A 73-year-old woman, Harjit Kaur, has been deported to India after living in the United States for over 30 years. Kaur arrived at Indira Gandhi International Airport in Delhi on September 23, following her sudden detention by US immigration authorities. Her lawyer, Deepak Ahluwalia, revealed that Kaur was taken from Bakersfield to Los Angeles and then flown to Georgia before being sent to India, all without prior notice to her family or attorney.

Kaur, who had undergone double knee replacement surgery, was reportedly transported in handcuffs and held in a temporary detention facility where she lacked basic amenities. Ahluwalia stated, "She was not given a bed and had to share a holding room with others, where the only options were a concrete bench or the floor. She was forced to sleep on the floor with just a blanket and struggled to stand after lying down." He also mentioned that Kaur was not allowed to say goodbye to her family or collect her belongings before her deportation.

Kaur immigrated to the US in 1992 as a single mother and had been complying with immigration requirements, reporting to ICE every six months for the past 13 years. However, her asylum claim was denied in 2012, and she remained under ICE supervision. On September 8, she was detained during a routine immigration appointment in San Francisco.

Her detention sparked protests in the US, with community members referring to her as "everyone's grandma." Around 200 people demonstrated, demanding her release and carrying placards that read "Bring Grandma Home" and "Hands Off Our Grandma." In response to the protests, ICE stated that Kaur had exhausted all legal remedies and that her deportation was in accordance with US law.

Kaur's family expressed their heartbreak over her treatment, with her granddaughter, Sukhmeet Kaur, stating, "We were told she was only being detained. When we finally found her, she was crying and begging for help." The case has raised concerns about the treatment of elderly immigrants and the rigidity of the US immigration system.