Amid US President Donald Trump's crackdown on immigration, Harjit Kaur, a 73-year-old Indian origin grandmother, was detained by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) authorities in California when she went for a routine check-in with the agency. Kaur, who lived in the United States for more than 30 years, had no criminal record and had "faithfully reported" to ICE every six months for more than 13 years, according to her family members.
She was detained "without warning" at the San Francisco ICE office last Monday, when she went there to submit some documents requested by ICE, according to a report by Fox KTVU.
On Friday, a large group gathered in El Sobrante to show support for Kaur, a longtime Hercules resident. In the pictures of the protest shared online, demonstrators were seen carrying signs that read "Harjit Kaur belongs here, ICE does not", "Hands off our grandma", and "She's no criminal."
Who Is Harjit Kaur
Kaur, who has two grandsons and three granddaughters, came to America in 1992 from India as a single mother with two sons. She has lived in the Bay Area since then, up until recently, and worked as a seamstress at Sari Palace on University Avenue in Berkeley for over two decades.
Her granddaughter, Sukhdeep Kaur, described her as the epitome of the American dream. She was "everyone's grandma" - a "mother figure [to the community who] is independent, selfless, hard-working," Sukhdeep Kaur told Berkeleyside, a nonprofit news portal.
In 2012, the US administration denied asylum to Harjit Kaur, after which she never refused to return to India, according to her daughter-in-law, Manji Kaur, who claimed her mother-in-law repeatedly sought travel documents from the Indian Consulate but was turned down.
She has "faithfully reported" to ICE in San Francisco every six months for more than 13 years, and ICE has assured her she could remain in the United States under supervision with work permits until they could receive the travel documents, Manji Kaur said.
"She's eligible [and] always applied for a work permit. ...She pays taxes every year...She's going by the book. She doesn't even have, from my knowledge, and I would know, any violations for driving or anything like that," Maji Kaur said.
On Monday, she went to the San Francisco ICE office to return a travel application that was requested, where she was detained. Her family said authorities gave them no explanation on why she was detained, as before that, "there have been no issues."
"She's been here over 30 years, working, paying taxes. I don't even think she has a speeding ticket, any type of violation like that. She's a part of the community," Manjit said.
Democrat Congressman Extends Support
Congressman John Garamendi has extended support to the family and said his office has sent an inquiry to ICE requesting that Kaur be released from custody.
"President Trump initially promised to go after the 'worst of the worst' in his immigration policy. Yet this administration's decision to detain a 73-year-old woman -- a respected member of the community with no criminal record who has faithfully reported to ICE every six months for more than 13 years-- is one more example of the misplaced priorities of Trump's immigration enforcement. Our office will do everything possible to support her case and her family," he said.
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