‘Was handcuffed, got a cold treatment’: 73-year-old Harjit Kaur recounts ordeal in US detention

Harjit Kaur, a 73‑year‑old woman deported from the US after 33 years, said her grandchildren are repeatedly calling her to ask whether she has a bed to sleep on, clothes to wear, and whether she had food in the morning, afternoon and night.

Harjit and her two young sons made it to California in 1992 to make a living; she has now been deported back to India on September 22. Her home, her children, and her grandchildren remain in Hercules in the San Francisco Bay Area, where she worked in a saree store.

She is now in Mohali, staying put for a while with her distant brother-in-law, who has offered her familial support and refuge.

Harjit is now all alone in a country that was once her home. Her husband, parents, and elder brothers are all dead. She only has one younger brother here in Patti, Punjab, but Harjit is not sure how long she will be able to stay with him.

“I urge the Punjab government and the Centre to reunite me with my family in US,” she told The Tribune.

Despite getting a raw deal from the US government, she hopes they might allow her to reunite with her family. “But she is not saying that yet. It’s only been two or three days, and she is still in trauma,” said Kulwant Singh, her relative in Mohali.

Harjit Kaur had unsuccessfully applied for asylum in US but on September 8 she was arrested by US Immigration and Customs Enforcement abruptly when she had reported to them in San Francisco. US authorities said Harjit had exhausted decades of due process, and that an immigration judge had ordered her removal in 2005.

Talking to mediapersons today, Harjit said she had “moved to US through an agent and did not have a passport”.

Affectionately called grandma by the Punjabi expats who are rallying for her cause in US, Harjit, said she was handcuffed while being taken to the detention centre and the eight days she spent there were horrible.

“I could not board the vehicle because I have knee pain; my hands were also cuffed. One official removed the cuffs from my hands so I could step into the vehicle. The food in the detention centre was awful — cold bread, cheese, and turkey. Being vegetarian, I could not eat properly. There was an aluminium foil to sleep on, with just two bedsheets and no mattress. It was so cold inside that I could not sleep. Around 100 women of various ages were held there. Some of them took pity on me and arranged clothes to shield me from the cold. Despite my repeated requests, I was not given medicines. I take medicines for my knee pain, migraine, blood pressure, and painkillers,” she said.

The septuagenarian said that from the time she was arrested until she was dropped off at Delhi airport, she was not allowed the courtesy of taking a bath. She was given prison clothes, which she changed into after taking a bath in Delhi. “Despite reporting regularly as mandated by the government and following all the laws of the land, I was treated very badly by the US government,” she told mediapersons.

She said she has been unable to sleep properly for the last few days due to trauma. “My grandkids keep calling to ask if I have a bed to sleep on here, if I have clothes to wear. My mind hasn’t been able to process what I’m going to do now,” she added.