Congressman Garamendi has sent an inquiry to ICE requesting the release of the elderly Sikh woman.
Who Is 73-Year-Old Harjit Kaur, Detained In The US After Living There For 33 Years Latest News: Harjit Kaur, a 73-year-old who has been in the United States for the last three decades, was detained by US officials after a routine check-in earlier this week.
According to the Hindustan Times report, she lived in the East Bay region in Northern California for more than 30 years. She was detained on Monday after Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officials asked her to visit San Francisco to turn in additional paperwork regarding her stay in the US.
Her family, along with many from her community, organized a protest on Friday, calling for her immediate release.
She was reportedly taken into a detention centre in Bakersfield.
The report added, citing ABC7News, that the elderly Sikh woman was an undocumented immigrant in the US. However, this was due to her asylum case being denied, it said.
Kaur moved to the United States in 1992 from India as a single mother with two sons.
She was denied asylum in 2012, but since then she has been reporting to ICE in San Francisco every six months for more than 13 years, the report further said, citing her daughter-in-law Manhi Kaur, who told a US-based news channel.
“ICE assured her she could remain in the United States under supervision with work permits until they could receive her travel documents," the report added.
She reportedly worked at a local Indian clothing store for over two decades.
Her detention has caused outrage among her community, and her family has voiced concern over her health, claiming that she suffers from thyroid disease, migraine, knee pain, and anxiety.
Her daughter-in-law told ABCNews7, “They just said we are detaining your grandma and didn't give me any other information, didn't let me see her. And after that, we didn't hear from her for hours, and when we did hear from her, she was crying and begging us for help."
Members of the Indivisible West Contra Costa County, the Sikh Centre, Rep. John Garamendi’s staff, local elected officials, and other political leaders also attended the protest calling for the 73-year-old's release with her family.
According to the report, which cited KTVU Fox 2 news portal, Congressman Garamendi has sent an inquiry to ICE requesting the release of the elderly Sikh woman.
“President (Donald) 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," read the statement issued by Garamendi's office, the Hindustan Times report said.
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