'Served Beef, Cuffed And Shackled': 73-Year-Old Punjab Woman Deported From US Recounts Harrowing Details

(MENAFN- Live Mint) The 73-year-old Punjabi woman, Harjit Kaur, who was recently deported from the US after spending over three decades in California, said she was not given“any reason” for her arrest.

Recounting harrowing details, Kaur said she was“cuffed and shackled” when she was taken from San Francisco to Bakersfield. At the detention centre, she survived on chips and cookies, as they served beef – which Kaur said she does not eat.

Despite paying her taxes and diligently marking her attendance to ICE authorities every six months, Kaur said she was detained by immigration authorities in California after she went for a routine check

Later, she was handcuffed by the ICE (Immigration and Customs Enforcement) officials in the middle of the nigh , and transferred to a detention center in Bakersfield to Los Angeles and placed on a flight to Georgia – without notifying the attorney, Kaur's attorney, Ahluwalia had told PTI earlier.

How Harjit Kaur was deported

Kaur, had unsuccessfully applied for asylum in the US, and deported to India after being detained by immigration authorities in California, her advocate, Ahluwalia, had said earlier.

“I used to go there (ICE office) to mark my presence every six months. On September 8, I went there to mark my presence, but they arrested me without specifying anything," Kaur told news agency PTI.

The 73-year-old woman also said that she had a work permit, an ID and a licence.

How Kaur arrived in US

Kaur, who hails from Pangota village in Tarn Taran district of Punjab, reached the US in 1992 as a single mother with two sons. Her asylum case was denied in 2012.

Kaur also said she was sent back without being given the chance to even say goodbye to her close family members.

The US deported 1,703 Indian nationals from January 20 to July 22, 2025, including 141 women, Mint reported earlier.

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