A 60-year-old woman of Indian origin was detained by US immigration officials during the final stage of her green card interview, according to her family. Babblejit “Bubbly” Kaur, who has lived in the United States since 1994, was taken into custody during a biometric scan linked to her pending green card application, her daughter Joti said.
Kaur has an approved green card petition filed by her other daughter, a US citizen, and her husband, who already holds a green card, according to a report by Long Beach Watchdog.
Joti said her mother was at the front desk of a US Immigration and Customs Enforcement office on December 1 when several federal agents entered and called her into a room, where she was informed that she was being arrested.
For several hours, the family had no information about Kaur’s whereabouts. They later learned that she had been transferred overnight to Adelanto, a former federal prison that now operates as an ICE detention centre.
After migrating to the United States, Kaur and her family initially lived in Laguna Beach before moving to Long Beach, where they worked in the Belmont Shore area.
Kaur and her husband have 3 children. Joti, aged 34, has legal status in the US under the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals programme, while her elder brother and sister are US citizens.
For more than 2 decades, Kaur and her husband ran Natraj Cuisine of India and Nepal on 2nd Street in Belmont Shore, which became a well known part of the local community. She also worked for around 25 years at the Belmont Shore Rite Aid until the pharmacy chain shut its remaining locations earlier this year. Recently, she had been preparing to return to restaurant work at Royal Indian Curry House.
Democratic Congressman Robert Garcia, who represents Long Beach, has called for Kaur’s release. His office is in touch with federal authorities as the family prepares additional legal filings that could allow her to be released on bond while her case proceeds.
According to the family, Kaur is currently being held in a large dormitory-style room at the Adelanto detention centre along with dozens of other detainees.
