Community rallies behind East Bay grandmother detained by ICE, despite compliance
East Bay grandmother?s ICE detainment sparks protest, outcry
Hercules resident Harjit Kaur?s unexpected detainment by ICE sparked a demonstration to call for her release on Friday.
SAN FRANCISCO - A large group gathered in El Sobrante to show support for Harjit Kaur, a 73-year-old grandmother and longtime Hercules resident who was recently detained by ICE on Monday.
Her family says Kaur has no criminal record and has complied with immigration check-ins every six months for more than a decade.
About 200 people gathered at the intersection of Appian Way and San Pablo Damn Road Friday evening. Demonstrators carried signs that read "Hands off our grandma" and "She’s no criminal," as several cars honked in support.
Family fights for answers and access to care
Kaur has lived in the Bay Area since the early 1990s. Her family says she has worked as a seamstress in Berkeley for decades and has complied with every immigration check-in in San Francisco, every six months, for the past 13 years.
But on Monday, without warning, she was detained at the San Francisco ICE office while returning a travel application requested by ICE. Her family says no explanation was given when she was detained, and they are worried she has not had access to all of her medication.
The family noted that for the first time, during a routine check-in in August, ICE did not allow any family members to accompany her inside the building.
During a rare phone call this week, her daughter-in-law, Manjit Kaur, described Harjit’s deteriorating condition.
"Just the sound in her voice yesterday, I could hear the anxiety, I could hear that she's losing her strength, breaking down, I'm very concerned as far as her health. She's not getting her medication," Manjit said. "Emotionally, she's a mess."
Harjit was moved from San Francisco to a detention center in Bakersfield, and the family has yet to receive any information on why she was detained.
"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.
Ikjot Sandhu is her first grandchild.
"My grandmother, she was more like a mother to me. For the last 26 years, she’s been taking care of me," Sandhu said.
Her niece, Sukhjit Kaur, expressed frustration and sadness over the situation.
"I feel very sad, I feel helpless, I feel like there’s nothing we can do and this is our only voice," Sukhjit Kaur said. "There are thousands of Harjits locked up, everyone’s grandmas, mothers, families, children whose parents have been taken away from them, innocent people."
Congressman John Garamendi said his office has sent an inquiry to ICE requesting that Kaur be reunited with her family. In a statement, Garamendi said:
"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."
The family said ICE had previously assured Harjit that she could remain under supervision with work permits.
KTVU reached out to ICE for comment and is awaiting a response. Garamendi’s office said it will do everything possible to support her case and her family.
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