73-Year-Old Woman's Deportation Sparks Outrage

A shocking case from the United States has caught global attention. Harjeet Kaur, a 73-year-old woman from Punjab, was deported after living in America for more than 30 years. She had moved to California in 1992 and lived in the East Bay area with her two sons. Despite having no criminal record, the Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officers took her into custody and sent her back to India.

According to her lawyer, Deepak Ahluwalia, Harjeet Kaur was placed on a small chartered plane along with 131 other people. The conditions during the journey were extremely poor. She was not given proper facilities and was forced to sleep on the floor. Having undergone knee surgeries, she found it very difficult to get up and move. Reports also mentioned that she was not allowed to take a shower. At one point, the officials even tried to restrain her, but another officer stopped them considering her old age.

The incident has drawn strong criticism from politicians. U.S. Congressman John Garamendi, a Democrat from California, said, “It is not right to deport a 73-year-old woman with no criminal history in such a manner.” He blamed the Trump administration for its harsh immigration policies.

Harjeet Kaur had applied for asylum in 2012, but her request was rejected. Even after that, she followed all legal requirements. For 13 years, she reported to ICE every six months without fail. Her daughter-in-law, Manji Kaur, said that Harjeet always applied for work permits, paid her taxes, and never broke any law—not even a driving violation.