Handcuffed, denied meals and medicines: Sikh grandmother deported from US after 33 years
In 1992, Harjit Kaur migrated to the US as a single mother with two sons. Initially, she used to work at a saree shop in California. Her deportation even led to massive protests in California, with people slamming the ICE for the treatment Kaur received.
A 73-year-old woman from Punjab, identified as Bibi Harjit Kaur, on Thursday landed in New Delhi, India, after she was deported from the United States (US) after the American officials alleged that she was living in California illegally. However, before deportation, Kaur was not even allowed to meet her family members, her lawyer alleged.
In a statement, her lawyer, Deepak Ahluwalia, said Kaur was taken to Los Angeles from Bakersfield on Sunday, from where she was flown to Georgia before she was deported to New Delhi. Ahluwalia alleged that the US officials even shackled and handcuffed Kaur.
Ahluwalia said Kaur was even refused vegetarian meals in accordance with her religious beliefs, adding that she was only offered an apple and was even denied basic medical care. Kaur was even prohibited from showering throughout her detention, he said.
"She was working lawfully in the country and paying taxes as she was waiting for her travel documents," he said. "She was not given a bed for the last 48 hours of her life in the US. She asked for food to be taken for her medicine, and she was given a tray of ice. It's not that she was not given any food at all. She was given a cheese sandwich. She asked for her dentures, but she was told that it was her problem."
Kaur was living in US since 1992
In 1992, Kaur migrated to the US as a single mother with two sons. Initially, she used to work at a saree shop in California. She was even in connection with the Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) of the US, Ahluwalia said, asserting that her family was not even notified about Kaur's transportation from California and then her subsequent deportation to India.
Her deportation even led to massive protests in California, with people slamming the ICE for the treatment Kaur received. However, the ICE defended its action, saying Kaur had exhausted all her legal remedies. "Harjit Kaur has filed multiple appeals all the way up to the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals and lost each time... ICE is enforcing US law and the orders by the judge; she will not waste any more US tax dollars," it said.