhi, along with 132 other deportees, many of them Punjabis. She was the only one not shackled, as authorities considered her age. “The point is, a 73-year-old grandmother with no criminal record was treated this way,” Ahluwalia remarked. He stressed that Kaur did not choose to remain in the US unlawfully; she had exhausted all appeal options.
On arriving in India, Kaur travelled to her sister’s home in Mohali. “I couldn’t even bid farewell to my home in the US or take care of my belongings,” she said. Her younger brother, Kulwant Singh, confirmed that the family would support her in India. He added that despite efforts to negotiate a commercial flight or temporary release with ankle monitoring, US authorities did not respond, and Kaur was taken from Mesa Verde to Los Angeles in handcuffs without notice.
Kaur expressed empathy for other deportees, many of whom had spent years and large sums of money in the hope of building a life in the US. “They spent lakhs and sometimes sold land, only to return empty-handed,” she said.
Her lawyer confirmed that a separate complaint would be filed regarding the treatment she received during her deportation. Kaur said she fully agreed with all the details shared by her counsel.
Inputs from TOI
Originally from Pangota village in Tarn Taran district, Kaur moved to the US with her two sons more than three decades ago following the death of her husband, Sukhwinder Singh. Settling in the San Francisco Bay area, she worked at a clothing store in Berkeley until January this year, when complications from her knee surgeries forced her to stop working.
“I did everything right,” Kaur said, her voice choked with emotion. “I worked, paid my taxes, and never missed any immigration check dates. Yet, after living there for so long, I was suddenly detained and deported in a cruel manner. In such a situation, one should not live.” She revealed her feet were swollen, preventing her from walking, as she had not received her medicines during detention or on the flight.
Kaur’s troubles began on 8 September, during a routine check-in with immigration officials. Her asylum applications had been repeatedly rejected, the last in 2012. She was taken to the Mesa Verde IC Processing Centre in Bakersfield, California, where she remained for several days under harsh conditions. “Despite sympathy from others, the authorities remained unmoved,” she said.
Her US lawyer, Deepak Ahluwalia, shared a video detailing the 60-70 hours leading up to her deportation. Kaur had no bed and had to sleep on the concrete floor with a thin blanket. With double knee replacement surgery, she struggled to move, and her requests for food to take her medicines were ignored. When she asked again, she was handed a plate of ice, which she could not eat due to her dentures. “The guard told her, ‘that’s your fault’,” Ahluwalia said. She was also denied a shower during her detention, with only wet wipes offered before boarding the flight.
Kaur was flown from Georgia to Armenia and finally to New Delhi, along with 132 other deportees, many of them Punjabis. She was the only one not shackled, as authorities considered her age. “The point is, a 73-year-old grandmother with no criminal record was treated this way,” Ahluwalia remarked. He stressed that Kaur did not choose to remain in the US unlawfully; she had exhausted all appeal options.
On arriving in India, Kaur travelled to her sister’s home in Mohali. “I couldn’t even bid farewell to my home in the US or take care of my belongings,” she said. Her younger brother, Kulwant Singh, confirmed that the family would support her in India. He added that despite efforts to negotiate a commercial flight or temporary release with ankle monitoring, US authorities did not respond, and Kaur was taken from Mesa Verde to Los Angeles in handcuffs without notice.
Kaur expressed empathy for other deportees, many of whom had spent years and large sums of money in the hope of building a life in the US. “They spent lakhs and sometimes sold land, only to return empty-handed,” she said.
Her lawyer confirmed that a separate complaint would be filed regarding the treatment she received during her deportation. Kaur said she fully agreed with all the details shared by her counsel.
Inputs from TOI
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